Divorce statistics are just numbers, and are not necessarily representative of making divorce more or less likely. But let’s have a look at some of the statistics that show which groups divorce more or less often.
Age of Marriage
Divorce is more common amongst couples who marry young. Almost half of those who marry very young (under 18 years of age) divorce, with this reduced to around a quarter for those who marry after the age of 25. After the age of 25 the statistics don’t change much.
Divorce occurs more amongst couples where women are older, than where men are older or they are the same age. This is the case where an age gap is less than five years; where it is more than this the divorce ratio is higher whichever spouse is older.
Family Backgrounds
A higher percentage of people whose parents divorced end up going through a divorce themselves. This is even more the case where their parents re-married. Those bought up within a religion divorce less, with the specific statistics varying between different religions.
Cohabitation before Marriage
There are certain groups where cohabitation more regularly leads to marriage. These include those who value religion, those who come from families with higher education and higher income, and couples where the woman is employed.
Roughly half of couples who marry nowadays live together first. However, according to statistics this makes a long-lasting marriage less likely, with divorce more common amongst couples who had live together prior to marriage than those who did not. People who lived with more than one different partner before they got married divorce even more often.
Children before Marriage
Divorce is more common among those who have children prior to getting married. This is the case whether they have married the other parent of their child or not.
Second Marriages
A higher percentage of second marriages fail than first marriages. This is why the overall divorce rate is around 50%, with the divorce rate for first-time marriages only just over 30%. More second marriages fail if this marriage took place when one or both partners were from a single parent family, have a lower level of educations, or were under the age of 25 at the time of their second marriage.
Over half of those who marry for a second time are re-married within five years of their first marriage ending. This happens more for those with no children and higher incomes.
Children
Divorce occurs more where couples have daughters than sons, with a five percent difference. The difference is wider where there are several daughters compared to several sons. Couples who have had twins or triplets divorce more regularly than those who do not.
The Role of Men
According to statistics, the more men help out the less likely they are to divorce. This is the case whether it comes to cleaning, cooking, or playing an active role in bringing up children.
Obviously every relationship is different, and just because a couple fits some of the examples above does not mean divorce is more or less likely. It is, though, an interesting look at some generalisations when it comes to this subject.
Andrew Marshall ©
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