Variables associated with the risk of divorce include age at marriage, education, premarital births and conception, religion, parental divorce, and race. (Teachman, 2002)

Those who get married at age 20 or younger are the greatest age risk, with the numbers leveling off in the mid-twenties. When the wife or husban

It appears that the government and the politics that surround it also play a role in the increased divorce rates over the last several decades. The implementation of the no-fault and unilateral divorce laws was intended to be a response to more liberal views of divorce, but it actually triggered an increase in the number of divorces. In fact, it is projected that the divorce rate would have been 6% lower in 1988 had these laws not been passed. (Friedberg, 1998) The government and society has made it easier to obtain a divorce, reduced the social and legal stigma associated with divorce, and reduced the trauma (blame and character assassination) associated with divorce. (Pinsof, 2002)

With separation and divorce becoming such an epidemic, it becomes crucial that research be done and that a full understanding of the topic is attempted. Only in rare instances do we find divorce acting as a positive process. The most shocking research is that which identifies the negative influences that separation and divorce can have on children, sometimes permanently. Researchers are rapidly trying to discover whether divorce is a natural process of evolution, or if all measures should be taken to restore what one would consider norms regarding the institution of marriage. Only through time will we discover what the next century truly holds for this union.

There are many social consequences of divorce, including isolation due to loss of contact with in-laws, mutual friends, and neighbors, but the social factor I wish to focus on is the chance of divorce being related to one’s geographical location. Poorer neighborhoods are often a result of divorce due to lost income, but could it be possible that certain neighborhoods can promote or increase the risk of divorce? Studies suggest that neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage increases the likelihood of experiencing a disrupted family structure over and above the influence of an individual’s own economic and social characteristics. (South, 2001) This may be due to the fact that there is weak support for the institution of marriage in socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. However, this risk declines considerably with the duration of the marriage, is lower for homeowners than renters, but is higher for remarriages than first marriages. (South, 2001)

There also seems to be some evidence to suggest that people bring traits to a marriage that increase the risk for divorce, including antisocial personality traits, depression, and a general history of psychological problems. (Amato, 2000) Neuroticism appears to be present in many of the women who marry in their teen years. (Teachman, 2002)

Some topics in this essay:
Conger Lorenz, Amato Booth, Christensen Brooks, , Rogers DeBoer, William Pinsof, DeKay Greeno, African Americans, McManus DiPrete, Furstenberg Kiernan, risk divorce, divorce children, teachman 2002, separation divorce, children divorce, divorce separation, pinsof 2002, lin gordon conger, amato 2000, children parents, critical period, divorce critical period, simons lin gordon, children parents divorced, conger lorenz 1999,