Divorce and separation can be traumatic life events, but a new study reveals women’s personal happiness gradually increases within a few years of a relationship breakdown in mid-life.
In the short term, data shows finances can be a struggle and happiness declines, however, financial stability and happiness gradually increase for mid-life women within a few years, often exceeding pre-divorce levels.
Social support, perceived control and income satisfaction influenced how well women adjusted after their relationships dissolved.
The findings come from a South Australian study that tracked over 1400 women who had divorced or separated. Researchers compared them with a control group of over 2500 women who remained in long-term relationships.
Published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, life satisfaction was tracked over multiple decades. Researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA) and the University of Adelaide used data from nine waves of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health.
“When long-term relationships end during midlife (age 45-50), people still have decades ahead of them, but also less time to re-establish themselves financially and in other ways,” said ead author, UniSA clinical psychology master’s student Olivia Arcangeli.
“We found that within three to four years, divorced and separated women returned to their pre-dissolution levels of life satisfaction. This contrasts with a similar study in Germany, which showed that women still had not returned to pre-divorce levels of happiness five to six years after their relationship ended.”
The difference between the Australian findings and those from Germany could be attributed to cultural attitudes, with less stigma around divorce seen in Australia.
The Australian study shows life satisfaction levels for divorced and separated women matched those of married and partnered women approximately 13.5 years after their relationship ended, and continued growing somewhat faster, slightly exceeding the control group’s life satisfaction in the last few years of measurement.
University of Adelaide psychology lecturer Dr Anastasia Ejova said “this finding can be explained through the lens of post-traumatic growth, whereby individuals who experience major crises may develop increased insight and gratitude regarding their circumstances, which in turn increases their wellbeing.”
“We would ideally need to keep following the women for another few years to see whether the faster growth post-separation is sustained,” she added.
Findings also showed that women whose life satisfaction levels fell sharply in the years surrounding the relationship breakup experienced greater long-term happiness afterwards. This could be linked to feelings of relief after leaving a high stress and conflict-filled situation, according to researchers.
In the control group, happiness levels rose later in the marriage, which shows that marital problems were likely able to be resolved over time.
Women who reported higher life satisfaction post-separation had strong support networks, a sense of control over their lives and a greater ability to manage their available income, according to the study findings.
When it comes to the effects of children, re-partnering or education level, researchers found that these factors either had non-significant or unexpected effects on the life satisfaction of women post-separation.
The study found women with children showed minimal differences in happiness levels post-divorce compared to women without children.
In addition, unlike previous research, this South Australia study did not find that re-partnering improved life satisfaction levels. Researchers did note, however, that it’s possible the benefits of re-partnering could be seen more in men.
“The findings highlight the need for targeted support services for middle-aged women going through divorce and separation,” Arcangeli says.
“Providing access to counselling, financial advice and social support networks could help women navigate the emotional and economic challenges of separation more effectively, making a big difference to their long-term wellbeing.”