  We use the continuum shell model approach to explore the resonance width
distribution in unstable many-body systems. The single-particle nature of a
decay, the few-body character of the interaction Hamiltonian, and collectivity
that emerges in non-stationary systems due to the coupling to the continuum of
reaction states are discussed. Correlations between structures of the parent
and daughter nuclear systems in the common Fock space are found to result in
deviations of decay width statistics from the Porter-Thomas distribution.
