Divorce: Risk Factors

1
Divorce Risk Factors

• Demographic Variables
• Socioeconomic
• Higher SES correlates with lower risk of divorce
• Employment Status
• Low-status occupation are at higher risk
• Unemployment increases risk of divorce
• Wifes employment increases risk of divorce

2

• Demographic Variables
• Educational Level
• The higher the educational level, the lower the
  divorce rate for Whites
• Level of education has negligible affect on
  likelihood of divorce for Blacks
• Womens education beyond college increases the
  likelihood of divorce
• Religious participation
• Frequency of attendance at religious services is
  negatively correlated with divorce rates
• Divorce rates are less to more likely in the
  following order Jews, Catholics, mainline
  Protestants, fundamental denominations, and
  evangelical non-denominational groups

3

• Life Course Factors
• Age at marriage
• The younger the age at marriage the greater the
  likelihood of divorce
• Premarital pregnancy
• Tends to increase the likelihood of divorce,
  especially among adolescents
• The effect is greater for Whites than Blacks
• Remarriage
• Having divorced once increases the likelihood of
  divorce an additional 25

4

• Life Course Factors
• Presence of Children
• Couples with children divorce less frequently
  than couples with children (however 50-60 of all
  divorces included children being present)
• Couples with two children divorce less often than
  couples with one child
• Couples with sons divorce less often than couples
  with daughters
• Parents Divorce
• A parents divorce significantly increases the
  likelihood of divorce

5

• Life Course Factors
• Cohabitation
• Cohabitation increases the likelihood of divorce
• Timing
• The majority of divorces happen by the 7th yr of
  marriage, hence the idea of the 7 year itch
• 5 of all divorces happen within the first year
• 66 of all divorces occur by the tenth year of
  marriage
• 90 of divorces have occurred by the twentieth
  year of marriage