Sociology 2235 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Married People, Premarital Sex, Femininity
27 Apr 2018
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Chapter 9 – Divorce and Ending Relationships
- Divorce rates are complex due to cohabiting couples who split up not being considered as
divorcees, and the misleading aspect of them
DIVORCE RATES
- Crude divorce rate Calculated as the number of divorces in a given year / mid-year
population x 1000 000
- This results in low rates because the denominator includes everyone in the population, most
of whom aren’t at risk for divorce
- Another measure involves divorces based on the number of marriages in a year = divorces in
2013 / marriages in 2013
- This overestimates risk of divorce and leads to the statement ½ of marriages last
- The numbers of divorces stay the same even if the number of marriages decline
- It is important to consider the risk of divorce only in the population that is at risk - those who
are married at the beginning of 2013 and prior
- You can also standardize for social characteristics and measure the population at two points
in time
- Rolling divorce rate Measures the number of people in the population ever divorced as a
fraction of the population never married
- Disadvantaged in that it is biased by period and cohort & can be misleading
- The most refined method looks at couples married 30 years ago and the proportion of those
couples that has been divorced since – since most couples don’t divorce after 30 years of
marriage
- The actual divorce rate with this method is lower than ½ of marriages and is about 1/3 prior
to the 30th anniversary
- This model is rarely used
- The final measure which is never used officially calculates the number of adult years that are
lived outside of a marital relationship – a continuous decline in the time spent being married
would show divorce rates and the rejection of marriage
- The purpose of divorce rates is to aid in the development of theories and tests about the
factors that impact marriage survival and breakdown – which helps to understand what
conditions make a family function worse and better
- The best rate measures the risk of experiencing divorce by analyzing those who are at the
highest risk for divorce
DIVORCE AND SOCIETY
- On the micro-level sociologists examine interactional patterns, family dynamics,
expectations, who people choose to marry – as well as the effects of divorce on spouses,
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children and family members to understand why couples divorce, and consider how people can
work to reduce the harmful effects
- On the macro-level, sociologists debate how to measure divorce, marriage breakdown, and
the link between legal divorce and relationship breakdown
- Marriages often break down significantly before divorce making separation a more useful
indicator of divorce
- Higher cohabitation rates could lead to lower divorce rates since it doesn’t lead to legal
divorce – while the relationship between divorce and cohabitation is becoming less apparent as
it becomes more accepted
- Despite premarital cohabitation increasing the risk for divorce, it decreases the risk for
separation
- Macro-sociologists examine large scale processes in industrialization & urbanization, the
increasing participation of women in the labour force and other societal norms to find out what
accounts for the long-term increase in divorce rates
- Some interpret high divorce rates as a sign of societal break down since family is the most
important societal institution
- Some argue the opposite and say that because we value good marriages, we wait longer to
marry or leave if we’re unhappy
- Marriage promoters note that high suicide rates are associated w/ high divorce rates would
could suggest that divorce rates reflect disorganization and distress in the overall population
- There are positive correlations b/w divorce rates, suicide rates, and alcohol consumption
suggesting social pathology
- Liberal sociologists disagree with this and claim that societies can handle divorce well
(Sweden) and children suffer less when compared to North America
- People in our society often have trouble of thinking about divorce in a calm way for two
possible reasons:
I. Divorce is personal and religious
Many argue that marriage is sacred and shouldn’t be dissolved
Politicians debate the meaning of divorce and how society should respond
II. We never prepare for divorce in the way that we prepare for other major life events
Many people never expect to and organize their lives around long-term marriage
Separation and Divorce in the Immigrant Population
- In most non-Western countries, marriage is more common and divorce is less common –
Russia is the one exception where both are high
- In the home countries of immigrants, marriage is highly valued and women are often denied
the right, giving them the option of freedom once they move to Canada
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- Divorce is still not as common in immigrants due to persisting traditional views of marriage
from previous countries – some women view divorce as intentional disobedience to their
husbands
- However immigration can disrupt identities and lead to higher rates of marital dissolution
- In a study for reasons of divorce, Korean immigrant women left their husbands for violence
and financial problems – while white ono-immigrant women left due to emotional fulfillment
- Immigrant women who do divorce their spouses are at a higher risk of violence by their
spouse, which is related to male dominance, financial dependence, and disagreement over
decisions regarding migration
A HISTORICAL, CROSS-NATIONAL OVERVIEW OF DIVORCE
Social Changes
- In pre-industrial times, most families were a unit who divided labour and did everything for
themselves
- The move of production from the household into factories and offices has weakened family
ties due to the loss of the families economic function – leading to individualism and governing
by market forces
- The function of education moved to the state due to unruly youth during the industrial period
– however with increasing job and policy insecurity, the family may become a source of
security for many individuals
- Most families keep themselves out of poverty through pooling their incomes together – while
immigrant families pool their resources together to achieve upward mobility in society
- Family has become less responsible socially, resulting in people investing less of themselves
into the family and making it easier to sever them when problem arise – thus divorce rates rise
- Since 1971, the proportion of married people continued to slowly decrease, while the number
of people cohabiting, single and divorce rose
- Higher divorce rates are a result of a change in family ties that keep family members close to
one another – while family ties are primarily based on love and liking one another
- We more easily sever these ties because emotional ties are fickle – however not every couple
who severs these ties get a divorce
Legal Changes
- Divorce laws have loosened over the past few centuries – during colonialism divorce was
illegal in Quebec and the southern US, and was only granted in other places if adultery or proof
of desertion for 7 years occurred
- Prior to the mid 20th century, an act of parliament was required for divorce and were granted
to influential people
- Prior to the 1968 divorce act, marriage dissolved through separation, minimizing
communication, and desertion
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Document Summary
Divorce rates are complex due to cohabiting couples who split up not being considered as divorcees, and the misleading aspect of them. Crude divorce rate calculated as the number of divorces in a given year / mid-year population x 1000 000. This results in low rates because the denominator includes everyone in the population, most of whom aren"t at risk for divorce. Another measure involves divorces based on the number of marriages in a year = divorces in. This overestimates risk of divorce and leads to the statement of marriages last. The numbers of divorces stay the same even if the number of marriages decline. It is important to consider the risk of divorce only in the population that is at risk - those who are married at the beginning of 2013 and prior. You can also standardize for social characteristics and measure the population at two points in time.
