DOI: 10.26466/opusjsr.1979843 ISSN: 2791-9781

Micro-to-macro perspectives on divorce: Neurochemical processes, genetic susceptibility, and societal dynamics

Leyla Sıla Ercan
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This study aims to examine divorce not merely through visible causes such as communication problems, infidelity, economic difficulties, or interpersonal incompatibility, but through the more implicit biopsychosocial and psychophysiological dynamics that may accompany the dissolution of marital union. The research was conducted within a qualitative research approach; drawing on the field experiences of family counselors, it examines their evaluations of psychological, biological, neurochemical, genetic, and environmental factors that they consider may be associated with the visible problems observed in divorce processes. Within this scope, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 family counselors, and the data obtained were analyzed through thematic analysis. Family counselors’ accounts suggest that divorce cannot be explained solely by current conflicts between spouses; rather, it should be understood in relation to multilayered processes such as temperament traits, genetic susceptibility, attachment experiences, relationship patterns learned within the family, emotion regulation capacity, hormonal and physiological changes, the sleep-fatigue cycle, problems related to sexual intimacy, and neurochemical influences. However, these factors are not interpreted as fixed determinants that directly cause divorce, but as background dynamics that gain meaning through their interaction with existing relationship patterns, spousal support, social conditions, and individual coping capacities. In conclusion, the findings highlight, from the perspective of family counselors, the importance of addressing divorce within a holistic framework that considers biological, psychological, relational, and social layers together, particularly for family counseling practices and interdisciplinary intervention processes.

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