Judicial Dissolution of Marriage - A Study

Families today are being challenged with numerous changes and problems. Without a doubt, divorce rates are high today. These high divorce rates may be used to support the conclusion that marriages may be worse off today than at any point in their history. It is possible that divorce is more common today because distressed married couples have access to better alternatives than they had in the past and because of the fewer costs of terminating a distressed marriage today. This article has been based on the descriptive/diagnostic study which investigates the Judicial Dissolution of Marriage i.e. Divorce. The research is aimed at finding the causes for the divorce, the psychological condition of the respondents. It also includes the study of post-divorce life of the respondents and suggests social work intervention for better adjustment of couples and divorced persons. The sample size consisted of 250 divorcees from five taluks of Dakshina Kannada, using Stratified Random Sampling method. A 125 item interview schedule was prepared, pretested and used. The study recommends the following social work interventions viz:- Education about proper choice of mates, Premarital counseling, Family counseling agencies, Counseling in courts, Help after divorce, Family life education for divorcing parents, Divorce Mediation and Divorce counseling.