The Normative Integration of the Former Spouse Relationship

Data from a sample of 180 divorced and remarried respondents suggest the existence of moderate normative integration of the former spouse relationship. Although men and women tended to reach or not reach the consensus criterion on the same issues, they were significantly different in their degree of acceptance of former spouse interaction. Women were less acceptant; they preferred greater social distance in former spouse interaction. A comparison of expectations for former husbands and former wives in comparable situations showed no differential standards by gender. Probably the former spouse relationship is not as lacking in normative structure as speculation suggests, yet it is far from perfectly integrated by the standards used in this study.