Reorganizing the Single‐Parent Family System: Exploring the Process Perspective on Divorce

• Published date: 01 December 2020
• Author: Dries Van Gasse,Dimitri Mortelmans
• Date: 01 December 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12432

D V G D MUniversity of Antwerp

Reorganizing the Single-Parent Family System:

Exploring the Process Perspective on Divorce

Objective: This study investigated how single

parents reorganize their family system after

divorce.

Background: Families are dynamic systems

that change over time and adapt to crises.

Family researchers often approach divorce as

a discrete event, however; and little is known

about how single parents overcome this crisis

and carry on with their lives. Therefore, we

investigated the process of how single parents

reorganize their households after divorce.

Method: Qualitative analysis based on

grounded theory was used to code in-depth

retrospective interviews. Two sources of inter-

views, as well as triangulation and conrmation

techniques, were developed to improve the

validity of the study. Sensitizing concepts were

derived from Olson’s circumplex model and life

course theory.

Results: The reorganization process after

divorce is described as having six succes-

sive stages, each with particular needs and

challenges. By overcoming challenges, single

parents move on from one phase to another,

ultimately nding a new balance.

Conclusion: Single-parent family systems, like

other family systems, strive for homeostasis and

search for a new equilibrium in which it is pos-

sible to organize and coordinate various life

spheres. This is not a linear process, however,

and single parents may experience setbacks.

Z208, Sint-Jacobstraat 208, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium

(dries.vangasse@uantwerpen.be).

Key Words: divorce, family organization, family systems,

household structure, separation, single parenthood.

Implications: It can be difcult for family prac-

titioners to help people through the process of

divorce and reorganization as a single parent

because every experience is individual and atyp-

ical. However, our ndings suggest that there are

certain stages that practitioners can monitor to

increase the pace of the reorganization process.

Divorce constitutes one of the most signicant

disruptions to the life course. Rising divorce

and separation rates have led to an increase

insingle-parentfamilies(Pailhéet al.,2014).

The aftermath of divorce or separation affects

everyday life. However, quality of life after

divorce can differ among families to a great

extent (Emmers-Sommer, Rhea, Triplett, &

Triplett, 2003; Ferraro, Davis, Petren, & Pasley,

2016). Amato (2000) argued that there are three

paths for divorced parents: For some, divorce

is liberating; for others it leads to temporary

declines in well-being (which are, however,

surmountable); and for others, it is the start of

a long-term downward spiral. In this regard, the

path of those who experience initial problems

but eventually get their lives back on track is

rarely studied. As a result, various scholars

have argued that we should no longer explore

the effects of divorce by taking a dichotomous,

discrete approach, comparing differences before

and after, but approach separation as a pro-

cess that occurs over time (Demo & Ganong,

1994; Moore, 2011). A more process-focused

approach is used, for example, by Greenwood

(2014), who dened divorce, from the per-

spective of children, as a family transition that

entails a number of experiences over a longer

period of time. In this study, we used a similar

1100Family Relations 69 (December 2020): 1100–1112

DOI:10.1111/fare.12432