Changing patterns of marriage and resolution of marital problems: An investigation of general practitioners’ and social workers’ attitudes

This paper, using attitude items and responses to a series of ‘vignettes’, investigates general practitioners’ and social workers’ attitudes towards cohabitation, divorce and the resolution of marital problems. The data suggest that the professional workers hold a range of values across a non-traditional — traditional continuum, and that social workers’ attitudes are less traditional than G.Ps. The implications of such attitudinal differences for the clients and patients of professional workers are discussed.