6 Divorce Trends that May Surprise You

Did you know that almost half of the marriages in the United States end in divorce, that’s right, a staggering 45% of married couples end up getting divorced? Even more surprising is the fact that this isn’t a new statistic, this has been the case for a long time now. Below we will discuss some more shocking divorce facts.

1) Divorce rate in the United States is dropping

As surprising as it may sound, the divorce rate has actually been decreasing over the last few years, this however is contrary to what you may believe. The truth is that this isn’t solely because there are a greater number of married couples getting divorced, rather this statistic is based on the fact that the number of marriages in the United States is declining, hence a lesser number of divorces. However, it has also been found that the divorce rate in the United States has hit an all-time low in the last 50 years in the year 2019. For every 1000 marriages in 2019, only about 14.9 ended in divorce according to a recent study released by the American Community.

2) Women tend to be happier after getting divorced

Did you know that about 2/3s of divorces are initiated by the woman and not the man? On further analysis of this statistic, a number of reasons were found to be causing factors. 2 of the most common reasons are spousal abuse and child custody. Financially dependent women are found to make up a large fraction of these divorces, a woman’s social circle also plays a huge part. A study conducted by Kingston University London states that women are on average more content and satisfied for up to 5 years following the divorce. In fact, this study invalidates another study published by the Institute of American Values in 2002 which states that unhappily married adults that got divorced were not any happier than unhappily married adults who did not get divorced. A study published by Carphone Warehouse found that women are twice as likely to feel content and happy after getting divorced as compared to men, with 35% of women feeling less stressed as compared to 17% of men. Some other reasons to back up why women feel less stressed after divorce include the fact that women are more likely to seek therapy as compared to men, they are also more likely to take the time to grieve the end of their marriage and come closure and acceptance amongst other healthy coping and healing strategies. Women are also more emotional and rational beings are compared to men and tend to look inward for answers and really reflect on what they did wrong and what they could improve on in the future hence allowing them to heal and come to peace with the situation and let go of the past. Men on the other hand tend to look outward to seek temporary comfort and peace and tend to ignore and repress the trauma and healing they must go through at one point or another in order to get healthy closure. This includes turning to alcohol, drugs, casual sex which is more common among men as opposed to women as women tend to stay fixed on the issue till it is resolved.

3) Adults above the age of 50 make up the largest proportion of people getting divorced in the last decade.

Research published by the National Center for Family and Marriage Research found that between 1990 and 2009, the divorce rate in adults above the age of 50 has doubled. Some of the reasons for this include the fact that people nowadays are getting married at a later age hence resulting in them getting divorced later hence increasing the proportion of adults getting divorced past the age of 50. Another reason may be the large population size of the baby boomer generation. Another possible reason is that adults who have gotten re-married are about 2.5 times more likely to get divorced.

4) The chances of divorce are affected by numerous factors including age, education, religion, background, and area of residence

Did you know that the chances of divorce in California are significantly lower in people with a religious background? It is also lower in those who get married after the age of 25 due to maturity level. Those with a college education are less likely to get divorced as well as those with a higher income. It was even found that certain socioeconomic classes and areas of residence have a higher percentage of adults getting divorced. In fact, the west coast has a higher divorce rate than the east coast. In the year 2012, there were a total of 36,345 divorces and annulments filed in Pennsylvania. Out of these 36,345 divorces, 3,560 of the divorces were found to be in Chester County and Delaware County, Montgomery Country.

5) Many children prefer divorce

One study stated that about 2/3 of children of divorced parents view divorce as a more preferable option in order to resolve marriage problems. On the other hand, less than half of children of married parents (40%) viewed divorce as a viable option for marital issues. 

6) Parent’s marital status is linked to a child’s potential future income as an adult

Did you know that a parent’s marital status and income are found to have an effect on the child’s income when they grow up and start earning? What this means is that a child from a family with high-income married parents is more likely to earn more when they grow up as opposed to a child from a well of high-income single parent.

It is vital to remember that none of the above are fixed facts, rather they are just trends that are found to be based on divorce statistics. However at the end of the day is it important to look at the facts and not just follow your incorrect, jaded instincts whether you like it or not. It may be a hard pill to swallow for some, but it is the only way to come to healthy closure.