Social Factors that Relate to Divorce - Research Paper Example

Introduction Studies on the impact of educational qualifications of spouses and the level of parental education on the divorce rate have often assumed that the incidence of divorce is often related to the joint characteristics of both partners (Allison, 2005). However, studies conducted with an empirical approach have established that this phenomenon is also related predominantly to the educational level of the individual partner as well (Becker, 2007). Moreover, there have been several studies where the researchers have considered the education of the husband and wife but have not relied much upon the effects when both their experiences are studied in a combined fashion. Some of the studies conducted in the United States have shown a negative impact of increasing educational qualifications among partners and the rising risks of highly qualified couples to separate. On an individual note, a high qualification on the part of the female partner had proven to have a positive effect on the longevity of a marriage. Further, there is strong evidence to establish that differences in the educational levels of both partners tend to have no significant influence on the risk of a divorce (Berrington and Ian Diamond, 2008). Although education is one of the important factors that influences a family and the tendency among partners to seek divorce as an option for ending an unhealthy marriage, there are several other important factors which are known to influence a marriage including social background, religion, as well as the family income. In terms of the social background, the metric often used is either the social class of the parents or their educational levels. Evidence suggests that middle-class families and well-educated parents are the most likely to seek divorce than other social classes. Moreover, there is considerable attention to suggest that entering school or university after marriage is also bound to have a significance impact on the family (Oppenheimer, 2007). While increase in a husband’s educational qualifications was found to raise the risk of marriage, there has been no significant effect on the part of wives (Kim Lloyd, 2008). However, there has not been much effort into studying both parents’ education as well as spouses’ education as two combined variables. Further, there is much to be gained by studying various forms of education that exist within a family and their relative impact on a divorce. Given the belief that a large correlation exists between all these variables, there is a high possibility that a structured approach in this direction will yield many interesting results. Statement of the problem “The relation of education levels of parents and children among rural families in Pennsylvania on the rate of divorce within such families” //explanation has already been provided in preceding updates Purpose The goal of this study is to understand the impact of educational levels of parents and children among families in a specific region of the United States to identify the related influence on the incidence of divorce among such families. As rural households have lesser access to high quality education in comparison to urban areas, it is believed that such an analysis will help analyze the most precise motivations for family members to seek education and the extent to which such education helps sustain the existence of a family. Significance of the Study Divorce rates are on the rise in the world today and the United States is currently placed second in the world among countries with the highest rates of divorces in the world (at 54%). It is also widely known that divorce rates are the highest among countries with the highest literacy rates and that possess the highest living standards. A high incidence of divorce among developed countries means that the increased impact of education on people is somehow influencing their tendency to overcome issues in a marriage using divorce as one of the most probable options. Thus, the extent to which education is a direct or indirect factor in motivating partners to dissolve a marriage is an important area of study (Waite and Lillard, 2008). Secondly, increasing divorce implies that children going through such a process are often the most influenced by the decision of their parents to split. Besides lack of care or attention from both parents, children from divorced families are also known to demonstrate abnormal behavior at school and have a general difficulty in keeping up with their studies. The importance of proper care and understanding of children and the extent to which parents make an effort to educate their children along with the school is another important area that needs to be studied. Finally, divorce is an elaborate process. Parents as much as children are often ill equipped to deal with a split and are often concerned over the impact of their decision on the future of their children. To overcome this deficiency, the courts have made it mandatory for parents seeking divorce to undergo educational programs for a smooth divorce that will not impact the members of a family significantly. The degree to which such education really helps parents and children in overcoming a divorce process without difficulty is another interesting area to examine. Studying all these aspects will help create a overall understanding of the various areas a family needs to consider and analyze before choosing a divorce as the ultimate solution to a family problem. Establishing relation between education and family well being will in turn help create an impression on parents on the basic areas they need to work on in order to save their marriage and secure the well-being of their children. Research question The primary question of the research will be to ascertain the relationship between educational qualification of parents and the divorce rates within their families. Additionally, the study will also study the educational development of children among families that undergo divorce as well as determine whether there is a significant relationship between divorce education and the development of children through a divorce process. References 1. Allison (2005), Event history analysis: regression for longitudinal event data. Thousand Oaks: Sage. 2. Becker (2007), A Treatise on the Family. Harvard University Press. 3. Berrington and Ian Diamond (2008), Marital disruption among the 1958 British birth cohort: The role of cohabitation. London: Population Studies. 4. Oppenheimer (2007), Womens rising employment and the future of the family in industrialized countries. Population and Development Review. 5. Kim Lloyd (2008), Spousal alternatives and marital dissolution. American Sociological Review. 6. Waite and Lillard (2008), Children and marital disruption. American Journal of Sociology. Read More