40대 이혼 여성의 이혼 후 적응과정에 관한 연구

The purpose of this research is to develop a substantive-level theory to clarify and explain the adjustment experience of women after divorce. The research question, “How is the adjustment experience of women after divorce?”was executed by the application of the grounded theory method suggested by Strauss and Corbin (1998). The participants of this research are ten women in their forties, who have divorced within the last 1 to 5 years and have children in their care. The conclusion of the research shows 99 concepts, 35 subcategories and 14 categories in the open coding. According to the category analysis through the paradigm in the axial coding, the causal condition in divorce adjustment was‘rocky marriage’and the ‘end of marriage.’The central issue was‘anxiety regarding the dismal reality’and the contextual condition of a response in this situation was ‘psychological hurt from the root family’and ‘cognitive and emotional change after divorce.’The action/reaction strategy to control the present state was‘negative experience in interpersonal relationship’and the‘proactive pursuit of help’and the intervening condition that either stimulated or suppressed this aforementioned strategy was‘the change of attitude of the family,’ ‘the relationship with the ex-husband’and the‘social support system.’The result was‘the weight of daily life,’ ‘the acceptance of the reality,’ ‘the desire to be a confident mom’and ‘the attempt for self-transformation.’The adjustment of a divorced woman goes through stages of 'discouragement,’ ‘struggle,’ ‘acceptance,’and‘transformation.’The central category in the selective coding was the‘overcome of the despair through break down and reconstitution.’The significance of the conclusion of this research is that it developed a theory to understand the stages of adjustments of women after divorce, grounded on the experiences of women divorcees, and put them into adaptive types.