The poll, which closed last July, asked divorcing or divorced web-surfers, "How long did you (or will you) wait after your divorce to start dating again?" The site asked the question separately to male and female readers.

There were 735 responses from women and 340 from men. On the female side, exactly two-fifths of respondents said they waited or would wait a full year before dating again, followed by 22% who would start dating immediately. 14% of women said they would wait between six and twelve months, 12% would wait between one and three months, and 11% would wait between three and six months.

Of the male respondents, 14% said that they would wait at least a month to start dating again, 13% would wait six to twelve months, and 11% would wait three to six months.

In the aggregate results, 26% of respondents answered that they would start dating immediately after divorce, while 14% would wait between six and twelve months, followed by 13% who would wait between one and three months and 11% who would wait between three and six months.

So it would appear that the effect divorce has on your enthusiasm and optimism about dating depends on your situation and who you are. Perhaps some people are very eager to start afresh after a broken relationship, while others are left with a bad taste in their mouths, or at least are wary of making another bad choice. In general, it's usually wiser to wait a short while, until your emotions are in check, before you start the dating process again. And in the meantime, there's certainly no shame in being single.

To see the results of past DivorceMagazine.com polls, click here.