Social Aspects of Silent Divorce in Saudi Society: An Empirical Field Study on A Sample of Families in Riyadh

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the social aspects of silent divorce in the Saudi society, whereby it focused on three main aspects of the phenomenon, namely: the causes of silent divorce; its manifestations and the most important effects accompanying such form of divorce. In addressing the subject matter, the empirical fieldwork adopted social survey as its method for data collection. A questionnaire was specifically designed and applied on a purposive sample of 188 case. The results study revealed a number of important results most important of which are: 1) For causes of divorce, kin intervention (spouses relatives) in spouses affairs, the presence of problems associated with the intimate relationship between the couple and emotional apathy. As for the manifestations of silent divorce, it was shown by the study that it can be attributed to lack of emotional interest, sporadic or scarcity of intimate/sexual relations and the dominance of negative attitudes between the married couple. The study further showed that silent divorce has deep impacts on family relations at large and that it extends to include children specifically.