items were taken from the interview immediately following divorce.
Items on the first scale, general divorce adjustment, referred to feeling
happy with the divorce, whether the divorce was a good or a bad idea, and
how the divorce affected the respondent’s social life, financial situation,
and peace of mind. Each item was scored on a 3-point scale, with high
scores indicating better adjustment (α = 0.77). Items on the second scale,
attachment toward the ex-spouse, referred to wondering about the exspouse,
thinking about the ex-spouse, having a hard time accepting the divorce,
and feeling that one would never get over the divorce (α = 0.76).
Each item was scored on a 3-point scale, with high scores indicating less
attachment to the former spouse. (For further details on these scales, see
Wang & Amato, 2000). The correlation between the dependent variables
was moderate rather than large (r = –0.44), suggesting that although the
variables were correlated, each was measuring a different aspect of divorce
adjustment.