Preliminary numbers from the State show that in 2007, divorce rates dropped to their lowest point in 40 years. That’s good news, and it only gets better when you dig a little deeper.
Nicholas Wolfinger is an Associate Professor at the University of Utah and author of several books on marriage and divorce, and he says that there is a problem with the divorce statistic itself.
According to Wolfinger, the divorce presents “a misleading picture” because they are based on the number of divorces per 1000 people; not number of divorces per 1000 married people. Since Utahans are more likely to be married, he says “the rate per 1,000 may appear higher because more people are at risk of divorce simply by virtue of being married.” So even now, when it’s at a 40 year low, Utah’s divorce rate still gives the impression the problem is bigger than it actually is.
Wolfinger suggest a more accurate way of comparing Utah to the rest of the nation would be the divorce rate per 1,000 married women. In the past this figure has shown Utah to be well below the national average, but unfortunately the statistic hasn’t been collected since 1996.
Another factor to consider. Wolfinger says “age at marriage is one of the strongest predictors of divorce. Study after study has shown that youthful couples are far more likely to end their marriages; conversely it has been suggested that the divorce rate in America has declines since 1979 precisely because couples are waiting longer to tie the knot.” But Utah breaks the mold.
In 2006, women in Utah married about 3.2 years earlier than the national average (only Idaho had a lower median age). This should make Utah’s marriages especially vulnerable, but for some reason, the opposite is true. Marriages in Utah are surprisingly stable.
Wolfinger thinks the influence of the LDS Church might deserve much of the credit. I would tend to agree, but I’m interested in hearing what the rest of you think.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
It would be interesting to see what percentage of LDS marriages end in divorce church-wide and compare with the stats in Utah. Maybe Brent T would know where to look.
A lot of marriages within the LDS religion are done in a temple ceremony that promises the marriage will last beyond death. It might just simply be that those married couples try a little harder or see things in a bigger perspective when they are focused on forever. Just a thought from a co-worker once.
Thanks for the statistics breakdown - it is interesting to look "beyond" the numbers a bit. Certainly the LDS teachings on marriage and family play a part (likely a large part) in this due to the high percentage of LDS in Utah. I think if you tried to break down the whys on marriage and divorce anywhere you would find that social, religious, cultural traditions and beliefs of the area play a huge part in explaining it.
My wife wants to leave me for Don Kauffman.
As a news producer at KUTV, I would like to know if you had anything to do with the embarrassing story ran on last nights broadcasts concerning the state selling off land once owned by FLDS members. It was a complete disgrace how the news made this situation out as the big bad State of Utah was robbing these people of their lands. These people are only paying their dues for living an unlawful lifestyle and putting their faith in a wingnut leader who at the time of his capture was on the FBI's 10 most wanted list! KUTV should be ashamed.
Don produces the 6pm show, I believe.
"Wolfinger thinks the influence of the LDS Church might deserve much of the credit."
Not only the LDS faction, but Utah also has a high Hispanic and Italian population, both of which are traditionally Roman Catholic, and less liable to get divorced.
Post a Comment