Divorce Statistics

  Here are some statistics on divorce that I found from "Divorce in Psychosocial Perspective: Theory and Research" by Joseph Guttman.

1.  Divorced people are more likely to be found in urban areas as opposed to rural areas.
2.  Divorce rates are highest in the western part of the country and lowest in the northeast.
3.  There is an inverse relationship between divorce rates and social class when education or income are used as indicators - the higher the social class, the less likely there will be divorce.
4.  The divorce rate for someone that has divorced once previously is doubled.  It is even higher for people who have been married three or more times.  The divorce rate is lowest for remarried widows or widowers.
5.  The divorce rate for men who marry in their teens is twice as high than for men who marry in their 20's.  The same proportion holds for women who marry at 18 or 19.  For women who marry younger, the divorce rate is three times as high than women who marry in their 20's.
6.  Divorce generally happens early in marriage.  The third year of marriage is the peak year for the number of divorces being granted.
7.  People who attend religious services are less likely to divorce.  People undergoing stressful experiences like unemployment or the death of a child are more likely to divorce.


  These statistics do not provide causality for divorce.  Each cause may be different on a case by case basis.  However, these common characteristics seen in divorce statistics are interesting.


From what I read, there are definitely circumstances in which divorce is necessary, but with no-fault divorce laws people are more likely to give up and divorce rather than work through any issue that may be hurting their marriage.