UK Wedding News
24/06/2013
A new report has claimed couples can see through the recession together despite the financial pressure it puts on a relationship.
The study, which was carried out by the Marriage Foundation, challenged a previous claim of a link between divorce and recession.
Relationship charities have previously claimed that more married couples break up during an economic downturn because of the strain of financial anxiety putting pressure on relationships. While lawyers have suggested recessions actually keep couples together, as they cannot afford to go through expensive divorce procedures and the cost of buying a second house. In addition, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has also been unable to make sense of the conflicting arguments, claiming it is too early to say whether the current fall in divorce rates will continue.
The latest research however, which was carried out by Harry Benson of the marriage think-tank, reveals that neither side can claim to have reached a valid conclusion because a link does not exist.
The report said: "For every year since the 1970s – and across every duration of marriage, from 'newlyweds' through to 'silver surfers' – divorce rates have almost always stayed within plus or minus 10 percent of the previous year's figure.
"There is no evidence whatsoever to link either economic growth or stock market performance with changes in divorce rates."
The Marriage Foundation also shows that during the three periods of economic decline since 1979, divorce rates have risen in two cases and fallen in one.
The 2008 crisis did coincide with a slight fall in the divorce rate, but over the two previous recessions in 1980 and 1991, marriage breakdown increased. Similarly, in times of economic prosperity, the divorce rate fluctuations have been random.
The boom in 2003 saw an overall 5% increase in divorces from the previous year, whereas the 1994 boom saw rates fall by 3%. In 1983, there was no change overall.
Harry Benson, Communications Director at the Marriage Foundation, puts the confusion down to statisticians' failure to compare like with like.
He explained: "It's hard, if not impossible, to spot any kind of trend in each new year's divorce rate figures because they combine the divorce rates of couples who have been together, say, two years with those who have been together twenty years.
"Even when you look at how divorce rates change from year to year by duration of marriage, you really can't make any sense of the random peaks and falls.
"To see the real trend, you need to follow the couples who marry in any particular year and compare how they fare over time against couples who married in other years. Only then can you see the real picture, which is that divorce rates are falling entirely because couples are doing better in the early years. For couples married ten years or more, divorce rates haven't changed in decades."
(JP/CD)
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Recession 'Does Not Lead To More Break-Ups'
A new report has claimed couples can see through the recession together despite the financial pressure it puts on a relationship.
The study, which was carried out by the Marriage Foundation, challenged a previous claim of a link between divorce and recession.
Relationship charities have previously claimed that more married couples break up during an economic downturn because of the strain of financial anxiety putting pressure on relationships. While lawyers have suggested recessions actually keep couples together, as they cannot afford to go through expensive divorce procedures and the cost of buying a second house. In addition, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has also been unable to make sense of the conflicting arguments, claiming it is too early to say whether the current fall in divorce rates will continue.
The latest research however, which was carried out by Harry Benson of the marriage think-tank, reveals that neither side can claim to have reached a valid conclusion because a link does not exist.
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The report said: "For every year since the 1970s – and across every duration of marriage, from 'newlyweds' through to 'silver surfers' – divorce rates have almost always stayed within plus or minus 10 percent of the previous year's figure.
"There is no evidence whatsoever to link either economic growth or stock market performance with changes in divorce rates."
The Marriage Foundation also shows that during the three periods of economic decline since 1979, divorce rates have risen in two cases and fallen in one.
The 2008 crisis did coincide with a slight fall in the divorce rate, but over the two previous recessions in 1980 and 1991, marriage breakdown increased. Similarly, in times of economic prosperity, the divorce rate fluctuations have been random.
The boom in 2003 saw an overall 5% increase in divorces from the previous year, whereas the 1994 boom saw rates fall by 3%. In 1983, there was no change overall.
Harry Benson, Communications Director at the Marriage Foundation, puts the confusion down to statisticians' failure to compare like with like.
He explained: "It's hard, if not impossible, to spot any kind of trend in each new year's divorce rate figures because they combine the divorce rates of couples who have been together, say, two years with those who have been together twenty years.
"Even when you look at how divorce rates change from year to year by duration of marriage, you really can't make any sense of the random peaks and falls.
"To see the real trend, you need to follow the couples who marry in any particular year and compare how they fare over time against couples who married in other years. Only then can you see the real picture, which is that divorce rates are falling entirely because couples are doing better in the early years. For couples married ten years or more, divorce rates haven't changed in decades."
(JP/CD)
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