Withdrawing Divorce Petitions:

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Abstract
Social exchange theory is often used to explain why couples marry and divorce, but there are few attempts to test the theory. In this paper we test the empirical utility of an exchange model for predicting divorce or withdrawel of divorce petitions. The model used considers material, symbolic, and affectional rewards, costs and alternative attractions for relationships. Two data sets are used to test the model. The first is court records data for those who withdrew their petitions versus those who divorced. The second is interviews of suburban Cleveland, Ohio men and women who filed for divorce but subsequently withdrew their divorce petitions. Discriminant function analyses indicate that an exchange model can predict divorce versus petition withdrawel. Implications for therapeutic practice are discussed.

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