Divorse is on the Raise

734 Words2 Pages

Should I Keep Trying To Work It Out? “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes -- the big divorce party?” (Gagnon 124) Marriage can be a beautiful thing, but some couples are unable to maintain their relationship because they choose divorce as a solution to cope with the problems between husband and wife. Divorce is definitely on the rise. The usual explanations are communication, balance, and commitment, and it's hard to disagree with them. Although age is assumed to be the main element of divorce, research indicates that there are more explanations for divorce. “In the United States, researchers estimate that 40%-50% of all first marriages, and 60% of second marriages, will end in divorce.” (Popenoe 18) A lot of factors can influence a person's view on marriage. If a person has grown up with parents who never divorced and had a good marriage, that might make them more determined to make their own marriage work. Growing up with parents who are in a bad marriage can leave a lifelong impression. Children in a bad marriage would probably retain that negative impression and possibly be more affected by divorce rates. “The highest divorce rates ever recorded were in the 1970s and early 1980s. Since then the divorce rate actually has decreased a little, but it still remains at a historically high rate.” (Popenoe 19) Since divorce rates have been on the rise, there is sometimes a negative spin cast on marriage. A person either seriously believes in a marriage or they seriously believe that a marriage does not work. Research has correlated various factors that lead to a higher risk of divorce. "There are some well-known factors that put people at higher risk for divorce: marrying at a very early age, less education and income, a premarital pregnancy, women's roles, coming from a divorce family, stress in modern living, and lack of communication.”(Bramlett 23) The three main factors are women's roles, stress in modern living, and lack of communication....

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...Constraint commitment includes social pressure from family and friends, financial worries, children, religious or moral beliefs about divorce, and fear about the future. While divorce may be necessary at times, parents have a responsibility to do all that they reasonably can to preserve and repair their marriage, especially when the reasons for divorce are not the most serious ones. As Doherty states, "Barriers to leaving a marriage such as financial worries can keep marriages together in the short run. However, unless there is improvement in the relationship, eventually the barriers are usually not enough to keep a marriage together in the long run" (41). Family is an important part of society, and divorce has become a substantial problem due to changing gender roles, stress in modern living, and lack of communication. Although people tend to think carefully before they get married, divorce rates continue to rise nowadays.

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