Divorce

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Divorce

• History
• Causes
• Consequences

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History

• In 1929, 201.468 divorces were granted in the
  United States, or about one every two minutes.
• Half of the divorces in 1928 occurred during the
  first 7 years of marriage. Only about 2 of
  divorces occurred after the 30th year of
  marriage.
• Of marriages occuring in 1928, 18 would end in
  divorce given the divorce rates in 1928.
• The average age of first marriage in 1920 was 24.
• Source Alfred Cahen, Probablity of Divorce,
  Journal of the American Statistical Association,
  Vol.27, No. 177 (Mar., 1932) 42-46.

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Snapshot of Marital Issues in 1975

• A 1975 survey showed that age of first marriage
  differs little between ethnic groups.
• There is very little difference in the interval
  for first marriage, divorce and remarriage
  between men and women.
• About 4 of every 5 persons of middle age whose
  first marriage ended in divorce eventually
  remarried.
• Intervals between marital events (marriage,
  divorce and remarriage) is shortening.
• Source Current Population Report, Population
  Characteristics, Series P-20, No. 297, Issued
  October 1976.

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Snapshot of Marital Issues in 1990

• For age groups of women under 35, there were
  increases across the board between 1975 and 1980
  in the percent who had divorced, but only one
  significant increase occurred between 1980 and
  1985, or 1985 and 1990.
• In fact, for the latter period, there is an
  indication of a drop in the percent who divorced.
  
• The proportion of women 25 to 29 who were
  divorced from their first husbands declined
  significantly between 1985 and 1990.
• More than 4 out of 10 marriages in the United
  States involved a second or higher-order
  marriage.
• Source Current Population Report, Marriage,
  Divorce and Remarriage in the 1990s, Arthur J.
  Morton and Louisa F. Miller

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Causes

• Divorce rate in US is nearly double that of 1960
  but has declined since its highest point in the
  early 1980s.
• For the average couple marrying in recent years,
  the lifetime probability of divorce or separation
  remains between 40 and 50 percent.
• The background characteristics of people entering
  marriage have major implications for their risk
  of divorce.
• Source for Causes slides, The National Marriage
  Project, The State of Our Unions 2005 and 2006.

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Risk Factors
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Childlessness as Causative Agent
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Causation

• Relationship instability and uncertainty,
  especially the growing trend of cohabitationalso
  drive the recent rise in childlessness.
• Extension of adult life expectancy.
• Lower fertility (as opposed to increased
  fecundity)
• Diminished presence of men in the family home.
• The self has become the most prized commodity of
  the 21st century.
• Cultural devaluation of child rearing.

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1970 v 2000

• In 1970, 57.3 of men, ages 25-29, lived with
  their own children in their household.
• In 1970, 39.5 of men, ages 50-54, lived with
  their own children in their household.
• In 1970, of men ages 30-34, 74.7 lived with
  their own minor children in their household.
• In 1970, of men ages 55-59, 21.6 had their own
  minor children in their household.

• In 2000, 28.8 of men, ages 25-29, lived with
  their own children in their household.
• In 2000, 24.7 of men, ages 50-54, lived with
  their own children in their household.
• In 2000, of men ages 30-34, 46.9 lived with
  their own minor children in their household.
• In 2000, of men ages 55-59, 10.6 had their own
  minor children in their household.

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Consequences to

• The social structure
• The economy
• Public education
• The family
• The government

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Social Structure

• Changes to types of families
• Changes to number of families
• Shrinking family size
• Distance of family domiciles to each other
• Familial ties diminish in importance
• Value of family unit shrinks
• Self importance rises
• Less educated populace

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The economy

• Latch-key children
• Day care as common language
• Rising costs of service economy
• Higher taxes for social services
• Child-support services
• Income reduction for female
• Reduced economic production from children of
  divorce (less likely to attend level of education
  if parents had remained married)

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Public education

• Increased scope of responsibility
• More emphasis on child as responsible for his/her
  production rather than parent/child
• Less focus on education more on socialization
• Less parental involvement in educational process
  and structure

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Government

• Increased scope of responsibility
• Increased financial burden
• Becomes problem solver of family issues
• Replaces parents on many levels
• Determines culpability in divorce
• Determines child maintenance and custodial issues