The Decision to Divorce: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study

The decision to divorce, reported as one of the most difficult and stressful decisions in an individual’s life, has received less attention than other areas in literature spanning research on marital couple development. This study investigated how individuals perceived and experienced their decision to divorce using the descriptive phenomenological psychological method, an approach designed to outline the fundamental structure of an experience in a pre-theoretical manner. An in-depth semi-structured interview with eleven participants was designed. The data were analyzed through descriptive phenomenological psychological method. Ten constituents emerged from data analysis demonstrating that participants experienced the decision to divorce as (a) gradual and cumulative; (b) difficult and anxiety-provoking; (c) liberating and relieving; (d) identity developing and exalting; (e) protective; (f) social; (g) collective/individual; (h) foresightful and optimal; (i) emotional; and (j) spiritual. Implications and suggestions for future research studies were discussed.