Predictors of adjustment to divorce of Palestinian Israelis: Shari'a court procedure and outcomes

This article examines the association between features of legal proceedings in divorce and the emotional adjustment of divorced persons among a heterogeneous, mixed-gender sample of 312 divorced Muslim Palestinian citizens of Israel. The findings show that legal factors had only a limited association with the emotional adjustment of the respondents. The only legal factor studied that contributed significantly to the respondents' adjustment was their satisfaction with the duration of the legal process. Neither satisfaction with treatment of the case nor with the legal representation made a significant contribution. Nor did any of the objective features of the process: initiation, prior attempts to resolve the conflict, prior suits for divorce, representation in court, or the actual duration of the court proceedings. In contrast, socio-demographic factors and post-divorce life changes did have an impact. Being better educated, employed, and male predicted better adjustment, as did having remarried and having better housing conditions than before the divorce.