The U.S. Divorce Problem

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30947, 31 December 1965, Page 5

The U.S. Divorce Problem

fSpccialty written for “The Press" bu DR. JOHN E. OWEN. Department of Sociology. Arizona State University.] JJOW extensive is divorce in America today, and what is the nature of the problem?

Divorce in the United States is not of recent origin. In the colonial era, it was not uncommon for men to abandon their spouses in Europe and re-marry in America. And in the 19th century 7 those who had deserted their wives in the eastern United States frequently found a new life on the western frontier.

The United States divorce rate has been rising steadily ever since the Civil War. In 1870, there was only one divorce for every 36 marriages. By 1900, one marriage in 12 ended in divorce, by 1922 the rate was one in eight, and in 1946 600,000 divorces occurred, representing one out of every three marriages contracted that year.

Contrary to popular opinion, the rate has declined since 1946 and now stands at about one in every four marriages, this trend to a lower rate being typical of many Western countries. In spite of common misconceptions, the rate of divorce in America is not the highest in the world. Statistics require careful interpretation, since in some countries marriages are more typically dissolved through desertion and unofficial separation than formal divorce. In terms of legal divorces, Egypt has a higher rate and, at times, Japan’s rate has been greater than that of the United States. The rate of increase since 1910 has actually been higher in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, and Denmark, owing to a very low incidence of divorce in these lands prior to the First World War, though in each country the actual ratio of divorces to marriages contracted has been lower than in the United States.

Each of America’s 50 States has its own laws on divorce, resulting in great legal confusion and a movement towards a uniform federal divorce law. But in spite of a general nation-wide increase in separations, it cannot be inferred that American marriages are less happy today than in the 19th century. Other variables have changed: legal grounds for divorce have been widened, old stigmas are less powerful, and interpretations of the laws have become more liberal. Change In Concept Underlying these changes has been a profound shift in the basic concept of marriage. From the time of colonial New England until about 1870, only one view predominated in the new continent, the Christian concept of marriage as a life-long, indissoluble sacred bond. After the Civil War, this sacramental view of marriage was challenged by a second concept, namely, the secular notion that marriage is primarily a civil contract, a social obligation and foundation for rising national strength. This attitude emerged from the conditions of the times, when an immigrant frontier society dependent upon family farming necessitated stable home life. But changes in behaviour and attitude after the First World War led to a third notion of marriage as instrumental, a means to an end, its

purpose being seen as personal happiness and companionship.

post-1920 norm of marital success has become that of happiness, with the view that if a union is unhappy a couple is justified in discontinuing a nonfunctioning marriage.

Traditional attitudes are still strong, particularly in United States religious circles, but there is considerably less unanimity on marriage than 50 years ago. Religion’s Influence The influence of religion upon American family life is hard to evaluate. There is evidence that the recorded rate of divorce is lower among America’s 46,000,000 Catholics than among the Protestants or Jews. But Catholic couples are involved in desertion cases to a larger extent than their share of the population —23 per cent—would justify, and they obtain annulments more frequently than the other religious groups. Indications also exist that marriages between persons of different faiths in America are on the increase and are subject to a relatively high divorce rate. Many older Americans believe the more tolerant attitude to divorce gives young people the feeling that their marriages need not be permanent. But no studies of the problem confirm the idea that marriage or divorce is approached casually. Nor, according to research, does the relative ease of obtaining a divorce make for a less idealistic attitude to marriage. What has occurred is a basic change in the concept of marriage as a lifelong bond to be maintained regardless of unhappiness or incompatibility to a new view of marriage as a means to companionship. A recent study of almost 1000 Detroit wives indicated “companionship” as the single most valuable aspect of their home life.

Demands, Distractions

But the altered conditions of American civilisation make companionship less easy to achieve. A fast-paced society in a frenetic age, the product of rapid industrialism and urbanisation, a culture that engenders conflicting demands and daily distractions for both parents and children, is not conducive to long periods of time when an entire family can be together.

Almost a third of all divorces are granted in the first three years of marriage. Since legal procedures take time for their completion, this high incidence of early dissolution implies that the actual decision to separate often occurs shortly after the wedding, as soon as personality flaws and temperamental conflicts manifest themselves. Clergymen and social scientists claim that the “romantic love complex” and unrealistic idealisation of the beloved

fostered by Hollywood, popular fiction, and television blind American youth to the mature responsibilities of marriage.

Observing that emotional immaturity lies at the root of many family break-ups, those familiar with the problem maintain that ego-satisfaction is becoming even more vital in marriage than sex gratification. Marriage At 20 The median age at marriage is now only 22 for men and 20 for women, with a rising percentage of marriages occurring in the teens after short acquaintance. Not surprisingly, teen-age marriages more frequently end in divorce than those made at later ages. One potent factor in marital disharmony would appear to lie in a conflict of female roles. Many ambiguities afflict the status of women in America, as a recent best-seller, “The Feminine Mystique,” by Betty Friedan, attests. American culture has no clearly defined expectations of whether a married woman should fulfill the role of wife and mother, companion, and/or career-partner. Women account for fully a third of the total work force and more than a quarter of all married women are employed outside the home. Inconsistencies in norms and definitions of marital privileges and obligations are but one aspect of a less cohesive family structure, compared with the past.

Despite the publicity given to family problems of society, figures and Hollywood stars, research evidence points to a higher divorce rate in the lower occupations and among the lesser educated than among the wealthy.

Effect Of Prosperity

Two decades of prosperity notwithstanding, rising living costs present real daily problems to many of America’s 37 million families. The pressure to buy, in an economy oriented to continuous consumer purchases stimulated by übiquitous advertising has resulted in the typical middleclass family becoming indentured to hire-purchase payments with consequent psychological stresses emanating from strained monthly budgets. The divorce rate for childless couples is almost double that of those with offspring. About 40 per cent of Ameri-

can divorces involve children, and it is reliably estimated that some 250,000 children have their lives disrupted by parental separation annually, and that more than 3,000,000 are living with a parent who is currently separated or divorced.

Damage To Children

Social workers and court judges have defined the psychologically mutilating impact on children as the real problem in divorce. There is firm evidence that this applies with particular relevance to Negro children, owing to a disproportionately high divorce rate and frequent desertion by the father. With the Negro, all the elements conducive to divorce — poor preparation for marriage, financial tensions, female employment—are enhanced and intensified.

There are some hopeful portents for the future. Secondary schools are now initiating lectures by physicians and psychologists on preparation for marriage, and courses in “marriage and family, living” are given in colleges and universities, attended by the 40 per cent of United States youth who continue education beyond secondary school. Some lawyers and judges seek to affect reconciliation before considering divorce cases, and a new profession of marriage counselling has come into being with several hundred practitioners trained in psychiatry and the social sciences. More Tolerance A little-known fact is that today’s lower United States death rate more than offsets the higher divorce rates, and the average couple live together longer than did their great-grandparents. It should also be noted that most marriages last longer than most business partnerships. And the frequency of divorce may actually add to the total volume of happy marriages, since 94 per cent of divorced persons eventually re-marry.

As an inevitable risk of life, a tragic necessity that has become an integral part of modern industrial society, victims of American divorce today encounter more tolerance and understanding than condemnation.