Divorce: Causes and Consequences (Current Perspectives in Psychology) [Hardcover]

Professor Alison Clarke-Stewart (Author), Professor Cornelia Brentano (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300110448 | ISBN-13: 978-0300110449 | Publication Date: April 6, 2006

This comprehensive book provides a balanced overview of the current research on divorce. The authors examine the scientific evidence to uncover what can be said with certainty about divorce and what remains to be learned about this socially and politically charged issue. Accessible to parents and teachers as well as clinicians and researchers, the volume examines the impact of marital breakup on children, adults, and society.
 Alison Clarke-Stewart and Cornelia Brentano synthesize the most up-to-date information on divorce from a variety of disciplinary perspectives with thoughtful analysis of psychological issues. They convey the real-life consequences of divorce with excerpts from autobiographies by young people, and they also include guidelines for social policies that would help to diminish the detrimental effects of divorce.

(20090210)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This comprehensive review of the research on divorce is both well written and exceptionally well researched. Thoroughly covering both adults' and children's reactions to divorce, as well as legal and psychological issues, this book makes a unique contribution to the field."-Sharlene Wolchik, professor of psychology, Arizona State University (Sharlene Wolchik )

"Four stars for this book. Clarke-Stewart and Brentano do not duck controversial issues, instead offering a balanced treatment of them, with their own carefully-thought-out conclusions. This book will be valuable indeed for parents who are contemplating or undergoing divorce. It is also a much-needed sourcebook for all the professionals who seek to help divorcing families."-Eleanor E. Maccoby, Professor of Psychology (Em.), Stanford University (Eleanor E. Maccoby )

"This book is the most judicious and impressive review of the literature on marital dissolution that has been written in the past decade. It should be required reading for policy makers, researchers, and anyone who wants to get beyond the glib and the simple to a more complex understanding of the topic of divorce."-Frank F. Furstenberg, professor of sociology, University of Pennsylvania (Frank F. Furstenberg )

"Clinicians who wish to . . . gain a better understanding of how divorce evolves will find this book thought-provoking and a good foundation for future reading."-Geoffrey L. Grief, Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services (Geoffrey L. Grief Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services )

About the Author

Alison Clarke-Stewart is professor of psychology and social behavior, University of California–Irvine. Cornelia Brentano is assistant professor of psychology, Chapman University, Orange, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (April 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300110448
• ISBN-13: 978-0300110449
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,423,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What's with these reviews?, May 27, 2009

By 

Anon. (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Divorce: Causes and Consequences (Current Perspectives in Psychology) (Hardcover)

Is it just me, or do almost all of these reviews sound somewhat alike? And the vast majority are from California. They also sound somewhat superficial, so it's hard to tell what the book is really like. Is it good as a psychology volume, or a self-help book? Confusing.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn about the causes and consequences of divorce, December 6, 2006

By 

Jessie Conner (Irvine, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Divorce: Causes and Consequences (Current Perspectives in Psychology) (Hardcover)

After reading Divorce: Causes and Consequences, you will gain new insight into divorce and learn how many of the myths and stereotypes we have about divorce are misleading. With current research and past backgrounds of divorce, the book swiftly moves from the history to the future of divorce in a compelling and easy to understand book. The book focuses on all aspects of divorce including legal proceedings, child support and even step families and remarriage. Anyone planning to get married or even going through a divorce should own a copy. I have recently passed this book to my friend who just got engaged. A great companion to this book is Divorce Lessons, by the same authors.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Most of these reviews were written for extra credit assignments, January 26, 2011

By 

Colaburger - See all my reviews

This review is from: Divorce: Causes and Consequences (Current Perspectives in Psychology) (Paperback)

First of all, you'll notice that most of these reviews were written in December of 2006. Our professor, Cornelia Brentano, one of the authors of this book, used this book for her class in the winter quarter at The University of California, Irvine. We were given extra credit if we wrote a review on Amazon, printed it out, and turned it in for extra credit. We got as much extra credit for turning in a review as we did for writing a 5 page extra credit paper. So of course, many of us chose to write a review.

As for the book itself, it's below average for a text book. I found it a bit boring and repetitive at times. I can't really say I learned much, and it felt like they were just stating the obvious.

Also, I don't think many of the facts or statistics that were given were true. They did not include citations when there should have been citations. Also, this book makes too many generalizations and stupid lists (like those business books for dummies).

The book is written from a very Western viewpoint, and lacks cultural sensitivity. An update to this book would need to expand on the history of marriage and divorce to include other cultures and nationalities. Apparently, history begins with the Greeks and ends in the U.S.

It's been a while since I took the class and read this book, but I hope you found this helpful.