Respondents in the Australian Divorce Transition Project were asked, ‘What would you
say was the main reason for your marriage ending?’ The 17 respondents who did not reply
to this question are excluded from the remaining analysis.
For simplicity of discussion, and later to extend the analysis, the majority of responses
have been grouped under three major dimensions that correspond to those described in
the literature (Gigy and Kelly 1992; Cleek and Pearson 1991; Kitson with Holmes 1992).
The categories are: ‘affective reasons’, ‘abusive behaviours’ and ‘external pressures’.
Additional responses have been coded in a category called ‘other’.