THE STRUCTURE OF SEPARATED WOMEN'S COMMUNICATION WITH THEIR NONPROFESSIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL NETWORKS

This study assessed separated women's communication with their social network members—family, friends, clergy, attorneys and therapists. Women and their social network members were asked about the frequency and timing of their communication pre‐ and post‐separation. Of particular interest to therapists is the finding that women seem to communicate with therapists before they begin to seriously think about separating and after they have made the decision, but not during the decision‐making process. Implications of this finding are discussed.