Break-ups leave women poorer but men more fragile

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Break-ups leave women poorer but men more fragile

ADELE HORIN

The Sydney Morning Herald

July 7, 2010

Women are much poorer than men after a marriage breakdown but men are much lonelier, sadder and their mental health is more fragile immediately after, a big study reveals.

Within fours years, however, men have begun to recover emotionally and their finances have improved considerably. But women’s incomes have gone backwards.

”Both men and women take a hit after separation,” said David de Vaus, professor of sociology at the University of Queensland, and co-author of the study. ”Women are much poorer financially, men are much poorer socially.”

The study, to be presented at the 2010 Australian Institute of Family Studies conference today, shows men’s income in real terms is almost 20 per cent higher four years after separation, in line with general income trends, but on average women’s is 2 per cent less.

And separated men are more likely than women to call themselves ”poor” and to complain of financial hardship, despite an average income of almost $42,000 compared with $36,000 for separated women. ”It doesn’t mean men are just moaning. We don’t know what their expenses are,” Professor de Vaus said.

The study, by researchers at the University of Queensland, the Australian Institute of Family Studies and the Australian National University, has followed an initial sample of 14,000 people, to track their circumstances from two years before a break-up to four years after.

It shows that many of the negative effects often attributed to separation were already present before the break-up.

”Separation is much more probable among couples who are not doing so well to start with. They are poorer, less well-educated and more isolated,” the professor said. ”But divorce has short-term and medium-term effects and, financially, women take a long-term hit.”

A year after the breakdown, 48 per cent of men who had not found a new partner reported often feeling very lonely compared with 39 per cent of the single women. But four years after the breakdown, the proportions of lonely men had fallen to 29 per cent and of lonely women to 28 per cent.

Men were much less likely than women to report feeling satisfied with their life in the year after the break-up – 29 per cent compared with 38 per cent. But three years later the proportion of men feeling satisfied was 42 per cent, though this was still lower than the 52 per cent of women.

Professor de Vaus said that even four years on, those who separated were less happy than couples who never divorced. But the separated men were almost as happy as they had been in the final year of their marriage and the women were happier.

The research paper, Relationship breakdown and social exclusion: a longitudinal analysis, is co-written by Matthew Gray, Lixia Qu and David Stanton.

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