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Age at marriage and the risk of divorce in England and Wales

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Lampard, Richard (2013) Age at marriage and the risk of divorce in England and Wales. Demographic Research, Volume 29 . pp. 167-202. Article number 7. doi:10.4054/DemRes.2013.29.7

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2013.29.7

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Abstract

Background: A well-documented association exists between age at marriage and the risk of divorce. However, substantial gaps in our knowledge and understanding of its origins, nature, and implications still exist.

Objectives: This article documents the relationship between women's ages at first marriage and marriage cohort divorce rates, assessing the importance of relative ages at marriage (based on rankings within marriage cohorts) and of absolute, chronological ages at marriage, and evaluating the contribution of changes in the age at marriage distribution to observed divorce rates.

Methods: Direct standardisation and logistic regression analyses are applied to published marriage and divorce data for the 1974-1994 marriage cohorts in England and Wales.

Results: Changing ages at marriage appear to have constrained the rise in divorce across the cohorts examined. However, the results suggest that much of the impact of age at marriage is linked to relative ages, reducing the extent of this 'braking' effect. It also appears that a positive effect of relative age at marriage on the risk of divorce for later marriages is outweighed by the negative effect of absolute age at marriage at higher ages.

Conclusions: Both explanations relating to 'maturity' and explanations focusing on 'selection' or 'marriage markets' appear of relevance to the association between age at marriage and divorce.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Divisions: Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Marriage age -- Statistics, Divorce -- Statistics
Journal or Publication Title: Demographic Research
Publisher: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
ISSN: 1435-9871
Official Date: 30 July 2013
Dates:
DateEvent
30 July 2013Published
7 July 2012Submitted
Volume: Volume 29
Page Range: pp. 167-202
Article Number: Article number 7
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2013.29.7
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access

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