This new comprehensive handbook presents the most up-to-date scholarship on the causes and predictors, processes, consequences, and policy implications of divorce and relationship dissolution. Featuring contributions from leading scholars from multiple disciplines, this Handbook reviews relationship termination, including variations depending on such factors as legal status, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Chapters distinguish what is known about divorce from what is known about other types of relationship dissolution (dating, cohabiting, etc.). The handbook focuses on the often-neglected processes involved as the relationship unfolds, such as infidelity, hurt, disaffection, and remarriage. It also covers the legal and policy aspects of divorce including mediation, educational programs for parents experiencing divorce, and the demographics and historical aspects of divorce. Diversity is addressed through the inclusion of chapters on gay and lesbian, Hispanic, and African American relationships, and the integration of diversity issues wherever possible. Commentaries from Alan Booth, Robert Weiss, and Ellen Berscheid, provide an overview of the field and recommendations for future research and policy directions. The Handbook of Divorce and Relationship Dissolution is intended for researchers, practitioners, counselors, clinicians, and advanced students in psychology, sociology, family studies, communication, nursing, and other disciplines. The book will also serve as a text in advanced courses on divorce, marriage and the family, and close relationships.