Divorce and the Recession

Over the past decade divorce rates have been decreasing steadily after increasingly drastically in the late 1970s, and gradually climbing all the way through the 80s and 90s. More recently (2008 and 2009), there is some indication that divorce may actually be on the rise again. Many people have pointed to the condition of the economy for explanation of many social trends, and an increase in divorce could also be the case. But economic strain can actually have to conterveiling effects on a marriage: first, recession conditions and strain generated from loss of a job or a decline in working hours can actually increase the co-dependence a husband and wife have on one another and thus keep couples together who might otherwise split apart, and second, financial struggles within a marriage is a commonly cited problem when couples are thinking of divorce (regardless of the general economic conditions), therefore the recession could increase the conflict in more marriages as more people are impacted by economic strain. Research has yet to differentiate between the influences of these two competing forces, therefore it is hard to know whether the recession is responsible for the recent increase in divorces, or if the recession may actually be keeping more couples together because of the increased reliance on the other partner. If the recession has not increased divorces, then it brings to bear the question: what does explain the increased rates of divorce? We have two macro-level social patterns (divorce rates and recession/economic trumoil), but whether the two are directly related is not decided.

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