Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Why the divorce rate is increasing
Factors associated with divorce
Factors associated with divorce
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Why the divorce rate is increasing
The Increase in Divorce Rate and Changes in Law
A divorce is a legal ending of a marriage between a husband and wife.
Divorce rate has increased whenever laws have been passed to make
divorce quicker, easier and cheaper and so many people believe that
changes in law have led an increase in divorce rate. However, other
sociologists argue that changes in law do not cause divorce and that
the real reason why people divorce are changing expectations from
marriages, the changing attitude of women and declining pressure from
family, community and religion against divorce.
The 1971 Divorce Reform Act granted divorce on the grounds of
'irretrievable breakdown of marriage' and a divorce can take place
after two years of marriage. The 1984 Matrimonial and Family
Proceeding Act allowed divorce after 1 year. The 1998 Family Law Act
expressed the concern of people that divorce was too easy and that the
number of people divorcing was rapidly increasing and this Act said
that you had to be married for 1½ years before you had to use
...
Over the past decades, the patterns of family structure have changed dramatically in the United States. The typical nuclear family, two married parents with children living together in one household, is no longer the structure of the majority of the families today. The percentage of single-parent families, step-families and adopted families has increased significantly over the years. The nuclear family is a thing of the past. Family situations have tremendous influence upon a child’s academic achievement, behavior and social growth.
A century ago, divorce was nearly non-existent due to the cultural and religious pressures placed upon married couples. Though over time Canadians have generally become more tolerate of what was once considered ‘mortal sin’, marital separation and divorce still remain very taboo topics in society. Political leaders are frowned upon when their marriages’ crumble, religions isolate and shun those who break their martial vows and people continue to look down on those who proceed to legally separate their households. With that being said, couples do not just decide to get a divorce for no particular reason. There must be something driving them towards marital dissatisfaction and further, driving them towards divorce.
Divorce is prevalent in many parts of the developed world, it has been estimated that roughly 50% of marriages in America up until the 1980’s ended in divorce (Rutter). Divorce is arguably a personal hardship for both partners and their children, in that the stress of the divorce places both men and women at varying risks of psychological and physical health problems (Hetherington, Stanley-Hagan and Anderson 1989). However, using C. Wright mills’ definition of the “Sociological Imagination” we begin to view divorce as not just a personal problem of a particular man or woman, but as a societal concern that affects a wider category of people at a personal level. Therefore this essay will examine the societal structures which contribute to divorce
Divorce is something that affects millions of Americans. When my grandmother got divorced, she was left with little money and no job. She was able to get a job and provide for herself, but with the poverty rates for divorced women being significantly higher than for divorced men, it is a problem in society (Gadalla, 2008). When women feel unable to provide for themselves, and in some cases their children as well, they will likely seek government benefits. This will inevitably cost the taxpayers money. A recent study of Texas showed that 13.8 billion dollars’ worth of government benefits a year was the result of poverty after a divorce (Schramm et al., 2013). It has been found that after a divorce, women are left as the main caregivers
Consequently, ever since the reform was approved, the divorce rates and high poverty increased in single-parent homes and the innocent children suffer from this unfortunate experience. There could be many factors for couples seeking divorce: marrying at a very early age, less education and income, cohabitation, premarital pregnancy, coming from a divorced family. People divorce due to lack of commitment, arguing too much, infidelity, marrying at a young age, unrealistic expectation, lack of equality in relationship, lack of preparation for marriage, and abuse.
Marriage is a commitment that seems to be getting harder to keep. The social standards placed on an individual by society and influenced by the media inevitably lead some to consider divorce as a “quick-fix” option. “Have it your way” has become a motto in the United States. It has become a country without any consideration of the psychological effects of marriage and divorce. The overwhelmingly high divorce rate is caused by a lack of moral beliefs and marital expectations.
During the 1800s, more specifically in 1841-1968, getting a divorce were taken by following a series of steps called the Acts of Divorce. To get a divorce, you need to put a notice of intent to petition the government for a divorce and be put in two newspapers in your area. The whole process would be held, at least, 6 months. The picture on the left is a copy of a couple, John and Mary Ann Monteith’s divorce paper. The husband, which was the petitioner, wanted the divorce because of his wife’s adultery, who she committed, with William G. Norton. Their divorce actually, was on the 23rd of June, 1887 in the district of Parry Sound
than at home. For example, a couple living in New York State, where until 1967
Sociological Analysis of Divorce as a Social Problem and Proposed Solutions Every year approximately 2.4 million marriages occur. Out of those,2.1 millionwill file for divorce in the United States. These marriage and divorce rates have significantly increased since the years past(Coltrane and Adams, 364).According to Schoen, in the 1950’s, 15 out of 1,000 marriages ended in divorce. In the 1970’s, the rates of divorcedoubled,increasing to 40 per 1,000 marriages. Currently, the rate of marriages resulting in divorce remains the same.
Currently the divorce law in England and Wales operates a fault-based system whereby the court grants a divorce if a person can prove that their marriage has broken down. The break down in the marriage can only be due to one of the following five reasons – adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion after two years, two years' separation with consent or five years' separation without consent. These requirements were established in the case of Buffery v Buffery [1988] 2 FLR 365.
One tough thing about today's American family is divorce. In 1816, one marriage out of one hundred ended in divorce. Then between the years 1869-1888, divorce increased up to one hundred and fifty percent. And the worse, between the years 1960-1980, the divorce rate increased up to two hundred and fifty percent. Divorce rates peaked in 1981 and then started to decline a little during the mid 1980's. However, divorce rates now are as high as they have ever been. Now fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. There are five reasons for the increase in divorce. The first reason is in modern societies; individual happiness is regarded to be important so when people are unhappy with their marriage, they break-up and split. The second reason is it is easier to get divorced financially. The third reason is that women's economic independence has contributed. The fourth reason is the stigma of divorce has lessened so people are not
Divorce is a growing epidemic in Canada and the United States. It affects both parties involved, being the spouses, and also has a profound affect on children of the marriage. Recently our government has been revising the old divorce act. It was apparent that it was time to revise the act because it did not properly protect the children from being caught in the middle of things.
Divorce has become a phenomenon of the modern world and is grabbing attention of numerous nations as well as the media. Divorce rates are escalating in a global perspective however the increase is not as rapid as it used to be a few decades ago. Developed countries, such as the US, England and Wales are experiencing a gradual decrease in divorce rates and marriage rates since 1980 and is showing no sign of increasing. Divorce affects a wide population especially because of the development of
divorce much easier than before, without having to prove adultery or violence. The Matrimonial Family Proceedings Act of 1985 is also another new law which affected the rate of divorce, this allowed. people to get divorced after being married for only one year, whereas before in 1985 married couples had to wait at least three years before they could get divorced. This act increased divorces as people split up. at a faster rate if they had problems in their relationship and didn’t.
Cause and Effect Essay – The Causes of Divorce. From the past to present, people all over the world have determined to live together, which is called “get married” in another word, so that they depend on each other for living. Nevertheless, some couples are unable to maintain their relationship; therefore they choose divorce, which is one of the solutions to cope with problems between husband and wife. Furthermore, most people think carefully before they get married.