Psychology Today’s article Got the Waite Divorce Study Wrong — Here’s What the Data Really Show
If you’ve seen the Psychology Today article claiming “you won’t be happier after divorce,” you’re not alone. It’s circulating widely—and uses, but misreads, the Linda Waite study. The article’s summary of the University of Chicago’s research findings is incorrect. It misses many of the conclusions of the study. The truth is that the study found that divorce is better for people in destructive marriages — for example, those with abuse, addiction, and betrayal — and does lead to significant relief. (See real quotes below.)
Waite’s 2002 research found that some unhappy marriages improve—but only those hurt by outside stressors (illness, job loss). Marriages damaged by abuse, addiction, betrayal, or chronic conflict rarely became happy, even after five years.
And here’s the part Psychology Today missed:
• Divorce dramatically reduced violence and increased safety, and
• 81% of those who divorced and remarried were happier in the next marriage.
Linda J. Waite is a longtime sociologist at the University of Chicago, where she has led major national studies on family structure, marriage quality, aging, and well-being.
What Psychology Today Claimed vs. What the Study Shows
| Psychology Today Claims | What the Waite Study Really Shows (with page numbers) |
|---|---|
| Divorce won’t make you happier. | True on average, but Waite found significant relief and increased safety for people leaving violent marriages (pp. 12–13). |
| Most unhappy marriages improve in five years. | Only marriages stressed by outside pressures—illness, job loss, finances—tended to improve. High-conflict or violent marriages rarely did (pp. 11–12, 15). |
| People regret divorcing. | Waite reports that 81% of those who divorced and then remarried were happy in the next marriage (p. 12). |
| Staying shows endurance. | Waite states clearly that divorce or separation is the best outcome for destructive marriages (p. 33). |
| The unhappy should just try harder. | Waite found that one in three unhappy marriages never became happy, and that marriages harmed by addiction, abuse, or betrayal were least likely to improve (pp. 11–12, 15). |
Click here for the full length quotes.
I hope that the author Ann Gold Buscho Ph.D. asks for the opportunity to edit it because her summary is not safe for genuine domestic violence victims and those in highly destructive marriages. Ann Gold Buscho, “Will You Be Happier After Divorce?” Psychology Today, January 18, 2023.
Linda J. Waite, Don Browning, William J. Doherty, Maggie Gallagher, Ye Luo, and Scott M. Stanley, Does Divorce Make People Happy?, Institute for Family Values, 2002. Link: https://archive.org/details/doesdivorcemakep0000unse
Gretchen Baskerville, “Waite Study – Does Divorce Really Make People Happy?” Life-Saving Divorce, https://lifesavingdivorce.com/waite/ .
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