Cause of divorce and adjustment.As a final step in this part of the analysis,
we examined associations between the reported causes of divorce
and the three measures of adjustment to divorce. Individuals who reported
infidelity scored lower on the general adjustment to divorce scale
(r = –0.23, p < .01) and higher on the attachment to former spouse scale
(r = 0.21, p < .01). Further inspection of the data indicated that, compared
with other causes, infidelity on the part of the respondent or the respondent’s
spouse were associated with relatively poor adjustment, although
adjustment scores were lowest when the respondent’s spouse was at fault.
No other specific causes of divorce were related to adjustment. We also
considered associations between the number of causes people reported
and adjustment, but no significant findings emerged.