As a result of increased societal and legal provisions for a wider acceptance of the practice, divorce rates in America seem to be increasing.
However, some people claim that there will be a slight decrease in divorce rates due to the cost of divorce in tandem with the poor state of the economy.
In fact, couples simply cannot afford to live separately during these very difficult economic times; however, those couples may decide to divorce once the economy gets better – therefore, it is possible that more than 50% of marriages in America will end in divorce in the immediate future.
There are many reasons that couples consider divorce. Filing for divorce is a decision that includes factors such as children, finances, violation of the marital contract, and a couple’s inability to remain together happily.
However, divorce filings are set to decrease in the future, in accordance with a decrease in couples taking part in marriage.
An increase in divorce filings is correlated with couples that marry at a younger age. In addition, there is an increase in divorce filings for childless couples.
Many factors affect the frequency of divorce filings among married couples. There has been a clear and steady increase in divorce rates in America and in other countries as well.
In part, that increase is due to a greater sense of the importance of individual happiness. In other words, people tend to put greater emphasis on their happiness as an individual, as opposed to what is best for the family.
In fact, many people now delay their first marriage until after they have accomplished their individual goals, and as a result, the median age for marriage is much larger than it has been in the past.
In addition, the feminist movement is said to have influenced the rate of divorce filings in the United States. The feminist movement has altered marital expectations for both men and women.
In the past, there were clearly defined roles in marriages based on gender alone. However, today’s standards are significantly different than in the past; couples that are unable to compromise on gender roles often end up getting divorced.
An increase in divorce rates is found among women that have taken part in higher education. That increase is due to those women taking part in careers.
Whereas in the past, women tended to stay home and perform all household duties, including raising the children – men often have had a hard time reconciling the newer feminist ideals for marriage.
In any case, there has been a large statistically significant increase in divorce rates in the United States. The factors that affect those rates are varied and there are no definitive reasons for the increase.
In fact, varied factors found in combination increase the likelihood of divorce, but no single factor can be blamed. There are certain factors that decrease the likelihood of divorce, such as children and getting married at an older age.
However, there are no guarantees and couples have about a 50% chance of remaining married through their lifetime.