Divorce After Adoption - More Myths About Divorce

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Divorce: More Myths and Facts

Myth: Half of all marriages will end in divorce eventually.
Fact: That oft-quoted but misleading statistic came from a Census Bureau report that counted about one million divorces in the same year that 2 million weddings took place. But 54 million marriages were already in existence that year. The truth is much more positive. A Harris poll concluded that only about 1 in 8 US marriages, or 12 and a half percent will eventually end in divorce. This means that in any single year, about 2 per cent of all existing marriages are dissolved, not 50 percent. (One of the well-established web sites that names and quotes the various studies is Truth or Fiction.) Also, divorce rates vary a great deal from state to state and city to city, and rise or fall sharply according to changes in the divorce laws. Other local factors such as a weather disaster can temporarily affect the divorce rate. The rate can also shift among various income and age groups. At their most accurate, divorce rates are culled nationally and over long periods of time.
Myth: Divorce is more likely when you have kids.
Fact: Divorce rates are highest, by far, among the young, the recently married, and among childless couples, and always have been. The more children you have, the less likely you are to divorce. Divorce happens in large families, too, but less often. It is also true that among families with children, divorce is more common among those with older children and less common among those with infants and pre-schoolers.
Myth: Infidelity causes most divorces.
Fact: Infidelity is just one of several common reasons why people end their marriages. Some of the other major factors are abandonment, drug use including alcohol, felony conviction, mental illness, money arguments, poverty, infertility, and violence.
Myth: America is "Divorce Central" and it's only getting worse.

Fact: Yes and no. America currently leads the world in the percentage of divorces but our rate has been fairly steady in the last three decades and has gone down for periods of time. Studies show that making divorce easier with "no-fault" laws tends to cause the rates to rise. In times of economic depression, there is always less divorce. In times of war and prosperity, there is more of it. For instance, divorce rates doubled during WW II after dropping during the Great Depression. People who point to divorce stats as proof that marriage is failing as an institution do not understand the cyclical nature of divorce rates. Overall, marriage is very sound in the USA.

More of this feature
Page 1: Introduction & Online Support
Page 2: Adoption and Divorce: Facts & Fantasy
Page 3: More Myths About Divorce
Page 4: Preparing to Divorce
Page 5: To-Do List: First Week
Page 6: To-Do List: First Six Months
Page 7: To-Do List: First Two Years

_{Copyright © 2003 Rita Laws and Nancy Ashe. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form without written consent.}

~ Rita Laws, Ph.D.

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