A Divorce as a Worldwide Trend: Lack of Education and Financial Problems - Essay Example

Divorce as a Trend One of the trends which exist today in the society is the trend to divorce. It is sad but true: onthe average, about a half of marriages fail to work and break. Compared to the past, now people are more likely to divorce because of problems they face as a married couple, and such a choice has become common in almost the whole world. In other words, getting a divorce is a worldwide trend today, and it takes place mostly because of spouses’ young age, lack of education, and financial problems they face in married life. Today, it is commonly believed that a half of marriages will end in divorce. While the statistical data differ from a country to country, it is a true fact that these days the rates of divorce all over the world are higher than in the past. This trend does exist for there is a significant number of studies and researches on the rates of divorces in the world as a whole and by regions and countries. For example, the study posted on the website of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that since 1970 divorce rates have markedly increased in the world. The part of the world where the rates of divorce are the highest ones is Europe. For instance, in such countries as Spain, the Czech Republic, Portugal, and Luxembourg, the rates are higher than sixty percent. In the United States, the highest divorce rate is about fifty-three percent (Engel). The map below shows the latest divorce data in the world. Among the most common causes of divorces is marrying at a very early age. Contrary to the idea that divorce is a middle age notion, the greater number of marriages dissolves before the spouses get to the age of thirty. In accordance with the statistical data, the 20’s are the time when divorce is more likely to take place. So, why do people choose to get married in the first decade after they leave their families and start living independently? The main reason for this is that at this age people tend to be very hopeful and romantic, they believe a person they want to marry is their soul mate. At the same time, they are very impulsive and can make unadvised decisions. In fact, such behavior is explained from the point of neuroscience. The matter is that even at the age of twenty-fine human brain, particularly the part responsible for decision making and planning, is still at its developmental stage. Therefore, at young age people are not fully capable of thinking beforehand about the possible consequences of an early marriage. As a result, in accordance with the National Center for Health Statistics, “sixty percent of marriages for couples between the ages of twenty and twenty-five end in divorce” (Maselli). Also, about two thirds of marriages to women younger than eighteen end with divorced (Maselli). Alongside with young age as one of the causes of high rates of divorces in the country and the world as a whole is such factor as education. More specifically, there is a direct correlation between spouses’ age and level of education and possibility of getting divorced. To quote Asthana and Campbell’s article published in The Guardian: “The lowest divorce rates are among people who marry late with more education; the highest ones are among those who marry young with less education”. The statistical data by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show the following: for those with a Bachelor’s degree, the divorce rate is about 26 percent; for couples with an associate’s degree and for high school graduates, the divorce rate is about 42 percent; and for those with less than a high school education, it is almost 48 percent (Fottrell). In fact, the number of researches that touch upon the relationship between education and divorce is quite significant; yet there is no clear explanation of why this relationship does exist. The last important cause of high rates of divorce to mention is finances. Accordingly to Britt, today finances are the leading cause of divorces. It is mostly because couples tend to overlook the practical side of marriage. As Lieber mentions in his article titled Money Talks to Have Before Marriage from The New York Times, the risk that a marriage can end because of financial problems the couple cannot resolve is about forty-five percent (B1). That is to say that economic distress and the lack of financial stability appears to a key predictor of a failed marriage. At this point, one can learn in practice about the relationship between finances and education and divorce because a college degree is a good source for the future economic resource of a family as highly educated people are those who tend to be more financially stable. What is more, financial arguments are the most common arguments in families, and they lead to decreased relationship satisfaction. Among the three above-mentioned causes of high rates of divorce, it is the last one that is regarded as the most convincing. There is an idea that money can buy anything but love. Unfortunately, these days it is not often so because a great number of marriages are ruined because of finances and, more importantly, financial instability. This is really so because married couples share the expense of a great number of essentials, such as food, rent, insurance, car and many others. If they have not enough money to pay for all the things, it is clear that they will experience distress independently on their level of education or age. It is not only common sense which suggests that finances are the key to successful or unsuccessful marriage; the current research data also shows that money arguments last longer than any other arguments which may occur in a couple, and it takes more time for a couple to recover from this kind of argument (Britt). Some tend to think that money is not the root of all evil (at least when it comes to marriage). They list a range of causes, among which is a poor communication that leads to financial problems in couples. However, money is the disease, not a symptom. Today, finances are the key for one’s well-being because food, a house, car, education and all other things that are necessary for people to feel comfortable and worthy are achieved mainly if one can afford at least the most essential of them. As it has been mentioned above, money is what married couples argue most about, which means that they do communicate and, perhaps, even more than it is needed, but cannot come to an understanding as financial problems are usually quite difficult to resolve by communication only. The issue of the rising rates of divorces all over the world is quite significant and deserves proper attention. It is so because it is in traditional families that children are raised and fostered as full-fledged personalities. It is also so because high rates of divorce indicate people are unhappy about their lives, and this fact may have impact on the society as a whole. Unfortunately, the increase of divorce is likely to continue or at least stay at the same level with possible changes, give or take a few percent due to the fact that these days many young people already have the divorce experience, and many children have experienced their parents’ divorce and other problems associated with this issue. Works Cited OECD. "Marriage and Divorce Rates." OECD.org. OECD, 24 Jan 2014. Web. 30 May 2015. . Britt, S. "Research Finds Correlation Between Financial Arguments, Decreased Relationship Satisfaction." Kansas State University. N. p., 12 Jul 2013. Web. 30 May 2015. . Asthana, A., and D. Campbell. "US Study Says Divorce is Linked to Age and Education." Guardian 27 September 2009, n. pag. Web. 30 May. 2015. . Fottrell, Q. "Want to Stay Married? Get a Degree. "Market Watch. 4 Oct 2014: n. page. Web. 30 May. 2015. . Lieber, R. "Money Talks to Have Before Marriage." New York Times [New York] 24 October 2009, The New York Edition B1. Print. Engel, P. Divorce Demography. 2014. Map. Business Insider. Web. 30 May 2015. . Maselli, P. "Divorce Rates Increase if You’re Under 25." Maelliwarren.com. N. p., 20 Mar 2014. Web. 30 May 2015. . Read More