USA divorce rate at lowest level since 1970

[Cowperson]

Interesting article looking at the tumbling USA divorce rate, now at its lowest level since 1970, the reasons for it and who is succeeding and who is not.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18600304/

My 22nd anniversary is coming up!!

EDIT: Coincidentally, an article on the $161 billion per year USA wedding industry.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...id=discussions

Cowperson

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

My 22nd anniversary is coming up!!

Congrats, Cow! My 1st one is just around the corner....I have a bit to go yet.

Without having read the article...and just some mindless ramblings...I wonder how much the divorce rate decreasing is tied into the (and this is an assumption) actual marriage rate decreasing as well. I.e. did the article talk about that? Did it include or exclude common-law? Etc. If I remember correctly, there is a rising percentage of single people, which would obviously affect the marriage and divorce rate .

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by RedHot25

Congrats, Cow! My 1st one is just around the corner....I have a bit to go yet.

Without having read the article...and just some mindless ramblings...I wonder how much the divorce rate decreasing is tied into the (and this is an assumption) actual marriage rate decreasing as well. I.e. did the article talk about that? Did it include or exclude common-law? Etc. If I remember correctly, there is a rising percentage of single people, which would obviously affect the marriage and divorce rate .

Some experts say relationships are as unstable as ever — and divorces are down primarily because more couples live together without marrying. Other researchers have documented what they call “the divorce divide,” contending that divorce rates are indeed falling substantively among college-educated couples but not among less-affluent, less-educated couples.

“Families with two earners with good jobs have seen an improvement in their standard of living, which leads to less tension at home and lower probability of divorce,” said Andrew Cherlin, a professor of public policy at Johns Hopkins University.

America’s divorce rate began climbing in the late 1960s and skyrocketed during the ’70s and early ’80s, as virtually every state adopted no-fault divorce laws. The rate peaked at 5.3 divorces per 1,000 people in 1981.
But since then it’s dropped by one-third, to 3.6. That’s the lowest rate since 1970.

How individuals view the relevance of money is a frequent irritant in relationships . . . . .

If couples have money, I can see the irritation level between them being less than it would be for those who are under constant pressure from a lack of money.

Cowperson

[troutman]

I think one reason the divorce rate is down, is people are getting married later in life. These marriages tend to be more successful.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by RedHot25

Without having read the article...and just some mindless ramblings...I wonder how much the divorce rate decreasing is tied into the (and this is an assumption) actual marriage rate decreasing as well. I.e. did the article talk about that? Did it include or exclude common-law? Etc. If I remember correctly, there is a rising percentage of single people, which would obviously affect the marriage and divorce rate .

yeah, i think you need to read the article.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by RedHot25

Congrats, Cow! My 1st one is just around the corner....I have a bit to go yet.

Without having read the article...and just some mindless ramblings...I wonder how much the divorce rate decreasing is tied into the (and this is an assumption) actual marriage rate decreasing as well. I.e. did the article talk about that? Did it include or exclude common-law? Etc. If I remember correctly, there is a rising percentage of single people, which would obviously affect the marriage and divorce rate .

Yes it did suggest that fact, I did not find much encouragement reading the article. And it said many more couples are just cohabitating, some relationships producing children, some not. They suggested that when these relationships fall apart, they should be considered as a divorce too. However, it did not sound to me like they included statistics from this group.

The only improvement I could see from this article is among those where family income is sufficient enough to avoid a lot of domestic problems about finances. The article said that among low income earners, the divorce rate is not changing, the trend for high divorce rate continues there.

[RedHot25]

Ok, ok, next time I will read the article - to the heck with writing a grad paper while I scan CP

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by troutman

I think one reason the divorce rate is down, is people are getting married later in life. These marriages tend to be more successful.

I was at a wedding last weekend where the couple getting married was in their mid 30's and have 2 kids, and have been together for like 8 years. Chances are that marriage will work. I don't have the stats but I'm guessing that today a lot of young people who mistakingly end up getting pregnant aren't as inclined to rush into getting married as they used to be. I suspect a higher than normal number of those marriages ended up in divorce.


Re: Money, yes that evil thing, I can say without a doubt that it's the most contentious thing in my marriage. My wife is a very free spender, and I'm pretty much as cheap as they come. The thing is that I think statistically we'd rate in the top 5% nationally in terms of house hold income yet my wife tells me last night that she wishes money wasn't an issue and that she coud spend money on stuff like her sister can whenever she wants. Of course her sister is 8 years older than her and 8 years ago her husband wasn't a multi millionaire like he is today.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I was at a wedding last weekend where the couple getting married was in their mid 30's and have 2 kids, and have been together for like 8 years. Chances are that marriage will work. I don't have the stats but I'm guessing that today a lot of young people who mistakingly end up getting pregnant aren't as inclined to rush into getting married as they used to be. I suspect a higher than normal number of those marriages ended up in divorce.


Re: Money, yes that evil thing, I can say without a doubt that it's the most contentious thing in my marriage. My wife is a very free spender, and I'm pretty much as cheap as they come. The thing is that I think statistically we'd rate in the top 5% nationally in terms of house hold income yet my wife tells me last night that she wishes money wasn't an issue and that she coud spend money on stuff like her sister can whenever she wants. Of course her sister is 8 years older than her and 8 years ago her husband wasn't a multi millionaire like he is today.

And I read a very interesting article on these type of long term relationships that led to marriage somewhere down the road and the statistics in that article, suggested the exact opposite. And interestingly, I attended a wedding of exactly this type of previous arrangement, and the couple has since split up!!! Lived together for 10 years, married, split up 18 months later.

Of course, statistics can always be bent or manipulated, but what the article I read suggested is that the problem is committment took so long to come, that for some reason or other, they thought they had lived together long enough to finally commit to each other long term, but late committment suggested not a lasting committment.

It suggested that committment and being able to live together long term do not necessarily equate.

[Incinerator]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

The thing is that I think statistically we'd rate in the top 5% nationally in terms of house hold income yet my wife tells me last night that she wishes money wasn't an issue and that she coud spend money on stuff like her sister can whenever she wants. Of course her sister is 8 years older than her and 8 years ago her husband wasn't a multi millionaire like he is today.

Wouldn't you already be a multi-millionaire? Or did Mrs. Sylvanfan spend all that top level income on shoes?

Reminds me of that joke...

Multi-Millionaire gets interviewed by journalist:

Journalist: "What made you a Multi-Millionaire?"

MM: "My Wife"

J: "Wow, she must be quite the woman."

MM: "Ohhh Yeah, tell me about it, 10 years ago before I met her I was a Multi-Billionaire."

J: " "