Why Do Women Usually Initiate Divorce?

 Posted on November 17, 2017 in Divorce

Divorce can touch the lives of people of any race, gender, income level, or age. Some marriages that seemed doomed to failure from the beginning end up flourishing while other marriages that seemed like perfect matches end up dissolving. Researchers have known for years now that there are certain demographics of people who are statistically more likely to get divorced than others. For example, those who marry very young or wait until their late 30s or longer to marry are more likely to get divorced than those who get married in their 20s. It is also fairly well-known that women are more likely to initiate divorce than men are. For non-married couples, however, men and women are equally likely to end the relationship.

Women More Likely Than Men to Be Unhappy in Their Marriage

A survey conducted by the American Sociological Association found that in heterosexual couples, women start the divorce process or first seek a divorce 70 percent of the time. The study’s lead author, Michael Rosenfeld, theorizes that women may be more likely to initiate divorces because they are more likely to be dissatisfied with the quality of the relationship than men are. Rosenfeld said that these results support the idea that some women experience heterosexual marriage as oppressive or unfulfilling. He explains further, “I think that marriage as an institution has been a little bit slow to catch up with expectations for gender equality. Wives still take their husbands’ surnames…husbands still expect their wives to do the bulk of the housework and the bulk of the childcare.”

Another recent study analyzed data from the “Early Years of Marriage Project.” This project followed 355 married couples over the course of 16 years. The researchers concluded that women often went into marriage with higher levels of tension than men. Interestingly, men were more likely to experience low tension at the beginning of the marriage but then higher rates of tension as time went by. This may be another clue as to why women are more likely to end a marriage than men are. Many women are already burdened with many stresses and adding marital conflict to that mix can result in the marriage breaking down.

Finding Divorce Help

While women are more likely to take action to end a failing marriage, the process of divorce can be equally difficult on both spouses. If you are unhappy in your marriage, our competent and compassionate Lombard family law attorneys are ready to help. Call 630-426-0196 for a confidential consultation at A. Traub & Associates today.

Sources:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5044233/Women-twice-likely-men-file-divorce.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-new-resilience/201508/women-initiate-divorce-much-more-men-heres-why