Although it is often said that men prefer their independence, two-thirds of all divorce filings are by women, and most significantly among those over age 50.
". . . rising female labor force participation is also conducive to divorce in that women have the economic autonomy (e.g., employment, retirement benefits) to support themselves outside of marriage. . . . Life-long marriages are increasingly difficult to sustain in an era of individualism and lengthening life expectancies . . ."For background, read Family Demise, as 1/3 of Households are People Alone and also read Marriage Trend: Confined within Church as well as Fewer Get Married, but Stay Married: Census
Also read the dismal stats on divorce following cohabitation-then-marriage.
-- From "Study: Divorce Rate In Older Adults Doubles" posted at CBS Cleveland 7/22/13
. . . a study has found that the divorce rate among older adults has more than doubled since 1980 and one in four persons who gets a divorce today is over age 50.
The goal of the study was to document trends, patterns, and correlate the risk of divorce among older adults. Researchers drew on information collected in the 2009 American Community Survey, which measures divorces that occurred in the past 12 months to estimate the divorce rate for older adults.
The 2009 survey was collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and the sample is weighted to represent the entire U.S. population. Respondents are asked whether they experienced a divorce in the past 12 months as well as whether they were widowed during this time frame.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Marriage Rate Declines To Historic Low, Study Finds" reported by Huffington Post 7/22/13
A new report released Thursday by Bowling Green State University's National Center for Marriage and Family Research found that the U.S. marriage rate is 31.1, or 31 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women. That means for every 1,000 unmarried women in the U.S., 31 of those previously single women tied the knot in the last year. For comparison, in 1920, the national marriage rate was 92.3.
Meanwhile, the average age at women's first marriage is 27 years old, its highest point in over a century.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Divorced Women In America On The Rise, According To New Research" reported by Huffington Post 7/22/13
. . . 15 percent of women in the U.S. are divorced or separated today, compared with less than one percent in 1920. Researchers utilized data from the National Vital Statistics, Decennial Census, and American Community Survey in making their assessment.
Past research has indicated that women file for divorce more often than men. According to a report titled "'These Boots Are Made For Walking': Why Most Divorce Filers Are Women," published by the American Law and Economics Review in 2000, women file more than two-thirds of divorces in the U.S.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "The Gray Divorce Revolution: Rising Divorce among Middle-aged and Older Adults, 1990-2009" by Susan L. Brown and I-Fen Lin, Bowling Green State University
The divorce rate among adults ages 50 and older doubled between 1990 and 2009. Roughly 1 in 4 divorces in 2009 occurred to persons ages 50 and older. Sociodemographic factors, including age group, race-ethnicity, education, and the marital biography were associated with the risk of divorce in 2009. The rate of divorce was 2.5 times higher for those in remarriages versus first marriages. And, the divorce rate declined as marital duration rose.
. . . Many older adults that are currently divorced actually experienced divorce much earlier in the life course.
. . . We anticipate that the rate of divorce among middle-aged and older adults may have increased since 1990 as cohorts (e.g., the Baby Boomers) that came of age during the rapid acceleration of divorce during the 1970s and early 1980s reach age 50 and beyond. Most divorced people eventually remarry and remarriages are at greater risk of divorce than first marriages, meaning that in the coming decades greater proportions of middle-aged and older marrieds—who are actually remarrieds—face a higher risk of divorce.
. . . There is some racial and ethnic variation in the risk of divorce among those ages 50 and older, with Whites (8.7 divorced persons per 1,000 married persons) experiencing the lowest rate of divorce and Blacks the highest (18.6 divorced persons per 1,000 married persons). Hispanics are in the middle (12 divorced persons per 1,000 married persons). The divorce rate also differs by education. Those with a college degree experience a considerably smaller risk of divorce (8.4 divorced persons per 1,000 married persons ages 50 and older) compared to those with lower levels of education (the divorce rate ranges from 9.6-11 divorced persons per 1,000 married persons ages 50 and older among those with less than a college degree). But perhaps the most striking differentials are those for marital biography. The risk of divorce varies dramatically by both marriage order and marital duration. The rate of divorce among those ages 50 and older is 2.5 times higher for individuals in remarriages than first marriages. During middle age, the divorce rate is about 2 times greater for remarrieds than first marrieds. During older adulthood, the differential approaches a factor of 4. In terms of marital duration, the divorce rate among individuals ages 50 and older is 10 times greater for those married 0-9 years versus those married 40 or more years. The rate of divorce declines roughly linearly with rising marital duration. The stark differences in the rate of divorce in first versus higher order marriages and by marital duration suggest that the marital biography is central to the risk of divorce during middle and older adulthood.
To read the entire study above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Violence & Poverty due to Absence of Intact Family
