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  • Understand the social and interpersonal impact of divorce
  • Describe the social and interpersonal impact of family abuse

As the structure of family changes over time, so do the challenges families face. Events like divorce and remarriage present new difficulties for families and individuals. Other long-standing domestic issues such as abuse continue to strain the health and stability of today’s families.

Divorce and remarriage

Divorce, while fairly common and accepted in modern U.S. society, was once a word that would only be whispered and was accompanied by gestures of disapproval. In 1960, divorce was generally uncommon, affecting only 9.1 out of every 1,000 married persons. That number more than doubled (to 20.3) by 1975 and peaked in 1980 at 22.6 (Popenoe 2007). Over the last quarter century, divorce rates have dropped steadily and are now similar to those in 1970. The dramatic increase in divorce rates after the 1960s has been associated with the liberalization of divorce laws and the shift in societal make up due to women increasingly entering the workforce (Michael 1978). The decrease in divorce rates can be attributed to two probable factors: an increase in the age at which people get married, and an increased level of education among those who marry—both of which have been found to promote greater marital stability.

Divorce does not occur equally among all people in the United States; some segments of the U.S. population are more likely to divorce than others. According the American Community Survey (ACS), men and women in the Northeast have the lowest rates of divorce at 7.2 and 7.5 per 1,000 people. The South has the highest rate of divorce at 10.2 for men and 11.1 for women. Divorce rates are likely higher in the South because marriage rates are higher and marriage occurs at younger-than-average ages in this region. In the Northeast, the marriage rate is lower and first marriages tend to be delayed; therefore, the divorce rate is lower (U.S. Census Bureau 2011).

The rate of divorce also varies by race. In a 2009 ACS study, American Indian and Alaskan Natives reported the highest percentages of currently divorced individuals (12.6 percent) followed by blacks (11.5 percent), whites (10.8 percent), Pacific Islanders (8 percent), Latinos (7.8 percent) and Asians (4.9 percent) (ACS 2011). In general those who marry at a later age, have a college education have lower rates of divorce.

There has been a steady decrease in divorce over the past decade. (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC)
1 Excludes data for California, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, and Minnesota.
2 Excludes data for California, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, and Louisiana.
3 Excludes data for California, Hawaii, Indiana, and Oklahoma.
4 Excludes data for California, Indiana, and Oklahoma.
5 Excludes data for California, Indiana, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.
Note: Rates for 2001-2009 have been revised and are based on intercensal population estimates from the 2000 and 2010 censuses. Populations for 2010 rates are based on the 2010 census.
Provisional number of divorces and annulments and rate: united states, 2000–2011
Year Divorces and annulments Population Rate per 1,000 total population
2011 1 877,000 246,273,366 3.6
2010 1 872,000 244,122,529 3.6
2009 1 840,000 242,610,561 3.5
2008 1 844,000 240,545,163 3.5
2007 1 856,000 238,352,850 3.6
2006 1 872,000 236,094,277 3.7
2005 1 847,000 233,495,163 3.6
2004 2 879,000 236,402,656 3.7
2003 3 927,000 243,902,090 3.8
2002 4 955,000 243,108,303 3.9
2001 5 940,000 236,416,762 4.0
2000 5 944,000 233,550,143 4.0
Practice Key Terms 2

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Source:  OpenStax, Studying social life. OpenStax CNX. Sep 21, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11889/1.1
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