PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND MARITAL DISSOLUTION - SELECTION EFFECTS

The low psychological well-being of the divorced and separated could b e due to the hardships of the divorce process, more general problems o f unmarried living, or differential selection for divorce. Using combi ned questionnaire and register data on 39,000 Norwegian men and women, it is shown that psychological well-being is a strong predictor of su bsequent marital dissolution over a 2 to 4-year period. The strength o f the relationship is particularly strong in the short run, but remain s significant throughout the period of observation. The strong short-t erm relationship is most probably due to hardships associated with the divorce process The somewhat weaker long-term relationship could be d ue to selection effects, but the possibility that low well-being many years before the separation may be due to persistent marital problems cannot be ruled out.