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The Bad News? Child Support and Alimony – Poll Finds Only 25% Receiving All
of It.
The Good News? Divorce Can Lead to Self Improvement both Physically and Materially.
NPB, Florida. January 17, 2008: A GFK Roper poll commissioned by
www.divorce360.com
found some interesting data on divorce.
Financial Support is an issue:
One in four (24%) divorced Americans are supposed to receive child support or alimony,
but the majority are not receiving all that they are entitled too. Of those that
are suppose to receive child support or alimony, only 25% are receiving all of it.
Three in ten, 29%, are not receiving any of it, while 17% are only receiving some
of it. Fourteen percent of those entitled to financial support have given up trying
to receive it and 6% are fighting to get what they deserve.
Marisa Porto, Editor of www.divorce360.com explains: I assumed most people paid
their child support and alimony. The poll results were shocking, really. Naturally
I have heard of dead beat parents. But the numbers of people who aren't receiving
any support or have given up any hope they'll get it, I never realized the numbers
were that high. We hope that our site helps raise awareness of this issue. And for
those struggling with it, we hope the site offers content that can help and a community
of support.”
Self improvement and shopping:
Divorce can lead to change both in terms of self-improvement and new purchases.
At least one in three (36%) divorced Americans report losing weight during or right
after a divorce, while a similar number (33%) changed or got a new job. Many went
shopping with -30% buying a car, 28% buying furniture, 25% buying a house or apartment,
and 22% going on vacation. Two in ten, (20%), changed their appearance or went back
to school.
Porto notes: “Divorce forces us to change, whether we want to or not, according
to our poll. With your whole world turned upside down, you can need everything from
a new bank account to a new place to live. And once you've dealt with those daily
needs, you may find yourself wanting to reconnect with who you are. You may lose
weight, decide to run a marathon or go on vacation. Or maybe you'll consider something
even more drastic like changing jobs and moving across the country. The poll shows
us that after the divorce, women in particular, find the need to reinvent their
world.”
Gender plays a roll:
The poll found that women were significantly more likely than men to change or get
a job (41% vs. 25%), change their appearance (25% vs. 13%) and go back to school
(27% vs. 11%).
About divorce360.com: Provides help, advice and community for people contemplating,
going through or recovering from divorce and the issues around it – custody, child
support, alimony and litigation. The site is a unique blend of editorial and user-generated
content. Launched in November 2007 by executives formerly with Bankrate, Procter
& Gamble and Gannett, divorce360.com is headquartered in North Palm Beach, FL.
About the GFK Roper Poll: For entire poll results, please contact
Paula Sirois at
paula@smallponds.com or cell: 561 324 8116. Methodology: The results
contained in the poll report are based on telephone interviews conducted from September
7th to September 9th and then again September 14th to September 16th, 2007. The
study was conducted in two waves. In the first wave, a total of 767 interviewers
were conducted among respondents married/separated/widowed or divorced. A second
poll was carried out among 802 adults with the same marital status. In total, 1569
interviews among 860 females and 709 males were done. The margin of error for this
study is the combined study is +/- 2.6 percentage points and is higher for subgroups.
For more poll results click here.
About GFK Roper Public Affairs & Media: GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media
is a division of GfK Custom Research, North America. Specializing in customized
public opinion polling, media & communications research, and corporate reputation
measurement -- in the US and globally. In addition to delivering a broad range of
customized research studies, GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media draws from GfK’s syndicated
consumer tracking services, Roper Reports® US and Roper Reports® Worldwide, which
monitor consumer values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors in the US and 30 other
countries. Headquartered in New York, GfK Custom Research, North America is part
of the GfK Group. With home offices in Nuremberg, Germany, the GfK Group is among
the top-five market research organizations in the world. Its activities cover five
business divisions: Custom Research, Retail and Technology, Consumer Tracking, Media,
and Healthcare. In addition to 13 subsidiaries in German, the GfK Group has more
than 130 subsidiaries and affiliates in over 70 countries. For more information,
visit
www.gfkamerica.com.