#divorcerates

It is a common misconception that 50% of American marriages will end in divorce, though it is not far off.  Divorcerates.org estimates that 40% of marriages will end in divorce, though this number should be falling in accordane to divorce and marriage trends (divorcerates.org).

Education has also proven to be an equally important factor in the decline of divorce rates.  Among couples with merely a high school diploma, divorce rates have remained constant.  But among college educated couples, divorce rates have steadily declined (cnbcnews.com).  Most account this to the fact that those with a college education are redefining gender roles in marriage.   According to Stephanie Coontz, a history and family studies professor at Evergreen State College,  “divorces are dropping in the college-educated sector because many spouses are learning how to negotiate marriages based on less rigid gender roles” (MSNBC).  Women are no longer expected to run the household and the household only, but being accepted as equally intelligent and capable employees and business-women.  Thus household chores are being split evenly between husband and wife, evoking a sense of equality in marriages that has never been present before.  Laundry and dishes are no longer a bone of contention among men and women, but a grounds for agreement and appreciation.  As the number of college graduates is rising, the number of divorce rates appear to be falling drastically.

The rate of marriages altogether is also dwindling.  Today, the marriage rate is 6.8 (meaning 6.8 out of every one thousand people are married), while in 2005 the number was approximately 7.5 (CDC).  The biggest factor in this decrease is a rise in gay and lesbian relationships.  In the past decade, over 50% of Americans have come to accept gays and lesbians (GALLUP).  As society’s acceptance has grown, gays and lesbians have begun “coming out” at much younger ages, while mere decades ago people were waiting until after they’d been married and had children to even consider the prospect of homoesexuality.  Gays who were formally marrying due to societal pressure are now entering long-term partnerships.  Even those living in states that have legalized gay marriage refuse to partake until all gays are granted this basic right.  Some more liberal straight couples have vowed not to marry until gays are granted this equality, as well.  Amber Settle, who has been with boyfriend Andre Berthiaume for ten years, claims that among their reasons not to marry is their “belief it would be unfair to get married until same-sex couples across the country had the same opportunity”.

This dwindling number of marriages isn’t merely accountable to a rise in lesbian and gay partnerships, but also a rise in the amount of people who have found that marriage simply isn’t for them.  Marriage is no longer a status quo to solidify relationships. Couples are growing more and more comfortable with the prospect of having children and creating a life together without marrying. In some cases, relationships go awry when they become a “marriage”, which, in this day and age, has come to be seen as a burden.  Couples now view cohabitation as a choice, while marriage has become somewhat inescapable - especially considering our recent economic downturn and the rise in divorce costs.

So arises a new reason for this drop in divorce rates: the economy.  The economy was expected to grow considerably these past few years - thus prices inflated in expectation of this influx of money.  But that influx never came.  In fact, just the opposite occurred, but the prices had already risen and it seemed nothing could be done to reverse that fact.  Divorce costs were no different.  Divorce was growing more and more expensive as incomes were shrinking.  

More optimistic people like to attribute the simultaneous economic downturn and drop in divorce rates to a renewed effort in the success of marriages.  The economy was in the trash, money was sparse, and couples were coming together to trudge through the recession.  But the cold hard truth of the matter is that divorce just became too expensive.  Even those who could afford the divorce alone reconsidered due to alimony and additional utilities costs. Often married couples were living under different roofs and leading entirely separate lives, but they simply couldn’t afford to divorce.  This fact might have forced some couples to reconsider their trifles, but it made most deepen in their resentment towards one another.