While marriage often represents a high point in a person’s life, it can also lead to a painful divorce down the road. Though nearly all couples go into marriage with the best of intentions, it still remains difficult to stay together for the duration.
A number of statistics shine some light on the causes and implications of divorce.
Divorce rates
Information compiled by Finances Online shows that about 41 percent of first marriages end in divorce. The rates only increase with subsequent marriages. Second marriages end in divorce 60 percent of the time, while third marriages end in divorce 73% of the time.
Physicians at about 2 percent have the lowest rate of divorce by occupational category. One source reported just over 782,000 divorces in the U.S. in 2020. This amounted to a divorce rate of 2.9 divorces per 1,000 people. Arkansas has the highest rate of divorce in the US, while Maine has the lowest divorce rate.
Divorce causes
While every marriage tends to have problems over time, a number of unions fall prey to several common problems that can prove fatal. The leading divorce cause falls into the category of a lack of commitment from one or both partners. This problem plagues 75% of marriages ending in divorce. The following four issues rank high as divorce causes:
- Infidelity or extramarital affairs
- Frequent arguments
- Youthful marriages
- Financial problems
Divorce legal concerns
The cost of divorce goes up according to the level of contestation. An uncontested divorce costs the least, while a divorce with multiple such as child custody, can add extra expenses. The average length of a divorce case runs about one year.