High-Conflict Divorce: A Review of the Literature

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses

More than 90 percent of people living in Western cultures are married at least once before the age of 50, and of those marriages, 40 to 50 percent end in divorce.1 Divorce rates for subsequent remarriages are even higher, with the second marriage divorce rate as high as 67 percent and the third marriage divorce rate as high as 73 percent.2 Many disbanded marriages and remarriages produce children who must experience the divorce process along with their parents. During a divorce, most couples split, move on in their lives, and exhibit behaviors that allow for a successful transition from an involved relationship to one in which they are able to focus on their own well-being and the well-being of their children.3 Some divorces do not end in such style, however, resulting in great distress to all who are involved.

SOME STATISTICS

Although conflict is normal during a divorce, in a minority of cases the conflict never seems to end. In 75 to 80 percent of divorces, the individuals are able to transition through the changing emotions, and find some kind of normalcy within two to three years.4 For some, the conflict continues, possibly never ending, trapping themselves and their children in a perpetual turmoil, causing deep and lasting scars.5 These divorces are classified as high-conflict divorces, and they make up approximately 10 to 20 percent of all divorces in the United States.6 A high-conflict divorce is defined as a divorce process that lasts longer than two years, which is characterized by a high degree of anger, hostility, and distrust, intensive custody litigation, ongoing difficulty in communicating about the care of their children, and higher than usual rates of nonpayment of child support.7

High-conflict cases arise for numerous reasons, some systemic and some personal to litigants. Systemic reasons include the adversarial legal system and the "best interest of the child" vagueness. Other systemic causes include an increase in joint custody, which requires more interaction between parents, and an understaffed, underfunded, and under-educated court system with insufficient resources to provide necessary services.8 Personal reasons for high-conflict divorces can come from the dispute itself and the personalities of the individuals involved.9

The 10 to 20 percent of divorces that are considered high-conflict cases take...