In the United States, in 2005 there were 7.5 new marriages per 1,000 people, and 3.6 divorces per 1,000, a ratio which has existed for many individual years since the 1960s. For the past generation, there has been a slight decrease in the divorce rate, with those of college educated people being only 20%.
Divorce is still a big issue in America though, as it leads to instability of the family. With the family unit deteriorating, several social consequences assure.
Therefore, it is important to review the reasons which cause divorce. The main causes in 2004 (2003) were:
- Extramarital affairs - 27% (29%)
- Family strains - 18% (11%)
- Emotional/physical abuse - 17% (10%)
- Mid-life crisis - 13% (not in 2003 survey)
- Addictions, e.g. alcoholism and gambling - 6% (5%)
- Workaholism - 6% (5%)
To the above list, two more may now be added: testicular and ovarian cancer. Amazingly, the myth was that any cancer would cause sufficient stress in the family to increase divorce rates. However, this is not true. For instance, the rate of divorce with breast cancer victims actually decreased by 8%.
Yet testicular and cervical cancers stand out as two outliers on the normal curve, with 20% and 40% increases respectively noted.
12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and about 1/3 die. Testicular cancers are on the rise. Currently about 8000 men per year are diagnosed, and 400 die. Why those affected with these diseases are more likely to get a divorce is open to speculation. Perhaps these cancers are predominant when the couple is young, and has less stability in the relationship. Perhaps intimacy is more affected with these types of cancers. More exploratory work is needed to make any conclusions.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control
www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm
European Cancer Conference, 2007
http://www.ecco-org.eu/News/News/In-the-news/page.aspx/72?xf_itemId=139&xf_catId=8
del.icio.us
Digg this
