Continued Attachment After Legal Divorce

Abstract

A major aspect of the divorce process is the psychological divorce: detachment from the ex-spouse and formation of a new life with new emotional bonds and commitments. Many people complete this process promptly, but at least 25% of the divorced population have significant difficulty completing the psychological divorce and remain attached to their ex-spouses for significant periods of time. The present study examined demographic, personality, and relational characteristics of this population. No personality traits were found to be related to attachment. Several socioeconomic variables were found to be significantly related to ongoing attachment, and characteristics of the relationship to the ex-spouse prior to and following the separation were found to predict ongoing attachment.