An economic recession can have a big impact on the way couples stay together and how, when, and if they decide to divorce. There’s good news, however, as according to new data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the divorce rate in the U.S. is the lowest that it has been since the early 70s. Add in the fact that affairs are declining, and the it would appear that couples are doing what it takes to make it these …  Read More →

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal explains research which seems to indicate that it isn’t if a couple fights, but rather how the couple fights which determines if the relationship is going well. Some of the factors that can help gauge if your fights are healthy include, where, when, the tone and what words were used. It is also important to hear the other side out, and not just ignore the other person’s side of the dispute. At first,... 

There is a new trend among married couples, separated but not divorced. A recent article in the New York Times describes how failing marriages are staying separated, sometimes by choice, others by their own stubbornness. Family law differs from state to state, but for the most part, regardless of how long the couple stays separated, as long as they are married on paper then they are legally married. And these separated couples are bound by tax... 

The impact of autism on families is a much-debated topic. A recent article in the L.A. Times takes on just this subject, exploring what stages of raising an autistic child bring the highest risk for divorce. Recent studies have found, according to the article, that the risk of divorce among families raising autistic children is significantly higher when the autistic child is young. It is then that stress rates for parents are at their highest,... 

In Japan, there is a battle raging among the progressives and the conservatives. The Democratic Party of Japan, the progressives, came into power last year with a plan to give women the freedom to choose their married name. The current law in Japan allows only one surname per family, which is traditionally the man’s. Many feel this requirement is wrong, and that neither side should have to change their names. The Democrats came into power after... 

In China, divorce may still come with a social stigma attached, but more and more recently, new economic conditions and changing social relationships are leading to record highs in divorce in the country, according to CNN . Take, for example, the case of TV actress Tang Yi, who has been married to her film director husband for a decade. She did not get along with her in-laws, and told CNN in an interview that he had been taking their side in disputes.... 

Divorce may be a social contagion that can spread through friends, family and even coworkers, according to a recent study by James Fowler, professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, that was posted on CNN.com . The preliminary findings of the study, which had fellow researchers from Harvard and Brown Universities, indicates that your decision to divorce can sway your friends into divorce as well. Fowler describes... 

Researchers are growing increasingly interested in trying to pinpoint what makes long-term marriages make it. A recent article from The New York Times lays out some research into the brain activity of happily married couples and those that don’t make it. One thing scientists do know is that it is very difficult to determine how long a marriage will last unless you are in the marriage. A study by Robert Levenson, a director of psychophysiology... 

The surprising divorce of power couple Al and Tipper Gore has reminded the American public about that simple truth: nobody knows what goes on in a marriage except the two people in it. Few predicted that prominent divorce , and researchers have found that divorce on the whole is a difficult outcome to predict or to quantify. One researcher, according to the New York Times , was Robert Levenson, the director of the psychophysiology lab at the University... 

We’ve all heard the popular statistic which seems to doom half of all of our friends, family and even our marriages to the realm of divorce, but is it true? According to Time.com , the statistic that 50% of all marriages will end in divorce may be more myth than reality. Part of the problem with the common saying is that it purports to explain how many marriages currently entered into will last. That problem is compounded with the vague generalities... 

There is a myth that circulates among the community of parents of autistic children saying that the divorce rate among such families is 80 percent. However, a new study has debunked that myth, showing that divorce rates are in fact similar between families with and without autistic children, WebMD is reporting . The study came out of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. The study’s researcher... 

Couples in marital trouble are waiting for the economic downturn to end before getting a divorce, according a Washington Post article . In what the article calls the Great Recession, couples that probably should or want to dissolve are holding off in hopes that housing prices will return to normal and job prospects will improve. Often, in these stressed out financial times, a money shortage can mean that there is not enough to support two separate... 

The recession is keeping some couples together who might have divorced in more prosperous times, rather than riding out a difficult relationship. In Detroit, especially, where unemployment and a depressed housing market have hit as hard as anywhere in the country, the approach towards divorce is changing to meet the market difficulty. Hiring lawyers can sometimes be an expensive proposition, and for those who have it tough financially, hiring a... 

In a reversal of a long-standing trend, new research has found that men are now more likely to marry women who are more educated and make more money than they. The same is true in the reverse, as women are more likely than ever to marry a man who makes less money or has less education than she. The New York Times is reporting that the Pew Research Center will be releasing the results of the research. Pew Research analyzed U.S. census data. The...