Has the divorce rate really remained at 50 percent in the U.S. over the last decade? While many previous reports have said that the divorce rate has been steady and that half of all marriages will end in divorce, this may not really be the case.
The main objection to the claim that the divorce rate is at 50 percent is because researchers may not be accurately analyzing and comparing the marriage and divorce rate. The issue is that it is difficult to determine the divorce rate in a given year because most of the people getting married during one year are not the same people getting divorced.
Some experts say that the divorce rate and marriage rate need to be analyzed separately to really determine the actual number of divorces that are happening each year because the marriages started during different years.
While the issue over analyzing the divorce rate continues to be debated, the Centers for Disease Control reported that the divorce rate has decreased during the last few years. The factors contributing to this are unknown but a big factor could be that the marriage rate has also decreased during the last few years as well, meaning that there are fewer marriages that can end in divorce.
The divorce rate is constantly discussed by the media and understanding the divorce rate can help individuals and couples struggling with their own marriage. However, it may be more important to research the causes of divorce to help couples understand that they are not alone as well as address what considerations should be made for divorcing couples.
Source: Your Tango, “What’s Up With The Divorce Rate?” Ashleigh Schmitz, April 1, 2013