Researchers Study Why Divorce Rate is Dropping

There has been no end to reports and research relating to the divorce rate in the United States and up until now, most of the research has shown that 50% will end up in divorce.

However, recent data is showing that the percentages are beginning to shift to more marriages being successful than not successful.

Most researchers are in agreement that the divorce rate rose consistently for more than 100 years. That is until 1980 when the figures did an about face and came down by a very noticeable amount.

They know what happened, just not why it happened. Dr. Janet Belsky is an expert on lifespan development and also a professor of psychology at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) She theorizes that one reason why the numbers are dropping is due to the fact a higher percentage of our population is in the upper age bracket. She further says that more people tend to get a divorce in their younger years, so if there are more older people in the population than younger people, the divorce rate is likely to drop.

It is her practice to quiz her students to see how many of them have parents who are divorced, or are a member of a family that only has one parent. Over the years, the results have shown that it comes out to be about 50%.

The results of these polls of her students show that they are very well aware of the divorce statistics and they do not want to become part of them. They want to choose the right marriage partner and make the marriage last. One change she has seen develop over the years is that more and more of the students do put marriage as the first thing on their list of things to do. Their thoughts are shifting to getting themselves established in their chosen field as their first priority.

She believes that by designating marriage as something to do after you are set on your life's profession, you actually make marriage more important. You have made it something to take into careful consideration, something that you look at from all angles and not something that you rush into just to get married because everyone you know is doing it. When you give it this much thought, you are really committed to making it work and therefore there will be fewer divorces.

The students want to find that one perfect person, but they also realize that a marriage based on passion has more of a chance to end up in divorce. Passion does not last forever. They are more interested in marrying someone who has the same values and knows how to love. Also, those who get married in their late 20's or 30's will have had enough bad experiences with dating that they do not expect the perfect person.

Source Middle Tennessee State University http://news-from-mtsu.blogspot.com/