E. Mavis Hetherington For Better or For Worse: Divorce Reconsidered (Summary) The article summarizes the findings presented in the book For Better or For Worse: Divorce Reconsidered. The first part of the article takes up three of the most frequently asked questions about divorce: Why do marriages fail? (Many different factors can contribute); Should we stay together for the sake of the adults? (Even though divorce is stressful, most adults recover after one or two years and go on to live better lives); Should we stay together for the sake of the children? (Sometimes children benefit in the long run from a divorce, sometimes not). The article shows that although popular opinion, clinicians, and the media believe that most people from divorced families suffer severe, long lasting adverse effects from marital break up, this is not supported by the research findings of the most comprehensive longitudinal study of divorce and remarriage ever carried out. This study involved 1400 families and 2500 children, some studied for as long as 32 years. Most people are initially distressed by the experience of divorce, but the vast majority of adults and children also are able eventually to cope with their new life situation, to build reasonably satisfying lives, and emerge as competent individuals functioning within the normal range of adjustment. Although there is a two-fold increase in emotional, behavioral, social, and academic problems in children in divorced and remarried families over those found in children from non-divorced families, seventy-five to eighty percent are adjusting reasonably well, and some are enhanced by dealing with the challenges of divorce and escaping from a conflictual, abusive, or deleterious family situation. Enhancement is more likely to be found in the adjustment of women and girls, than in men and boys. Close personal relationships played an important role in resiliency in coping with divorce. For adults the formation of a new intimate relationship and for children the involvement of a supportive, warm, but firm adult, usually a parent, were critical protective factors in dealing with the stresses of marital transitions. It is the diversity of outcomes following divorce, not the inevitability of adverse outcomes, that is striking. Although on the average, children and adults in divorced and remarried families may confront more stresses and show more problems in family relations and personal adjustment than those in nondivorced families, the vast majority are resilient and able to cope with, or even benefit from their new life situation.