No one likes to talk about divorce, and of course, no one wishes to go through one. Also, there are a lot of myths circulating around divorce, and most people don’t have the right information about it.
You probably have heard many times about the statistics that show that half of all marriages end up in divorce, but the reality is divorce ‘fact’ is just fiction. Even though it became more and more common in the last decade, most people don’t know the most interesting facts about it. For instance, the most common age for ending a marriage, how an ugly divorce can affect children and the current divorce rate in our country.
Before getting to the actual facts, it’s worth mentioning that even if most people associate divorce with a negative feeling, there are still good things that can come out of it. For instance, it gives you the opportunity to start fresh, invest in yourself, and focus on the future.
Read on to discover the top 13 most shocking facts about divorce in the United States!
#Fact: Did you know that the most common time for getting a divorce is during spring and summer?
As data from a study made at the University of Washington has shown, most people file for divorce during spring and summer, the most ‘popular’ months being March and August. Conversely, November and December are the least ‘popular’ months for filing for a divorce, as most Americans are busy spending the holidays with their families.
#Fact: Did you know that there were about 782,038 divorces and annulments in the U.S. in 2018?
While the number appears extremely high, it’s actually interesting that the divorce rate is constantly dropping as time passes. For example, in 2018 America registered only 2.9 divorces per 1,000 residents, excluding data from Indiana, California, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Hawaii. According to the New York Times, the numbers have decreased dramatically in recent years.
According to some statistics, the divorce rate in 2015 was 3.1 per 1,000 people, and 4.0 in 2000.
#Fact: Even though the divorce rates have lowered considerably in the past years, 39% of marriages still end up in divorce even today.
The 39% definitely doesn’t look as scary as the one previously mentioned, where more than 50% of marriages ended up in a divorce, the numbers are still concerning, and it’s indeed something to be wary of.
#Fact: Did you know that 70% of divorced mothers have custody of their children and child support agreements?
More than 13.4 million families separated in 2014, and mothers usually get full custody of their children. Data has shown that five out of six women get custody of their children and half of them receive child support. Conversely, just 30% of fathers have custody after ending a marriage. Additionally, the average child support compensation in the United States is about $430 per month as of 2010, but it could vary based on the parent’s income.
#Fact: Less than half of the parents that have child support agreements receive the whole payment.
30% of child support agreements are ignored completely, while less than half of all child support compensations all across the United States are paid entirely, as data from the CBS has shown. And that’s because most newly divorced couples have to face a lot of financial troubles, which makes the child support payment even more needed.
Additionally, the parent that has full custody of their children is unable to go to court to fight for their child’s rights, as the money is tight. In 2015, more than 29% of mothers lived in poverty compared to about 17% for custodial fathers.
#Fact: The most common age people go through a divorce is 30 years old.
Recent data has shown that more than 60 percent of ended marriages are registered between spouses with ages between 25 and 39. It’s important to mention that 30 is still an average age, as the number of divorces between 50 years old spouses has almost doubled since 1990. Divorcing after 50 years old is definitely harder to handle and can really affect one’s mental health and finances.
And it’s actually very troubling, but according to studies, people who go through a ‘grey divorce’ are more likely to develop depression, than those who have lost a partner. Moreover, ‘grey divorce’ has proven to be especially hard for women who experience a 45% drop in their quality of life, compared to a 21% drop for men, as The LA Times has shown.
#Fact: Alcohol abuse can affect one’s marriage.
Alcohol is toxic for both body and mind, and it can poison your marriage when consumed in large quantities. According to a study conducted by the University of Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions, if one spouse doesn’t consume alcohol and the other is a heavy drinker, their marriage is doomed and chances are it will end up in an ended marriage. Additionally, these ‘dysfunctional’ couples were more likely to call it quits than couples where both partners like to drink.
According to the statistics, 50% of the couples that have an alcoholic member end up divorcing later on. On the other hand, couples who share the same drinking habits, where neither abused alcohol or were both heavy drinkers, 30% ended up ending their marriage in the same time frame.
#Fact: Young girls who grow up without their father’s presence are prone to experiencing trouble in their romantic relationships later on.
According to a study, young girls who grow up without their father tend to experience fewer educational possibilities and an overall weakened physical health compared to girls that have both parents in their life as they grow up.
The study was conducted by Linda Nielsen, a professor at Wake Forest University who investigates father-daughter relationships, so she actually discovered that young girls who grew up without their father’s presence were more likely to end up in a divorce when they reached adulthood or encountered problems in all their romantic affairs.
#Fact: Did you know that children who grow up in families where their parents fight all the time but still choose to stay together are more likely to end up in a divorce, compared with children that have divorced parents?
Children who come from divorced families are still more likely to end up in an ended marriage themselves compared to those who’ve been raised in happy families, but according to a recent study made by Pew Social Trends, with data from the National Survey of Families and Households, children that grow up in households where fights are a normal part of the daily routine have more chances to end up in a divorce later on, than those who grow up with a single parent after their split.
#Fact: The group that has the most chances of getting a divorce consists of Black women aged between 50 and 59.
The same study mentioned above has shown that half of the white and Hispanic women were happily married, compared to less than a third of Black women of the same age in the United States. Nonetheless, the group that is less likely to end up in an ended marriage consist of Asian women aged between 25 and 29.
#Fact: Divorcees or widowed men have more chances to get remarried than women.
Divorced/widowed men are more likely to remarry than divorced/widowed women, but that might be also because most women that get through an ugly split or lose their significant other don’t want to remarry. Nevertheless, 54% of divorced women who participated in the study said they don’t want to remarry, and only 30% of men.
#Fact: Did you know that more than half of all Black children in America live in single-parent households, with partial or full custody for their primary caregiver?
According to a recent survey by the Census Bureau, the number of Black children that live with their custodial parent is twice as large as the percentage of white children.
#Fact: Most Americans would prefer to divorce if things are not working anymore in their marriage, instead of living in an unhappy partnership.
Ending a marriage is a normal part of today’s life, even though no one wants to experience it, as it can be very rough. Additionally, 58% of Americans consider it’s better to get a divorce than staying together even though you’re not happy anymore. Also, 67% of Americans consider that divorcing is better for the children’s’ wellbeing than an unhappy atmosphere where the parents fight all the time.
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