divorce rate

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'Gray' Divorces Are On the Rise
'Gray' Divorces
Are On the Rise

'Gray' Divorces Are On the Rise

Younger couples are sticking it out, but for those 55 and older, divorce rates are increasing

(Newser) - "Till death do us part" seems to have less meaning for those who are currently closer to that endpoint than others. The Wall Street Journal reports on some news out of Bowling Green State University, whose National Center for Family & Marriage Research recently did some research on marriage...

5 States With Highest, Lowest Divorce Rates

No guarantees, but Massachusetts is the state with lowest divorce rate

(Newser) - Keeping one's vows till death do you part is a challenge for even the most happily married couples—but the odds might be greater depending on where you live. To find out which states have the highest and lowest rates of divorce, 24/7 Wall St. examined a Census Bureau...

Divorce in the Cards When Men Don't Like Wives' Friends?

Survey suggests friends can influence divorce rate, depending on various factors

(Newser) - Before the advent of social networking and online dating, couples used to meet through mutual friends and acquaintances. But now that people are hooking up online and sometimes falling in love without knowing anything about the other person's social circles, scientists are wondering about what they call the "...

Woman Flees Miss. to Get Divorce She's Sought Since '01

Getting a divorce in Mississippi requires consent of both spouses

(Newser) - A divorce is a hard and pricey thing to get in Mississippi, though that doesn't necessarily stop people—one recent study found that the state's divorce rate is seventh highest in the country. What sets it—and South Dakota—apart from the rest of the country is that...

Exactly 2 Premarital Sex Partners Ups Divorce Rate

For women, that is

(Newser) - A new study out of the University of Utah finds that women with either no sexual partners or one—most typically, her future spouse—before marriage are the least likely to get divorced within five years; women with 10 or more are the most. A closer look at the numbers,...

Big Boozing Puts Marriage on the Rocks

Divorce rates highest if woman drinks much more than man

(Newser) - 'Til booze do us part? A new study out of Norway says that drinking and marriage don't mix—especially if the woman is doing the heaviest drinking, reports the Los Angeles Times . After looking at nearly 20,000 married couples, researchers found heavy-drinking couples had a divorce rate...

Americans Can Afford to Get Divorced Again

Rate is going back up as economy improves, say lawyers

(Newser) - Divorce is financially prudent again. Lawyers and marriage experts say that the American divorce rate, which slackened during the recession, is rebounding as the economy improves, the Financial Times reports. Essentially, fewer people are staying together just to save the cost of a breakup. "There is huge pent-up demand,...

Divorce Soars in Rural America
 Divorce Soars in Rural America 

Divorce Soars in Rural America

Families look very different amid shift in values

(Newser) - An Iowa county’s divorce rate today is almost seven times what it was in the 1970s, and it’s symptomatic of a wide-ranging trend: For the first time in history, rural Americans are as likely as urbanites to be divorced, the New York Times finds in a look at...

China's Spoiled 'One-Child' Kids Have High Divorce Rate

They may be too selfish for marriage

(Newser) - Rising divorce rates are causing concern in China, reports Louisa Lim of NPR . The rate has doubled in the past decade—39% of couples now split in Beijing—and many blame the spoiled one-child generation that came of age during the nation's economic boom. They're apparently too self-absorbed to make...

Military Divorce Rate Climbs Again
 Military Divorce Rate 
 Climbs Again 
the war at home

Military Divorce Rate Climbs Again

Stress of war, deployments takes toll at home

(Newser) - The divorce rate in the armed forces increased slightly again in the past year as military marriages continued to bear the stress of the nation's ninth year at war. In the 2009 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, there were an estimated 27,312 divorces among the nearly 765,000...

Can't Buy Me Love, but Divorce Could Cost $100K

Paperwork's cheap, but hiring lawyers, dividing real estate, finding therapy adds up

(Newser) - In the current financial climate, getting unhitched has become all the more ruinous, Divorce360.com reports. Selling your home, hiring attorneys, shelling out for therapy, and finding temporary housing add up to a burly bottom line, with one attorney estimating that divorce "can run anywhere from $1,820 (uncontested)...

Finns May Stop (Working) in the Name of Love

Scandinavian lawmakers consider paid 'erotic' vacation

(Newser) - Finland's citizens will get an extra week of vacation specifically for romance if a proposed bill becomes law, Bloomberg reports. The legislation, which currently has 13 of the 100 required backers, would augment the 25 paid vacation days and 10 public holidays that already put Finns above the EU norm....

Merry Divorcées Plan Rites for Deceased Marriages

Break-ups marked by ceremonies, parties

(Newser) - An Atlanta divorce lawyer has a little gift for her clients: a mock coffin to bury their wedding rings in when the divorce comes through. "Funerals" for failed marriages—or just big parties—are becoming popular with the newly single keen to bury the past and celebrate a new...

Female Troops' Divorce Rate More than Double Men's

Rate was much higher even in peacetime

(Newser) - Female troops divorce at nearly twice the rate of their male comrades, Divorce360 reports, and the military is stumped as to why. Data from 2006 show male soldiers divorce at a rate of 2.7%—lower than the general population's 3.6%—but that leaps to 7% among women. The...

Army Battles High Divorce Rates

'Marriage education' aims to bridge gulf between love and war

(Newser) - A jump in divorce rates since the start of the Iraq war has the Army concerned. Marriages are falling apart as soldiers return home from tours of combat duty emotionally distant and unwilling to discuss their experiences. The military has now launched 'marriage education' retreats to try and repair the...

Spain Gets on Divorce Express
Spain Gets on Divorce Express

Spain Gets on Divorce Express

Church leaders say marriage contract is now 'trash'

(Newser) - Marriage has become a battleground in Spain, where divorce has been legal for 20 years, but a recent reform accelerating the process led to a 74% spike in the divorce rate. With 1 in every 2.3 married couples now parting, the Catholic Church is accusing the socialist government of...

Chinese Divorce Rate Surges
Chinese Divorce Rate Surges

Chinese Divorce Rate Surges

Simplified procedures, one-child policy may be factors

(Newser) - The Chinese divorce rate shot up 18.2% last year, the Guardian reports. It's not a huge surprise: Simplified divorce proceedings have contributed to the long-term trend, and the social stigma appears to have dwindled considerably. Some sociologists have an additional theory: China's one-child policy has created a generation of...

Evangelicals Seen to Be Softening on Divorce

Christianity Today rethinks issue, stirs pot

(Newser) - A Christianity Today article that reinterprets Jesus Christ’s stance against divorce has sparked anger among evangelicals, Time reports, while also revealing diminished opposition to breaking the marital sacrament. The piece argues that, in a key scripture passage, Jesus might have been giving his opinion on a certain kind of...

Divorce Rate Hits 37-Year Low
Divorce Rate Hits 37-Year Low

Divorce Rate Hits 37-Year Low

But America's marriages may not be more stable

(Newser) - America's divorce rate has been dropping steadily for decades; this year breakups reached their lowest level since 1970. But that doesn't mean todays' relationships are more stable: More couples are living together without tying the knot. Divorces are down by a third since their peak in 1981, but marriages themselves...

19 Stories