They say 50% divorce. They are wrong. They say marriage is just a piece of paper that allows you to take the other person for granted - ask Susan Sarandon, she believed that, once. Best hope - smile in your yearbook photo, don't have kids if you are not married, and wait until you are at least 26. If you do, and you aren't Susan Sarandon, you stand a better chance. You could also stack the odds a bit by ensuring you don't marry a stripper in Vegas.
So a bit of information that puts it in better form comes from the following source <--- click here.
According to the most recent statistics put forth by the CDC on Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2009, the much-professed 50 percent divorce rate is inflated and outdated. In fact, there were only 3.4 divorces per 1000 people in 2009.
To break it down: there were 3.4 divorces per 1000 people in 2009 and 5.3 marriages per 1000 that same year. It's easy to assume because the number of divorces is about half the number of marriages that the 50 percent divorce rate holds, and that if you marry there's a 50 percent chance you'll divorce, but that'd be an inaccurate impression. These stats don't take into account how many people are already married or how many are on second, third or fifth divorces.
Besides, there are other factors that play a greater role in your marriage's chance of survival than that wishy-washy divorce rate. For example:
•The age at which you marry plays an important factor in whether or not you're likely to divorce. If you eliminated the divorce and marriage stats for those who've wed and/or divorced under the age of 25, for example, these numbers might look very different.
•Recent research shows that couples who have daughters are more likely to divorce than those who have sons.
•Couples who have kids out of wedlock are more likely to divorce than those who don't, according to a recent Australian study.
•One study found people who wore big smiles in their high school yearbooks were less likely to divorce than those who scowled.
So, yes, divorce still happens, but it's not nearly as common as we've come to believe. The trouble is, it's hard to find that golden divorce stat that we all really want: if I get married, what are the chances I'll get divorced? Some reports track the number of divorces each year, as the CDC has done. Others track the number of divorces in proportion to marriages during a certain time period. And others still evaluate random factors like the genders of kids and your yearbook photos. Tracking divorce comes down to a mishmash of wildly varied record-keeping, evaluation methods and, as with most human stats, inaccurate reporting. So, while this CDC number isn't the divorce statistic, it's certainly one to recognize.
"Till death do us part" ain't easy, but it's no reason to shy away from the challenge or throw in the towel. As the most recent data proves, divorce is not inevitable and marriages can and do work. Plus, studies shows that couples who do stick together—for better or for worse—are happier and healthier.
marriage
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments