Term Paper on "Post Break Up Relationships in Heterosexual and Homosexual Couples With and Without Children"

Term Paper 25 pages (6657 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Post Break Up Relationship Lit Review

AFTER ALL IS SAID and DONE literature review into the relationships heterosexual and homosexual couples maintain after they break up.

FLOW of INFORMATION

This literature review presents a 25-page examination of the relationships that are maintained by couples after they break up. The literature review examines lesbian and gay relationships as well as heterosexual couples. In addition it seeks to determine whether or not children have an effect on the contact the couple maintains following a relationship that ends.

In seeking out this information it was discovered that very few studies exist on this topic and those that due are somewhat vague in their findings. This points to the need for further research in this area for future development of family therapy theories and outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

When one is young they look forward to the day that they will meet the love of their life and live happily ever after. They are eager to find the one person they are meant to be with, settle down, raise a family and live the American dream. Unfortunately that dream doesn't always work out and can turn into a nightmare from which the only solution seems to be to break up. Couples break up every day throughout the country. Whether it is a homosexual or heterosexual couple, they can break up. Whether they have children or remained childless they can break up. Breaking up doesn't seem to have any socioeconomic concerns as it cuts across all financial boundaries, racial boundaries, geographic boundaries and sexual preference boundaries. People break up because of money, personality conflicts, affairs, arguments about children, job transfers, substance abuse issues and many other reasons. Breaking up takes many different forms, some more drama inspired than others. Some couples break up quietly and amicably resolving to remain friends while others agree the best way to do it is to never communicate again. Some couples create long drawn out scenes, while others involve law enforcement officials, family members, children and the neighborhood watch team. Breakups happen for many reasons and in many different ways but the end result is the couple is no longer a couple. Once the relationship has ended the couple decides what if any contact they will have with each other and if they will have contact what type of contact that will be.

Will they be friends? Will they continue to have sexual relations? Many people know couples in which anytime something goes wrong in life they still call the former lover to discuss it or lean on for emotional support. In addition many couples continue to have holiday dinners with each other's families just as they did when they were together.

The amount of contact a former couple decides to have can vary from couple to couple depending on circumstances. While it is a given that couples sharing children may have more surface contact than couples that did not have children, this doesn't necessarily point to more intimate contact by way of emotional or sexual intimacy. The bond of children however, may create a bond that childish couples never shared therefore leave the door open for continued dependence on each other after the breakup.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

For one to understand the literature involving couples post break up relationships it will be helpful to understand the statistics regarding relationships and divorce. While breakups also occur in couples that chose not to marry the statistics for such relationships are nearly non-existent as they would be inaccurate with no way to record keep their existences and dissolvent. For the purpose of this research married heterosexual and committed homosexual couples will be focused on.

For many years statistics have been thrown about that included the belief that 50% of marriages today, end in divorce. Recently this number has been challenged and the result was a reduction in the percentage of married couples believed to end in divorce. At one point according to the new statistical information provided by the National Center for Health Statistics 43% of married couples will end in divorce in America. Even more recently the New York Times published a study that placed the number at 40%. While this is encouraging news for engaged hopefuls it still means that out of every 100 couples that get married, only 60 of them will survive the long haul of marriage (Divorce Stats (http://www.divorcereform.org/rates.html).

The National Center for Health Statistics recently released a report which found that 43% of first marriages end in separation or divorce within 15 years (Divorce Stats (http://www.divorcereform.org/rates.html)."

With homosexual couples it is not as easy to determine the rate of break ups as the marriage issue has not yet been resolved for the majority of states, however, there have been studies conducted that put the break up rate in similar numbers as married couples in many instances.

In Scandinavian countries that do allow same sex marriages the divorce rates are similar to those of heterosexual couples according to nationally reported statistical information.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Over the years there have been very few studies conducted on the post break up relationships within former heterosexual couples or homosexual couples. Perhaps it is only recently becoming apparent that the relationships that former couples share have an impact on their lives and the future relationships that they enter. It is possible that it has been difficult to locate members of former couples who were willing to become part of a research study. It is also possible that science has not determined the value of such studies. Regardless of the reasons, there have been significantly fewer studies on this topic than on more readily available topics in the field of research.

