Divorce Causes

There is a staggeringly large amount of divorces in the United States (US). In total, the US had a recorded total of 2,140,272 marriages in the year 2014 alone, and of those marriages, 813,862 ended up in divorce or annulment (Center for Disease Control). This means that as recently as 2014, there was a divorce rate of approximately 40%. This supports the statistics that the divorce rate for the US has stayed within 40-50% since the 1970’s (Austin Institute, 2014). While the numbers themselves are important, it is also important that the causes for the high divorce rate be explored, so that it can be known what pitfalls to avoid when participating in such an important union as marriage. There are many causes of divorce in the US such as conflicting gender roles, socioeconomic status, religious conflicts, physical abuse, emotional abuse, alcohol addictions, and many more (Amato & Previti, 2003). This paper will look at many of these reasons, but it will also focus on the differing reasons reported by men and women.

The most recent studies show that 42% of Marriages now end in Divorce and that they are on the increase, although recent statistics contradict this fact, as they show that Divorce Rates are decreasing each year. In 2011, there were 117,588 divorces, compared to 121,779 in 2008, and a staggering 153,176 in 2003, a decrease of 30% in 8 years (ONS, 2008-2011)

As generations pass by, divorce is becoming more of a social norm than a problem between two individuals. Divorce once was a private household issue but it became widespread only a couple of decades ago. According to the statistics, in the 1950s only 3% of families got divorced and in the 1960s it was already 10%. In the 1980s, 33% of families opted for divorce due to various environmental factors. Recent studies in Canada today, show that the rate of divorce is changing to an extent such that 4 in 10 marriages end in separation. Divorce is a sensitive concept which lies beyond two individuals simply falling out of love as is both the cause and an effect. The many factors that contribute to divorce are extramarital affairs, financial struggles, and the lack of communication.

Throughout time, practices that were once never used, become more common. In the 1600s divorce was a forbidden practice or a last resort. Since then, laws have changed, and so hasn’t the stigma related with divorce. The guilt and fault that divorce once carried has vanished. According to the book Should I Keep Trying to Work it out, “In the United States, researchers estimate that 40%–50% of all first marriages will end in divorce or permanent separation. The risk of divorce is even higher for second marriages, about 60%.” (Hawkins 42). As it became more common for couples in America to separate, divorce gradually became a normal part of so many lives. Why are so many couples separating now? Through research on EBSCO, and other findings, I will attempt to explain this question that so many people ask in today’s world. The divorce rate in America is drastically increasing over time due to new laws, certain generations, and relationship issues.

These includes changes in social levels over time, death rates, economic conditions and laws –the no-fault divorce laws, the reduction in fertility and the legalization of abortion increased the divorce rates in the 1980s. However, scholars believe that the single most important social change which made divorce possible was the increase in the employment of women and the economic independence that employment provided. For nearly all decades, the lifetime probability of divorce for women of all ages has been increasing. For women born in 1920, the likelihood of divorce by age 55 was 27 percent. This same level of divorce was reached at a much younger age (age 30) for women born in 1950. At least 40 percent of young adult women are likely to divorce. 16 percent are likely to divorce twice if current divorce rates continue. In Document 1, in the 1990s and 2000s, divorce rates appear to decline slightly.

Once women began working at the beginning of the twentieth century due to the war, gender roles drastically changed within households. The world was used to women spending time on housework versus men so it was an adjustment for everyone. In all actuality, when husbands take on a greater role in the house, it will result in lower divorce rates in the long run. Studies show that although this change

There seems to be a growing number of divorces among adults sixty-five years and older in the United States. Between the years 1980 and 2008, divorce among men doubled, rising from five to ten percent, whereas, it tripled from four to twelve percent among women (Manning and Brown,2011). These late divorces have varied reasons for their demise. Feldman reports, “the more frequent case of a husband divorcing from his wife, the reason is often he has found a younger woman.” (p 436). The rise in female employment could be a potential reason for her to seek a divorce. Possibly if she has dealt with an abusive or an

Divorce is a rising social issue in the United States of America, but it is not a new concept. Divorce has been a social issue since at least 1867 when for every 35.9 marriages, one couple were to get a divorce (Huth, 1947). Although divorce is not a new concept, it has become more social acceptance which is raising the divorce rate over the years. Another controversial topic in divorce is when the two people divorcing have a child or children together. Approximately 150,000-200,000 children in the United States of America are affected by divorce yearly (Huth, 1947).

In the 1970s pendulum swung the other way. Comparing these two exceptional decades creates the false impression of a divorce “boom”. How divorce rates might change in the future is impossible to predict. But most indicators suggest that divorce rates have peaked and may decline

Divorce has been allowed for hundreds of years, and throughout the millennia many families have been torn apart, leaving the bewildered children lost in life. Divorce was an option only if the spouse was guilty of adultery, but in the 1960’s a law was passed and became popularly adopted in the 1970s. This law allowed the parents to divorce without either being at fault, and this caused the child/children of the splitting pair to experience a series of major changes in their life. Divorce to this day has the same effects on the child/children of the divorcing parents as it did in the older times. Millennials are the grown children of a gray divorce, which is when a couple over the age of forty divorces. Divorce has detrimental effects both

Since the 1960s, Women have started to enter the workforce; the divorce rate has increased 28% since 1960. Women in the workforce cause divorce rates to rise because couples are spending more time at work than with each other. In the 1960s, most women were housewives; they stayed home to raise the children and take care of household matters. Today, it is common for women to have professional full-time jobs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2011 there were 2,118,000 marriages in the United States and almost half as many divorces (2013). The CDC also reports that only half of all first marriages will reach their twentieth anniversary. Divorce is a topic everyone is familiar with and it has almost become a normal part of life. While it is assumed that more divorces occur now than in the previous generation, the CDC actually reports that divorce rates have dropped over the past twenty to thirty years, though this could be due to the increase in individuals who live together without ever getting married or those who simply separate and cannot afford to become legally divorced. However, it has become a more

People in America are determined to get married and live together. Married couples want to share everything and depend on each other. However, fifty percent of these couples cannot seem to fulfill their marriage vows. As a result, they choose to get a divorce. Divorce is very easy to do nowadays unlike the past. Statistics show that the four main causes of divorce are: financial difficulty, women are more independent, infidelity, and couples are getting married at a young age.

Harvey and Fine say, in their book on the effects of divorce on children, that divorce has increased at a “contagious rate since 1980.” They argue that divorce in America is a “cultural burden of vast proportions,” and insist that the “pain extends beyond the persons who dissolve their relationships to children, parents, and dear friends.” Harvey and Fine

If one were to look in to the trend of working women in America, it would be flabbergasting to see how far they have come since the 19th century. Working women have become a dominant force in the workplace. According to recent analysts, women now control 50 percent of the paid workforce (Pollitt). It is no surprise then that divorce rates have been steadily increasing directly proportional to the divorce rate. There is a clear relationship between the success of women in America and their ability to live independently. Due to this newfound independence, many women no longer feel trapped in marriages that they are not happy in or that they are being either physically or verbally abused. With nearly “80 percent [of women] contributing a major chunk of family income” (Pollitt), it is clear that women have now set the benchmark in equality. They are no longer