Billy G. Howard
Happily Ever After…?
While he was driving to work one day last week, a former neighbor and old friend called to confide in me about some marital concerns. It seems, he reported, his wife’s idea of them spending time together consists of simply lounging in front of the television watching old westerns. A newly acquired position on his job now allows him weekends free and that provides a chance for quality time with his wife. But, he said, she never wants to do anything, “I’m off on the weekends and that’s a chance for us to get out the house and do some of the things we couldn’t do when the kids were small.” As he reported for work, my newly assigned patient pointed out the fact he and his wife have been married twenty-eight years prompting a response from me, “Well, forever is still a long way off,” to conclude our conversation.
Though he’d assured me there were no major obstacles threatening their union, I was sill compelled to check a few statistics on the current U.S. divorce rate. Oddly enough, many unofficial calculations having the dreaded divorce statistics in this country hovering around fifty percent were found to be untrue. In actuality, the rate of divorce in America has been on a steady decline since the year 2002 and currently stands at an estimated 3.1 per 1,000 married couples which is relatively good.
According to an article in the New York Times roughly 70% of marriages began in the 1990s celebrated their 15th year anniversary which is up five percent from those in the 70s and 80s. Couples who married in the 2000s are recorded as divorcing at even lower rates. As stated by economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfer, the feminist movement of the 1970s played a considerable role in the current divorce rate. With more women entering the work force and gaining reproductive rights, the institution of marriage began to evolve into its modern form; based on love and shared passions or interests.
The degrees of more mature marriages and the result of people choosing to marry later in life have also helped matters as well. During the 1950s the median age of marriage for men was 23 and 20 for women. In comparison, by the year 2004 the median age for men was 27 and 26 for women and if the numbers continue to decline, according to Wolfer, sixty-six percent of marriages will never end in divorce.
For the complete column pick up your copy of The Baxley News-Banner on newsstands today or CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE.
According to an article in the New York Times roughly 70% of marriages began in the 1990s celebrated their 15th year anniversary which is up five percent from those in the 70s and 80s. Couples who married in the 2000s are recorded as divorcing at even lower rates. As stated by economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfer, the feminist movement of the 1970s played a considerable role in the current divorce rate. With more women entering the work force and gaining reproductive rights, the institution of marriage began to evolve into its modern form; based on love and shared passions or interests.
The degrees of more mature marriages and the result of people choosing to marry later in life have also helped matters as well. During the 1950s the median age of marriage for men was 23 and 20 for women. In comparison, by the year 2004 the median age for men was 27 and 26 for women and if the numbers continue to decline, according to Wolfer, sixty-six percent of marriages will never end in divorce.
For the complete column pick up your copy of The Baxley News-Banner on newsstands today or CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE.
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