Divorce

Less people are getting married, and the result is magically also less divorces.

Our Grandparents married young and got children in young age. Most likely they had a few children by the age of 25. Today, we get children later, much later. Normally we use our twenty’s to study, work, find our purpose of life and of course enjoying it. When closing to 30 years we get panic and start to search for a partner, move together and get children. Here is the modern problem we marry too fast and for the wrong intensions. Age should not be the main factor for marriage; neither parental pressure for that case.

We marry older and older. In Norway the average man marry at the age of 34.4 years and woman at 31.8 years. Every year we find the age of marrying is growing, and less persons choosing to marry. More people choose to live together without marrying. With less people married we get automatically less divorces. Statistics is not that good when it comes to people that lives together that separates. The most stable partners that live together are also the couples that choses to marry. The statistics on their future divorce is stable and relatively predictable.

Most divorces are happening after 5 to 9 years of marriage; with an average of 7 years. The 7 years crisis is thereby confirmed as a fact. If the marriage survives the 7 years crisis we find another time of marital crisis after 10 to 14 years; with an average of 12 years. The divorce rates slowly go down as years passes, and the longer a couple are married the less chance for a divorce.

Another interesting fact is that men that are between 45 and 50 years are the most eager to divorce and women between 40 and 45 years. Most likely these age groups are more connected to the duration of the marriage than to the actual age. It is also important to understand that the younger you married the bigger chance for divorce. Perhaps you want to divorce because the partner is not what you really wanted.

It exist different variables that increases the chance for future divorce. Most visible on the statistics is a previous divorce or partnership, and on second place are children from a previous relation; making divorced with children a bad indicator. Low education often also indicates a higher chance of divorce. No studies, divorced and children from another relation is a very bad indicator. Age difference is another indicator of divorce. If the age difference is more than 4 years the chance is higher than in couples where they are more than less the same age. If your partner is more than 4 years older than you no studies after secondary school, divorced, with children from another relation, then you are fighting statistics.

We know that similar a couple are less likely to divorce; same cultural background, same educational level, same age, first marriage and no children from other relations. When you are married, it is a hassle to get divorced, and this fact keeps many together! At the same time, a test period as partners might prevent people that should not be married from marrying.