The Situation of Divorced Women in the Federal Republic of Germany

Topics: Understanding of the roles of men and women in society; judgement on the marriage of one´s parents; decision structure within one´s own marriage and in the marriage of one´s parents; distribution of tasks in housework; cause and frequency of differences of opinion before marriage and in marriage; length of living together with the later partner before marriage; objections of family against the marriage; place of first getting to know the husband; attitude to formal marriage; housing situation and financial conditions at the beginning of the marriage; pregnancy at marriage and children from the first marriage; responsibility for financial matters, trips to government offices and care of contacts with relatives; frequencies of independent activities without husband; reasons for divorce; divorce circumstances and divorce modalities; retaining a lawyer; circumstances of separation and leaving common residence; time length between filing for divorce and divorce decree; agreement of partners on consequences of divorce; maintenance of the woman and children after the divorce; observance of the agreements arranged and possibly further legal rulings after the divorce; consequences of not observing the rulings; judgement on the divorce result; taking sides by family members and friends in the course of the divorce; economic situation after the divorce; contacts with divorced husband and judgement on the current relation; time of renewed marriage of husband and familiarity of a steady girl friend even before the divorce; general judgement on the reasons for the failure of the first marriage; attitude to making divorce easier; personal sexual experiences before marriage; social self-assessment; difficulties in the search for a partner after divorce; not mentioning personal marital status on first contacts; current circle of friends; steady friend; judgement on the conduct of men regarding divorced women; marriage intents and marriage plans; housing situation; care for children during absence; help in household.

Demography: religiousness; political interest; social und regional origins; age; marital status; ages of children (classified); age and number of siblings; religious denomination; school education; vocational training; occupation; professional position; employment; professional career; income; size of household; state. Interviewer rating: willingness of respondent to cooperate; presence of other persons; length of interview and city size.