Question: Divorce

Answer:
Research confirms that the proportion of all marriages first, second, or more ending
in divorce increased dramatically since the 1950s, when one in four marriages ended in divorce.
By 1977 the ratio was one divorce to every two marriages. Since 1977 the ratio of divorces to
marriages had tended to level off and has held relatively steady. (Crooks & Baur, 2014, p.388).
Some of the reasons that divorce has become much more common is speculated to be
because of the ease of obtaining no-fault divorces since the liberalization of divorce laws since
1970. (Crooks & Baur, 2014, p. 389). Divorce has also become much more affordable, simple,
and because divorce is happening so much more frequently, the social stigma has decreased over
time.
Another very common thought reason to lead the high divorce rates is the increased
independence of women, with this, women are starting to earn more than their husbands, leading
women to gain financial independence and assist in the decision to divorce their husbands.
Further research has indicated that age is a large factor in marriages that end in divorce. It
has been shown that people who marry in their teens, the marriage typically ends in divorce.
Where if, you get married in your thirties, the chances of divorce are significantly lower.
Because of divorce becoming more and more common, there have been numerous studies
done to attempt to indicate the reasons for divorce to take place. The researchers readily admit
that the study cannot identify whether peoples perceptions of their divorce represent actual
causes or are after-the-fact reconstructions. In the randomly selected national sample of divorced
individuals, the responders gave infidelity as the most commonly reported cause of divorce.
(Crooks & Baur, 2014, p. 389). Other reasons for divorce include but are not limited to lack of
communication, incompatibility, changes in personality, growing apart, there are also more
severe reasons that can lead to divorce, which can be physical/emotional/sexual abuse, mental
instability, drug/alcohol abuse or various other addiction problems. Men and women typically
gave different reasons for divorce. Women were more likely to report that their husbands
problematic behavior led to divorce, whereas men wer more likely to sat that they did not know
what caused the divorce. (Crooks & Baur, 2014, p.390).
Divorce unfortunately surrounds us all, and I am one of those people. I was one of the
lucky ones that grew up with my parents married to this day. For me though, I got married in
my very early twenties, had a set of twins fairly young, struggled with infertility, and eventually
ended my marriage due to divorce. And at this point am currently remarried, and have added a
child through this marriage.
The end of an important relationship or marriage can offer an opportunity to reassess
oneself and ones past, a process that may lead to a new life. (Crooks & Baur, 2014, p.390).
That is exactly how I think everyone should try and view divorce, or as is commonly said when
one door closes, another one opens.

References

Crooks, R. & Baur, K. (2014). Our sexuality (12th ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.