Reasons for Divorce in Turkey and the Characteristics of Divorced Families: A Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

Turkey is a country where, between Eeastern and Wwestern culture, recently divorce rates are increasing. This study was conducted to investigate the reasons for divorce and the characteristics of families who appealed for divorce. In this study, the divorce court cases filed in 2010 were examined as retrospective. Three hundred thirty-six case files could be accessed and content analysis was done. The findings showed that 60.1% of all appeals were made by women, and the marriage duration of 41.9% of couples was between 1 and 6 years. The reasons were determined that 48.4% of cases were fighting/conflict, 38.7% were psychological violence, 19.4% were financial problems, 18.5% were nonmarital relationships, and 12.9% were alcohol/drug abuse. The custody of 69.1% of children below age 18 was given to the mother. However, only half of these mothers received alimony. As a consequence, violence continues to be an important reason in divorce, and family counseling services should be more effective in Turkey. This study will contribute to understand the causes of increasing divorces and to development of family counseling services.