Since experiencing divorce rates of around 50 percent in the 1980s, the nationwide divorce rate has steadily decreased. Several factors can be credited for that drop, including the lifestyle chosen by many millennials. Millennials as a whole have delayed marriage until an older age, at which time they are more certain of their relationships. Age isn’t the only factor affecting one’s chances of divorce, however. There are several other outside factors that seem to have a bearing on one’s likeliness of becoming a divorcee one day.
The first of these factors is where one lives. Someone who grew up in a traditionally conservative “red” state is more likely to divorce than someone who grew up in a more liberal state such as Connecticut. This may be due to the tendency of couples in conservative states to marry at a younger age or simply for their tendency to marry at all. Location in one of these conservative states alone increases one’s chances of divorce by 27 percent.
Children of divorce are more likely to repeat their parents’ actions when they are older. Having divorced parents increases one’s chance of divorce by 40 percent. If at least one of those divorced parents remarries the impact is startling. According to one professor, children with at least one remarried parent are 91 percent more likely to divorce when they are older.
Other factors affecting divorce include religion, children and lifestyle choices. Evangelical Christians experience higher divorce rates than members of many other religions. Couples with daughters tend to be more likely to divorce. Also, if only one spouse is a smoker, that couple is more likely to divorce.
While there are trends in the divorce rates of people with these risk factors, every marriage is different. No couple can accurately determine whether they will divorce based on these tendencies alone. Each couple must live their own life and make their own decisions. If the time comes when a spouse feels he or she no longer wants to continue the marriage, an experienced Connecticut divorce attorney will significantly improve the spouse’s chances of obtaining a favorable divorce settlement.