Chronic stress. It seems to be the bane of everyone’s existence, compromising the immune system, leading to pain, fatigue, and illness – just to name a few. But did you know stress can also lead to divorce?

The conventional wisdom among psychologists and sociologists studying marriage has long been that marital satisfaction, on average, declines with marriage length. This is not to say that there haven’t been some scientific challenges to this idea. When it comes to children, however, the effects on marriage have not proven to be entirely upbeat in the eyes science.

Much ado has been made of late in the United States about the increasing loan burden which graduating college seniors are facing. A debt-load of tens of thousands of dollars has become the norm to which most college students can look forward, it seems. Well, in keeping with the concept of “student loans,” a bank in Japan has recently announced that it will begin providing special, low-interest loans to cover the costs incurred by divorce settlements.

As part of a larger research project I’m working on here, I recently read a great review article in the Journal of Divorce and Remarriage concerning how individuals use social relationships to adjust to life with divorce. The researchers had completed a meta-analysis (a giant research mash up to get a birds-eye-view of all [...]

Have you ever been in a relationship that you know is on the rocks, and yet the idea of breaking up- the crying, the pain, the sense of isolation- seem so horrible that you put off the inevitable as long as possible? Well, new research shows that this delay may be unnecessary: people predict that their distress-level relating to a breakup will be much higher than when it actually happens.

Angry and upset? A recent study shows that bringing up these concerns is good for your relationship.

We’d love to hear from you. Tell us what you like and the subjects you want to read more about.

I read an article recently called “Unskilled and Unaware of It;” it was an article published in JPSP several years ago talking about people who performed poorly yet had unusually high opinions about how they did. The authors in this study described how people performed in various skills, like identifying humor, recognizing correct grammar, and performing on logical reasoning tests. In every test, researchers found a group of people who though that they were average or slightly better than average, in spite of their actual poor performance.

At what point after a divorce do people start dating again? How many relationships are typical? When do kids generally find out about new dating partners? There are several great lay literature sources for divorced parenting, and here are some results from articles that I’ve found…

The “precarious couple” is an inhibited man paired with a disinhibited woman. Find out more about the conundrum of this unique couple.

Father’s may not have a lot of time to spend with their children, but as look as they spend it well, their children will benefit. And the same goes for step-fathers: good relationships with stepchildren can and often do develop.

The AP ran a story recently reporting a decline in divorce rates. After peaking in 1981, rates reported for 2005 are at their lowest since 1970. The rate in 1981 was 5.3 per 1,000 people, falling over 30% to a per capita rate of 3.7 per 1,000 in 2005. What could be going on here?

I’ve noticed a trend in evolutionary psychology to attribute motivations and behaviors in modern humans to our evolutionary prequels. According to some, my wife probably chose me based on my dominant genetic traits and physical symmetry which indicated my potential to breed strong babies. It goes without saying that I smelled good.

We need others – we long to be close, to be loved, and to belong. The closer we get, however, the more vulnerable we become, and the potential to hurt others and to be hurt increases. Not following through with a promise, forgetting a birthday, or having an affair – these violations can be hurtful, especially when they come from those we rely on and trust the most. But what happens when we are hurt? How do we evolve past these incidents so that we can maintain our closeness and connection to others?