Divorce Is Stressful, But How Stressful? Perceived Stress Among Recently Divorced Danes

Abstract

This study compared recently divorced Dane’s perceived stress scores with normative data of both (1) general and (2) divorced/separated populations, and investigated the predictive power of sociodemographic- and divorce-related variables on perceived stress. A total of 1,856 divorcees responded to the Perceived Stress Scale and related variables. Recent divorcees had significantly higher perceived stress levels than both the general and the divorced/separated populations. Lower age, lower education level, lower-income, infidelity, former spouse divorce initiation, not having a new partner, and higher divorce conflict significantly predicted higher stress levels equally among both male and female participants using structural equation modeling.