How stressful is the process of divorce? How difficult is it to adjust to the stress of divorce and ...

As Amato (2000) explains, the stress and adjustment trajectory of a divorce depends on the person, the stressors associated with the divorce, and the moderators or protective factors that serve as shock absorbers for the impact of the divorce. Research indicates that the result of this divorce-stress-adjustment process is that some people show a boost in well-being following a divorce (e.g., a person leaving an abusive partner), others experience a temporary crisis that improves after a transition period until well-being returns to normal levels (the majority), and still others move into a downward spiral from which they never fully recover (Amato, 2000).