Changing one’s status on a questionnaire

A friend mentioned the other day that he had filled out some online questionnaire and noticed that among the choices were “single,” “married” and “divorced.” Other possible answers may have been included, but he said he wondered what factors were included in helping someone decide if they were “divorced” or “single.”

It is a curious question.

Does “single” mean never married? Does one change from “single” to “married” and then possibly “divorced?” Or does someone who has been through a divorce become “single” again at some point? And if that is true, what determines when that change is made?

Does one become “single” when they have recovered from the pain of the divorce and are ready to date again or just when they are tired of being associated with the former spouse, even in terms of no longer being with that person?

Is it all just in determining one’s frame of mind? Does clicking the radio button next to the word “divorced” on a computer make someone feel “damaged” or less of a person?

None of this earth-shattering stuff, unless you’re a college professor trying to write a tome on the psychology of divorce. We realize that the questionnaire actually is an attempt by advertisers to reach a more susceptible audience. But it does make you wonder what might cause someone to change the way they answer such a question.

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Posted in Communications, Culture, Family, Internet
Tags: college, curiosity, divorce, divorved, former spouse, married, pain of divorce, poll, professor, psychology, questionnaire, self-image, single, status