What was the general topic of the article? o What did previous research show abo

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What was the general topic of the article? o What did previous research show about this issue? o What was the goal of this particular study? Research Article Time Does Not Heal All Wounds A Longitudinal Study of Reaction and Adaptation to Divoree Richard E. Lueas Michigan State Uninersity and German Institute of Economic Research, Berlin, Germany ARSTRACT Cros-sectional studies show thot divarced Although there is considerable evidence for the esistence of prople report lower levels of life sotisfaction than do mar these adaptation effects, questions remain about their strength rind people. Bosceer, such studies cannot determine wheth and whiquity. These questions result from the difficulties that er satiafaction actually changes folosing dieorce. In the arise when studying life events. Lafe events cannot be repeo- eurrent study, data from an 18 year panel study of more than duced in the labetabory, and therfore it is almost impossible to 30,000 Germans were wsed to examine reaction and ad. study them experimentally. Furthermore, most life events are aptation to divorce. Results show that satisfaction drops as relatively rare, and thas large samples are needed to find suffi- one approaches divorce and then gradually rebhounds oser cient numbers of individuals who have experienoed the event in rame. However, the return to baseline “ not romplete. In question. Finally, life events are ma ompletely event addition, prospective analyses show that people who will Instead, individual diflerences-inclading differences in well- divorce are less happy than those scho stay married, even being-may make life events more or less likely to occur for before either group gets married. Thus, the association different people (Diener, Nickerson, Lacas, & Sandvik, 2002 between dierce and life satyrartion i, due to both preex- lkaley & Wearing, 190, Marka & Fleming, iwy. Thas, even isting differences and lasting changes folloning the event. when crusa-sectional studies show that a past life event is or is not associated with subjective well-being, it is difficult to de- termine whether within-pemon changes in well-being have ac- tually occured. Without such information, it is impossible to wat suxrii Grdir in hation subjective well-being is that life events do not seem to have a strong eflect on happiness and life satisfaction Although people of becoeming disabled, losing their job, or draw strong conclusions about adaplation effects. In the current study, I examined long-term changes in life satisfaction befoee and alter divorce. Cross-sectional studies have consistently shown that marital statius is associaled with life not saffer long-term emational cosngurnces from satisfaction, with married people reparting higher levels than afect well-being divorced people ( these events, Most studhes show that life events for only short perionds of time, and that pople have an amazing Myers, 1999), Yet lomgitudinal ability to adapt to alast any life cirecumstance (Briekman, Haring-Hidore, Stock, Okun, &Witter;, 1985; evidence about the processes that are responsible for these effects is sparse and inconclusive. Most di-Bulman, 1978, Firederick & Laxwcslein. IPP; longitudinal studies are limited by small sample sizes, shor durations, or few measurement occasions (see Johnson& W 2002, and Lucas, Clark, Georgellis,& Diener, 2003, for reviews) In addition, most studies have started tracking people very elos st to the time of divorce, which means that preevent lesels of wel Headey & Wearing, 1989 Suh, Diener,&Fujita;, 1996). In fact, adaptation effects appear to be so strong and so ubiquitous that some researchers have suggested that emotions are regulated by points (Brickman&Campbell;, 1971, Headey & Wearng 198, being are not known. Finally, the few long-term pruspectin 1992). People may temporarily move away from their average studies that exist have arrived at conflicting conclusions ab level, but over time, bedonic adaptation returns them to baseline. adaptation effects. For example, Booth and Amato (1991) fou that adaptation to divorce was complete, but when Johnson a Wu (2002) analyzed the same sample of participants (with additional wave of data and a different analytic model).t Address correspondence to Richard E.Lucas, Department of Pay- chology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824; e-mail: found that divorce was associated with permanent change lacasri@msu.ndu. levels of distress. Copgright 2005 American Psycholegical Society

Explanation / Answer

The general topic of this article is some wounds do not heal with time.

Previous research about the healing of wounds with the time indicated that people come out of the tragedies of life as time passes.

The goal of this longitudinal study was to find if the emotional scars of divorce are healed with time and do people return to their baseline. It was found that with time people improve but the return to baseline does not happen as the trauma is difficult to overcome.     

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