Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 52:565–585, 2011 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1050-2556 print/1540-4811 online DOI: 10.1080/10502556.2011.619902 “It Is Not a Big Deal, I Can Do It, Too”: Influence of Parental Divorce on Professional Women’s Marital Experience in Turkey SERAP KAVAS Sociology Department, Suleyman Sah University, Istanbul, Turkey AYSE GUNDUZ-HOSGOR Department of Sociology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey This article reports on a study of how parental divorce affects the marriage and divorce experiences of professional women in Turkey. Drawing on the retrospective accounts of eight profes- sional women in relation to their own divorce and those of their parents, this study highlights the role of parental divorce and cul- tural context in adult children’s attitudes, beliefs, and experiences regarding their own union formation. Based on this small qual- itative sample, results demonstrate that parental divorce affected women’s entire lives, with considerable impact on their commit- ment to marriage and view of divorce in general. They learn from their parents that marriages can be broken when they do not function properly. As a result, instead of being more patient or self- sacrificing, as is frequently advised to women in Turkish society, the women in this study readily tended toward divorce as a viable solution to marital problems. An earlier version of this article was presented at the International Sociological Association Family Research Committee, Oslo, Norway, June 15–17, 2009. We appreciate the comments and suggestions made by participants at this presentation. The authors wish to thank the Fulbright Commission for awarding Serap Kavas a grant for her studies in the United States. We wish to thank Arland Thornton, Meeta Pradhan, Dilek Cindo˘ glu, and Tahir Abbas for their helpful comments on the article. We also thank Nancy Barr and Amanda Schuetz for their editorial help. Finally, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. Address correspondence to Dr. Serap Kavas, Suleyman Sah University, Sociology Department, Hayriye Dumankaya Yerleskesi, 34865, Istanbul, Turkey. E-mail: skavas@ssu. edu.tr 565