For the first time at least since World War II, women and men who married in the late 1970s had a less than even chance of still being married 25 years later.
“We know that somewhere between 40 percent and 50 percent of marriages dissolve,” said Barbara Risman, executive officer of the Council on Contemporary Families, a research group. “Now, when people marry, everyone wonders, is this one of those marriages that will be around for awhile.”
But David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values, a marriage research and advocacy group, said he was struck that the percentage of people who celebrated their 15th anniversary had declined. “This seems to be saying more recent marriages are more fragile,” Mr. Blankenhorn said.
About 80 percent of first marriages that took place in the late 1950s lasted at least 15 years. Among people who married in the late 1980s for the first time, however, only 61 percent of the men and 57 percent of the women were married 15 years later.
Among currently married women, non-Hispanic whites were the only group in which a majority had marked their 15th anniversary.
The survey by the Census Bureau, in 2004, confirmed that most Americans eventually marry, but they are marrying later and are slightly more likely to marry more than once.
As one who is approaching the quarter century mark being married to a saint of a woman who put up with graduate school, medical school and residency (the later being by far the hardest on marriages), I found the graph on the web looking at divorce vs length of marriage interesting. (Source is apparently a divorce lawyer.)
Scroll down a bit and look at the graph [url=http://www.divorceinfo.com/statistics.htm]divorce distribution by length of marriage.[/url] The peak occurs at 4 1/2 years. I would like to see a graph that looks at the “success of marriage” where one graphs the probability that a marriage won’t end in divorce as a function of time. In other words, what is the chance that my marriage won’t end in divorce since we have stuck together for 24 years? This graph would presumably begin at 0 years of marriage around 50% mark and increase to the 100% mark. Can anybody find such a graph?
My husband and I were married in 1977 so we just marked our 30th anniversary. (I was just 18 at the time of our wedding and we had our first child a year later.) Secret of marital success? Christ in us the hope of glory, and with His help continuing to work on our growing and changing relationship as a couple. (We’re grandparents now!) While we were engaged we received some wise counsel: be each other’s best friend
My wife and I celebrated 23 years in July … We look forward to the next 23 and beyond!
Jim Elliott <><
I was a bit puzzled by the statement that of those who married for the first time in the late 80s, 61% of the men were still married vs. only 57% of the women. Multiple marriages? Delusions on the part of a few of the men? Hmm.
Still married to my first husband, 36+ years now. Fortunately neither of us views marriage as the revocable contract which “no fault” divorce makes it.
Did this survey look at all marriages (v. first marriages). I have heard that second (or subsequent) marriages have a lower success rate that first marriages, which may skew the numbers.
Well, I count myself and my dear, dear husband as among the 50% that have remained married (1st Marriage). He is my high school sweetheart. We were married in the dreaded late 1980’s (1987) and celebrated our 20th anniversary last May. He is still my best friend and we are looking forward to our 60th anniversary. To God be the Glory!
By the way, nice to see a friendly thread in the midst of all the vitrol being put out on the other threads. 🙁