Beyond the Average Divorce provides marriage and family scholars and students a rich depiction of how children and adults of all ages respond to diverse divorce experiences. Rather than emphasizing means and averages in looking at "typical" family reactions to divorce, authors David H. Demo and Mark A. Fine emphasize variability and change over time in the pre-divorce, divorce, and post-divorce process. The book's three parts explore theoretical and methodological tools for studying divorce, the divorce process and its multiple pathways, and future directions in research. Key Features Includes cutting-edge research on how children are affected by multiple transitions in family structure and parenting arrangements during the divorce process Covers the most common causes of divorce and how the family environment deteriorates during the years leading up to divorce Provides easy-to-understand descriptions and examples of how specific research methods can be used to study divorce Offers a dynamic theoretical model of divorce and how it is experienced by family members in a wide variety of family situations Discusses policy implications as well as directions for future theoretical, research, and clinical work in this vital area Beyond the Average Divorce is intended as a core textbook for use in upper-level undergraduate or graduate courses in Family Stress and Divorce, Dysfunctional Families, Sociology of the Family, and Couples, Marriage, and Family Counseling.

Ch 1. Introduction: Variations in and Fluidity of Divorce Experiences and Outcomes PART I: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL TOOLS FOR STUDYING THE DIVORCE PROCESS Ch 2. Conceptualizing Divorce Variation and Fluidity Ch 3. Research Methods for Stuyding Variation and Fluidity in Divorce Ch 4. Divorce and Family Transitions in Societal Context PART II: THE DIVORCE PROCESS AND ITS MULTIPLE PATHWAYS Ch 5. Variations in Predivorce Family Environments and Trajectories Ch 6. Variations in Separation and Uncoupling Ch 7. Variation and Fluidity in Adult Adjustment to Divorce Ch 8. Variation and Fluidity in Children's Adjustment to Divorce Ch 9. Adult and Child Experiences of Multiple Family Structure Transitions PART III: FUTURE DIRECTIONS Ch 10. Implications and Conclusions References