Surprising Things That Increase The Rate Of Divorce In Arizona

Factors That Can Lead Your Marriage To a Divorce

Almost everyone knows that approximately half of marriages in this day and age end in divorce. Obviously, a lot of that has to do with how much more socially acceptable it has become to get divorced. But still, most couples who enter a marriage truly have the hope that they will last until death do them part. That got our Arizona Divorce Attorneys wondering, what types of factors increase the likelihood that a married couple will eventually divorce? Some answers may surprise you. 

Adult Children Of Divorce

Sadly, if your parents got divorced, this increases the likelihood that you will eventually divorce your spouse in the future. Many people actually believe the opposite, assuming that children of divorce will have learned from their parents’ mistakes. Unfortunately, the opposite is true, and children of divorce see higher divorce rates than those with non-divorced parents. Perhaps even more surprisingly, this effect is seen far more drastically in girls than in boys. Male children of divorce have a 35% higher divorce rate than male children of non-divorced parents, while female children of divorce have a 60% higher divorce rate than female children of non-divorced parents. The divorce rate decreases by 14% if the couple’s parents are still happily married. 

Child Free

Many people assume that married couples without children have less to fight about, so their divorce rates should be lower. However, the counterargument is that couples with children might try harder to stay together to preserve the family. Child free couples divorce at a rate approximately 40% higher than spouses with children. 

Multiples

You’ve probably seen at least one romantic comedy end with a delightful surprise at the end of the movie, the wife is pregnant, and it’s twins! However, while having children will make you less likely to get divorced than sticking to fur babies, having multiples can actually increase your chances of divorce. Parents of twins and triplets (and so on) get divorced at a rate of approximately 17% higher than parents who only have one child at a time. 

First Comes Love, Then Comes Baby Carriage

While having a child out of wedlock is not the taboo thing it used to be, spouses that have a child together before they get married are actually more likely to get divorced in the future. When compared to couples who waited until marriage to have children, the divorce rate is 24% higher. 

Smoking Cigarettes

Surprisingly enough, smoking cigarettes can increase the divorce rate whether only one spouse partakes and the other only tolerates, or even if it’s a hobby the couple enjoys together. When only one spouse smokes, the divorce rate is shockingly higher than the standard population, 76-95%. Even if both couples smoke, they are still 53% more likely to get divorced than couples who don’t smoke. 

Facebook Addict

Many people love to use Facebook and other social media profiles to promote the social image of a loving, happy family. But that picture-perfect family might not actually be so adoring behind closed doors. In the United Kingdom, about one third of divorcing couples stated social media overuse was a contributing factor in their divorces. 

The State You Call Home

Divorce rates are simply higher in some states than in others. The top 5 states for divorce, in order, are Nevada, West Virginia, Arkansas, Idaho, and Oklahoma. The states with the lowest divorce rates, in descending order, are Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Iowa. 

Video Gaming

It’s almost become a tired cliché; the neglectful husband plays hours of Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto, while the wife struggles to pick up the slack in household and childcare duties. But sometimes the wife is the video gaming addict, or one spouse in a same-sex marriage can’t put down the video game controller. About 15% of divorcing couples in Arizona point to video games as a significant cause to their divorces.  

Young Love

It’s highly romanticized to fall in love young and marry your high school or college sweetheart. However, these types of relationships are, sadly, more likely to fail. The chance of divorce decreases by 24% if the spouses wait until they reach at least the age of 25 before getting married. 

Previous Marriages

You might think that someone who has already been divorced will be more confident in their decision the second (or third, fourth, etc.) time around. Actually, divorce statistics seem to show the opposite is true. While the general divorce rate is around 50%, the divorce rate for first marriages is actually closer to 40%. The divorce rate for second marriages is somewhere around 60-67%. Approximately 73% of third marriages end in divorce. There could be many reasons for this. Perhaps the spouses married while in the “rebound” phase from their first divorces, later realizing this relationship isn’t right either. There is simply more baggage in second and subsequent marriages that can make it harder to survive. This isn’t to say that divorced people should never try to find love again, they just might need to work harder to avoid divorce in their next marriage. 

Atheism & Agnosticism

Not everyone gets married in a church, but couples who identify as religious tend to have lower divorce rates than nonreligious people. The couple doesn’t even need to practice the same religion to see lower divorce rates than couples who aren’t religious. But spouses who do practice the same religion, in the United States, especially Catholics and Lutherans, see the lowest divorce rates. 

People Around You Getting Divorced

It’s great when we can draw inspiration from those closest to us in real life. However, if you find yourself repeatedly copying your friend’s trends, you might want to think twice when it comes to your marriage. If your close friend goes through a divorce, your chances of divorcing your own spouse can increase by up to 75%. Similar rates are seen when a coworker divorces their spouse. Even the divorce of a friend of a friend can increase your own chances of divorce by up to 33%. A sibling’s divorce can increase your own chances of divorce by up to 22%. You should always support your loved ones if they are going through a divorce, but be careful, it might be contagious!

Where To Turn If You’re Considering Divorce In Arizona