Emotional reactions and coping activities of divorced and married mothers in israel during the gulf war

Based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, divorced mothers, who are assumed to possess fewer resources than married mothers, were expected to be more emotionally vulnerable and to cope less adequately during the life-threatening situation of the Gulf War. The findings, however, indicate that on the whole, married mothers were more adversely affected than divorced mothers in this study. The latter were more emotionally stable during the war and coped at least as well as the married mothers. The results are attributed to the possibility that the divorced mothers mobilized coping resources (e.g. social support) more effectively than married mothers and that the latter faced increased domestic demands leading to increased stress.