A new study shows that one of the key determinants of divorce is how old you are when you get married. What if we required that anyone under the age of 25 who wanted to get married had to go through counseling or some extra hoops?
Here's a fascinating "divorce calculator" that gives you the odds of divorce based on your life circumstance. According to this, I have a 3% change of getting divorced in the next five years. Sarah Palin's daughter has a 19% chance.
And you?
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Seems odd to me that the calculator doesn't ask for information about kids. Is having children not a significant factor in predicting who will divorce?
I think a more accurate predictor involves characteristics of the couple and their relationship itself. John Gottman, a respected marriage researcher, developed 6 predictors of a troubled marriage which have to do with the ways that a couple interact and deal with the inevitable conflicts in a relationship.
I think age when a couple gets married may appear to be a predictor because it correlates with the ability to avoid the relationship-harming characteristics outlined by Gottman.
Also, to be married in a Catholic Church a couple is required to go through pre-Cana, some "extra hoops." They are typically also encouraged to attend Engaged Encounter.
Finally, I believe most divorces are avoidable with the right kind of couples work. Unfortunately marital counseling doesn't have the best track record in that regard. However, programs such as Marriage Savers and Retrouvaille are more successful in helping hurting couples.
The How long have you been married question didn't go to 44...the length of time I have been married. All it told me was 44% in my catagory were divorced. The other question was N/A! That was no help.
That should be 44 years...and the prediction of the 5 year prediction on divorce? N/A. Guess I'm due to stay married...which works for me.
I think it is totally connected to the level of commitment you have to your marriage! Did you say "til death do us part" and mean it?
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.