Skip to main content

The American Divorce Rate

What Does It Mean? What Should We Worry About?

  • Chapter
The Challenge of Change
  • 35 Accesses

Abstract

THE INDICATORS. The basic fact about the American divorce rate is that it is rising. The number of divorces per 1,000 married women has risen annually since 1960. Before that annual divorce rates fell somewhat during the late 1930s, rose to a sharp peak after World War II, and fell until the late 1950s. In 1977, the most recent year for which final divorce statistics have been published, 1,091,000 divorces were granted, 21.1 per 1,000 married women. Figure 1 charts the course of the annual divorce rate from 1930 to 1976.

This research in this paper was supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Bane, M. J. Marital separation and the lives of children. Journal of Social Issues, 1976, 32, 103–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., & Rodgers, W. L. The quality of American life. New York: Russell Sage, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, H., & Glick, P. C. Marriage and divorce: A social and economic study. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim, E. Suicide. New York: Free Press, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hannon, M. T., Tuma, N. B., & Groenveld, L. P. Income and marital events: Evidence from an income maintenance experiment. American Journal of Sociology, 1978, 82, 1186–1211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haygbe, H. Marital and family characteristics of workers, March 1977. Monthly Labor Review, 1978, 101(2), pp. 51–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, D. & Hoffman, S. Husbands and wives. In G. J. Duncan & J. N. Morgan (Eds.), Five thousand American families (Vol. 5). Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, S. & Holmes, J. Husbands, wives and divorce. In G. J. Duncan & J. N. Morgan (Eds.), Five thousand American families (Vol. 4). Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasch, C. Haven in a heartless world. New York: Basic Books, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Longfellow, C. Divorce in context: Its impact on children. In G. Levinger & O. Moles (Eds.), Divorce and separation. New York: Basic Books, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moles, O. Marital dissolution and public assistance payments. In G. Levinger & O. Moles (Eds.), Divorce and separation New York: Basic Books, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Health Statistics. Divorces: Analysis of changes. Vital and Health Statistics, Series 21, No. 22, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics of the United States 1973 (Vol. 3: Marriage and divorce). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Health Statistics. Monthly Vital Statistics Report (Advance report, “Final divorce statistic, 1977”), May 16, 1979, 28(2), Supplement.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rein, M. & Rainwater, L. Patterns of welfare use. Working paper #47, Joint Center for Urban Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, H., & Sawhill, I. Time of transition. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawhill, I., Peabody, G. E., Jones, C. A., & Caldwell, S. B. Income transfers and family structure. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Bureau of the Census. Census of population: 1970, marital status (Final report PC (2)-4C). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Bureau of the Census. Statistical abstract of the United States 1977. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977a.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Bureau of the Census. Marriage, divorce, widowhood and remarriage by family characteristics: June 1975. Current Population Reports (Series P-20, No. 312). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977b.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Bureau of the Census. Marital status and living arrangements, 1976. Current Population Reports (Series P-20, No. 306). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977c.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Bureau of the Census. Characteristics of the population below the poverty level: 1976. Current Population Reports (Series P-60, No. 115). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, R. Marital separation. New York: Basic Books, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zill, N. Divorce, marital happiness and the mental health of children: Findings from the FCD national survey of children. Paper prepared for the NIMH workshop on Divorce and Children, Bethesda, Maryland, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1983 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bane, M.J. (1983). The American Divorce Rate. In: Horner, M., Nadelson, C.C., Notman, M.T. (eds) The Challenge of Change. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3646-4_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3646-4_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-3648-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-3646-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics