And in a related study, he also found that children affected by these divorces are more likely to experience unsuccessful relationships later in life. Although divorce has adverse effects on a woman's financial fortunes, women today are financially better off that they were 10 years ago. Wolfinger's study on divorce was based on the data of 472 women compiled by the National Survey of Families and Households at the University of Wisconsin. Wolfinger drew his conclusions by comparing these numbers to similar ones compiled by the researchers at the University of Michigan 10 years ago. Whereas divorce was once considered the quick road to poverty, this increase in per capita income enables divorced women to stay above the poverty line, Wolfinger said.
Poverty is horrible.
A multitude of reasons account for this change in financial fortunes. There may also be a legal bias in favor of women that may lead to favorable financial settlements, said Steven Bowcut, founder of a private organization called Responsible Parenting. In a related study also conducted by Wolfinger, the behavior of children from stressful marriages seems to mirror the difficulty caused by divorce. He also found that children raised in families that experience multiple marriages and step-parents, are more likely to have unsuccessful relationships later in life, mimicking this behavior. Wolfinger's conclusions mirror studies conducted elsewhere.