The few studies that have been complied however have been comprehensive and thorough and pointed to a definite difference between homosexual and heterosexual couples in their post break up relationship actions.

One important study addressed the relationships that are maintained in members of former couples in both the heterosexual and the homosexual societies with interesting results.

The "study investigated the relative contributions of gender and sexual orientation as factors associated with the formation of boundaries in dyadic intimate relating in both same- and opposite-sex couples (Harkless, Blaine, 2005)."

This study was important to the general and broad-based topic as it examined relational patterns. The study was considered a first of its kind because of the fact that it studied relational patterns that had not been empirically evaluated in the past but instead was simply accepted within the lesbian relationship pattern. It was actually considered to be a pattern unique to lesbians. Previous accepted beliefs included the idea that lesbians remained connected to their ex-partners more often and at a closer level than either couples that had been gay or heterosexual in the past.

Following break up it has been widely accepted and assumed that lesbians remained close to their former partners more often than non-lesbian couples did but there had not been any scientific data to back it up.

This study was extremely thorough and extensive examining many facets of the post relationship action of different types of couples to determine whether or not there is a difference in the contact and bond between ex-lovers in a lesbian relationship and other types of relationships.

The study utilized a research design approach emphasizing the methodological utility and heuristic value of including sexual orientation as an independent variable in studies of gender dynamics (Harkless, Blaine, 2005).

Two general classes of theoretical frameworks, those emphasizing gender role socialization influences and those emphasizing systems influences, were discussed in terms of their relative goodness of fit as conceptual bases for the data (Harkless, Blaine, 2005)."

The method used for this particular study was a questionnaire method. A questionnaire is considered a popular and valid choice of research methodology that serves several purposes.

The questionnaire method provides the opportunity for the participant to answer questions without a face-to-face interview.

This helps to eliminate any perception that the interview results were influenced by the personality of the interview or interviewee. Past research has shown that face-to-face conversations can in fact be influenced by how the participants feel about each other as people during the interview. If a participant is shy, easily intimidated or otherwise put off by the process then the answers may not be as pure or in depth as they would otherwise have been.

In addition the questionnaire can provide a measure of anonymity for those who participate if it is structured in a way that will allow that to occur.

Case studies are another method often used for the purpose of research however, case studies can be costly and timely and prohibit the inclusion of a large or geographically widespread sampling of participants.

The use of a questionnaire for the purpose of this study was an excellent choices as it allowed for a controlled population number, but provided the opportunity for a large sampling as well as provided the opportunity to answer questions without concern about the meshing… READ MORE

How to Reference "Post Break Up Relationships in Heterosexual and Homosexual Couples With and Without Children" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Criminalization of Gays in the United States Essay

Criminalization of Gays in the United States

Introduction- Clinically, homosexuality is the romantic and/or sexual attraction or behavior characteristics towards members of the same gender. It is far more complicated… read more

Essay 10 pages (4330 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Sexuality / Gender

---

Same Sex Marriage Term Paper

Same Sex Marriage

There are not many social issues in the United States that are more controversial than same sex marriage. The idea of two men or two women getting… read more

Term Paper 11 pages (3506 words) Sources: 11 Topic: Sexuality / Gender

---

Role of Religion in Same Sex Marriage With Emphasis on California's Proposition Essay

Role of Religion in Same-Sex Marriage

Homosexuality and gay rights have always been controversial issues, particularly in the more conservative states of America. This is clear in legislative guidelines that… read more

Essay 10 pages (3186 words) Sources: 6 Style: MLA Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Plays of Ben Jonson Essay

Ben Jonson

Intertextualities: The Influence of the Classics in Ben Jonson's Volpone

Ben Jonson is a writer who was deeply influenced by earlier novels in both themes and structures. In… read more

Essay 80 pages (22973 words) Sources: 40 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>