More or less help? A longitudinal investigation of positive and negative consequences of divorce for informal helping

Bibliographic Data

ID12596705
AuthorsMarlou Jm Ramaekers (0000-0002-6951-1461, Radboud University Nijmegen, corresponding author), Marlou J M Ramaekers (Sociology, Radboud University), Ellen Verbakel (0000-0003-1022-9020, Sociology, Radboud University), Gerbert Kraaykamp (0000-0001-5692-1907, Sociology, Radboud University), Tanja Van Der Lippe (0000-0002-5245-4659, Sociology, Utrecht University)
Year2023
Volume28
Issue1
Pages55-70
Publication date2023-03-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCommunity Work & Family (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1366-8803 • E-ISSN: 1469-3615
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13668803.2023.2183786
OpenAlexW4324045241
LanguageEN
References cited55

As divorce rates have risen, scholars have expressed concern that a breakdown of traditional family bonds might negatively influence community life. This study examines the impact of divorce on one form of community involvement, namely informal community helping, and whether this impact depends on household income, having adult children and being full-time employed. We hypothesized that informal community helping can both increase and decrease after divorce and that the impact of divorce is smaller for people with higher household income, adult children or a full-time job. Utilizing longitudinal data from the first four waves (1986–2002) of the Americans’ Changing Lives panel study (N = 6,185), this study employed fixed-effects regression models. These demonstrated that people did not change their informal community helping after divorce. The impact of divorce did not depend on household income or full-time employment, but people with adult children increased their informal community helping after divorce less than average

Demographic economics · Economics · Longitudinal data · Longitudinal study · Low income · Panel data · Sociology · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology