Divorce Rates In The 1970s

Fagan, Patrick F., and Robert Rector. "The effects of divorce on America." World and I 15.10 (2000): 56-

These includes changes in social levels over time, death rates, economic conditions and laws –the no-fault divorce laws, the reduction in fertility and the legalization of abortion increased the divorce rates in the 1980s. However, scholars believe that the single most important social change which made divorce possible was the increase in the employment of women and the economic independence that employment provided. For nearly all decades, the lifetime probability of divorce for women of all ages has been increasing. For women born in 1920, the likelihood of divorce by age 55 was 27 percent. This same level of divorce was reached at a much younger age (age 30) for women born in 1950. At least 40 percent of young adult women are likely to divorce. 16 percent are likely to divorce twice if current divorce rates continue. In Document 1, in the 1990s and 2000s, divorce rates appear to decline slightly.

There is a staggeringly large amount of divorces in the United States (US). In total, the US had a recorded total of 2,140,272 marriages in the year 2014 alone, and of those marriages, 813,862 ended up in divorce or annulment (Center for Disease Control). This means that as recently as 2014, there was a divorce rate of approximately 40%. This supports the statistics that the divorce rate for the US has stayed within 40-50% since the 1970’s (Austin Institute, 2014). While the numbers themselves are important, it is also important that the causes for the high divorce rate be explored, so that it can be known what pitfalls to avoid when participating in such an important union as marriage. There are many causes of divorce in the US such as conflicting gender roles, socioeconomic status, religious conflicts, physical abuse, emotional abuse, alcohol addictions, and many more (Amato & Previti, 2003). This paper will look at many of these reasons, but it will also focus on the differing reasons reported by men and women.

Long before 1970, divorce was relatively uncommon. Getting a divorce was very tedious. At that time, you could only get a divorce under grounds of adultery, abandonment, cruelty, intoxication or any other serious reason to no longer be together. What has changed and why has the divorce rate raised to 50% of all marriages? Divorce rates has raised to 50% because of society changes, view of monogamy, and young marriages.

The scholarly article “The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children: A Review,” by Judith S. Wallerstein, explores various studies conducted by psychologists over a twenty year span, about the long term social and psychosocial difficulties experienced by children of divorce. The majority of the research for this particular topic discusses how the problems for these children began long before the actual separation of the parents, a theory that had not been previously researched in full until these studies. After reading the article, it is evident, that often the divorce itself is the last resort of the quarrelling parents. By waiting several years before finally breaking off the failed marriage the parents are unintentionally

Divorce is one of many controversial subjects in family and human development research. What inspired me to critically analyze the article “Does Divorce Create Long-Term Negative Effects for Children?” is the challenge it would be for me to put my bias aside considering I am from a divorced home. After reading the article and analyzing it over and over, I can’t help but think that the writer answering “YES” to this controversial question overlooked many variables and over generalized his findings and research. With Zinsmeister overgeneralizing his research, not considering enough alternate explanations for long-term negative effects divorce, and his lack of relevant information needed to assess reliability and validity are why I find this article to be insightful but not accurate and hope to show why.

Throughout time, practices that were once never used, become more common. In the 1600s divorce was a forbidden practice or a last resort. Since then, laws have changed, and so hasn’t the stigma related with divorce. The guilt and fault that divorce once carried has vanished. According to the book Should I Keep Trying to Work it out, “In the United States, researchers estimate that 40%–50% of all first marriages will end in divorce or permanent separation. The risk of divorce is even higher for second marriages, about 60%.” (Hawkins 42). As it became more common for couples in America to separate, divorce gradually became a normal part of so many lives. Why are so many couples separating now? Through research on EBSCO, and other findings, I will attempt to explain this question that so many people ask in today’s world. The divorce rate in America is drastically increasing over time due to new laws, certain generations, and relationship issues.

Starting from the beginning of the nineteen-sixties is when the evolution of divorces began to rise. More so from the 60s through the 80s the divorce rate began to double. As divorece began to rise it began to be over- determined. According to the online article of “National affairs under the evolution of divorce” connects to the percentage of couples divorcing around this time and what the effects were. “less than 20% of couples who married in 1950 ended up divorced, about 50% of couples who married in 1970 did”. This led to “Approximately half of the children born to married parents in

In addition to, other scholars have elaborated on the higher rates of divorce in America than other countries. The high rate of marital instability has been increasing for decades. Marriage is being sought for personal stability and clarification as a substitution of marital values, there-fore, leading to short term marriages. In the scholarly article written by Frank Furstenberg Jr., Di-vorce and the American Family, the topic about divorce rates being higher due to changes of age composition is proposed. Furstenberg says that the many experts believe that the velocity of changes are due to voluntary dissolution. He also expands on how divorce alters the course of childhood.

The statistics for divorce in the 1990's suggest that nearly sixty percent of marriages end in divorce. Given this startling figure, the assumption can be made that many children will experience some effects caused by the life-changing event called divorce. What is it exactly about divorce that causes negative consequences for these children? In what ways will these children be effected? Will these effects show outwardly? I will attempt to uncover some of the complexities surrounding these psychological questions in the following text. The unsettling fact is: young children of divorced parents face great psychological challenges due to the environmental conditions and changes associated with divorce (Wolchik and Karoly 45).

Children need intact families to flourish. It is hard to imagine that if the family is torn apart, a child can simply adjust to a new situation, home, step-parent, siblings, and entire change of life as they know it without suffering significant effects upon their mental health and development lacks. Despite voices that serve to minimize the effects of divorce on children, this paper will show that the negative effects upon their mental health and development are such that the best solution is to avoid divorce all together. According to Stinson and Jones, “well-being on the road to adulthood for both children and teens hinges on family relationships.”

People in America are determined to get married and live together. Married couples want to share everything and depend on each other. However, fifty percent of these couples cannot seem to fulfill their marriage vows. As a result, they choose to get a divorce. Divorce is very easy to do nowadays unlike the past. Statistics show that the four main causes of divorce are: financial difficulty, women are more independent, infidelity, and couples are getting married at a young age.

In the traditional England society, people were not held the traditional value in marriages which were permanent fixture in life (Hakim, 2003). At the end of 1950s, divorce started an increase trend although the law were no changed in there (S-cool Youth Marketing, 2014). According to The Guardian (06 Feb, 2014) reported that divorce could not help to remain an upward tendency since 1945. In 2012, the population of divorce reached 118,140 which was a lightly more than four times as much as

A question that has been plaguing sociologists for years is the issue of high divorce rates. Since the 80's there has been an extremely high rate of divorce in our country. In statistics I found from 2004 the percentage of divorce was at 47(NCHS). This question has been studied vigorously, sociologist have looked in every direction for one solid reason that our divorce rate is so high, even compared to other developed countries. As of right now, a simple answer has not been found, but various theories have been formed to attempt explaining the problem.

Since during the end of 20th century, the most dramatic change in family life was the increase in the rate of divorce. In the midst of the 19thcentury, the rate of divorce is only about 5% for first marriages. In contrast, the current marriage data have estimate that about half of first marriages end up in divorce (US Census Bureau, 2010). These “increase in marital dissolution has had major impact for the atmospheres in which new generation of children are nurtured and socialized” (Schwartzhoff,