Whenever the discussion turns to marriage, many people seem to repeat the phrase that more than half of all marriages don’t survive. However, that trend has reportedly changed. It appears that the divorce rate dropped over the past several years. On the other hand, there may also be fewer brides walking down the aisle here in Ohio and elsewhere.
Attempts have been made to study the correlation between divorce, marriage, education and wealth and how the four may be interconnected. Reportedly, the divorce rate for marriages has dropped significantly for those couples who have been married since the beginning of the 2000s. The numbers suggest that only about a third of those marriages may not survive.
There may be many reasons for the downward trend, but there does seem to be a correlation between education and income levels and the impact these have on a marriage. Studies suggest that couples with a higher level of education and more affluence are more likely to marry and less likely to divorce. Conversely, those whose income and education levels are lower are more inclined to cohabitate rather than marry. Interestingly, it has been noted that women file for divorce the majority of the time, which suggests that they no longer believe they will suffer an economic disadvantage should a marriage dissolve.
There are many reasons why a couple chooses to marry and possibly just as many reasons when they decide to seek a divorce. It would perhaps be presumptuous to suggest that income and education alone can predict whether a marriage will survive. When spouses recognize that the marriage is no longer supportable, each may be emotionally overwhelmed as to how to proceed. Ohio residents have many resources available that can provide the tools and information needed in order to settle a divorce as equitably as possible.
Source: today.com, “Divorce rates are lower, but so are marriage rates“, Meghan Holohan, Dec. 3, 2014