durationof marriage before divorcethe national divorce rate: 194s-77 . median and quartile duration...

Data from theNATIONAL VITAL STATISTICS SYSTEM

Duration of Marriage Before DivorceUnited States

An analysis of trends and patterns of divorce according to durationof marriage at time of decree. Discusses selected characteristics ofdivorces and divorcing persons in relation to duration of marriage todivorce.

DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 81-1916

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESPublic Health Service

Office of Health Research, Statistics, and TechnologyNational Center for Health StatisticsHyattsville, Maryland July 1981

Series 21Number 38

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Plateris, Alexander A.Duration of marriage to divorce, United States.(Vital and health statistics. Series 21, Data from the national vital statistics system ; no.

38) (DHHS publication ; no. (PHS) 81-1916)1. Divorce–United States–Statistics. 2. Marriage–United States–Statistics. I. Title.

II. Series. III. Series: DHHS publication ; no. (PHS) 81-1916.HA211.A3 no. 38 [HQ834] 312’.1’73s 81-9668ISBN 0-8406 -0127-0 [306.8’0973] AACR2

For sale hy tl]e Superintendent of l)ocuments, LT.S. (government I1rir]tin~ Oificc, Washin~ton, I), C. 20402

NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS

DOROTHY P. RICE, Director

ROBERT A. ISRAEL, Deputy Director

JACOB J. FELDMAN, Ph.D., Associate Director for Analysis and Epidemiology

GAIL F. FISHER, Ph. D., Assocrizte Director for the Cooperative Health Statistics System

GARRIE J. LOSEE, Associate Director for Data Processing and Services

ALVAN O. ZARATE, Ph.D., Assz”stantDirector for International Statistics

E. EARL BRYANTj Associate Director for Interview and Examination Statistics

ROBERT C. HUBER, A.woctite Director for Mamgement

MONROE G. SIRKEN, Ph.D., Associate Director for Research and Methodology

PETER L. HURLEY, Associate Director for Vital and Health Care Statistics

ALICE HAYWOOD, Information Officer

DIVISION OF VITAL STATISTICS

JOHN E. PATTERSON, Director

ALICE M. HETZEL, Deputy Director

ALICE M. HETZEL, Chief Marriage and Divorce Statistics Branch

JOSEPH D. FARRELL, Chief Programming Branch

MABEL G. SMITH, Chief, Statistical Resources Branch

Vital and Health Statistics-Series 21-No. 38

., DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 81-1916Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 81-9668

>, ... .,,’?

CONTENTS

k&oduction .......................... .... ........ .................. .............. ...... ................................................................

Summary ................ .............. .... .. ............ .............. .......... .........................................................................

Trends and Variation ... ...... .............. ...... ...... ........ .... .. .................. ................................ ...... .... ...... ............Trends in Duration to Divorce ... .......................... ...... ...... ...... ...... .............................. ...... ..................Duration of Marriage at Annulment ....... ............ .................. ...... .. ...... ........................ .. .............. ........Geographic Vfition ........................................................... ....................................... .......................Intemationsl Comparisons .............................................................. ...................................................

Divorce Rates by Duration of First Mmiage ... ............ .......................................................... ..................

Separation ......................... .............................. ...................................... ............ ...... ........ ........................Duration of Marriage to Sepmation ....................................................................................................Duration of Separation to Divorce ........ ................................................ .............................................

Duration of Marriage by Selected Characteristics ....................................... .............................................Number of Times Married ............................... ........ .................................... .. .....................................Age at Mtiage .... .............................. .......................................................... .......................... ............Children in Divoxe .................................... ..... ................................ ...... ...... ........ ...... ...... ...................

Refmences ....................... ........................................................ .. ............ ........... ....... ................................

Iist of Detailed Tables .......... ...... ........ .... .............. .................. ..... .. ...... .................................... ...... ........

Appendix: Technical Notes ....................................................................................................... .............

A.

B.

c.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

LIST OF TEXT TABLES

Median and quartile duration of marriage at time of decree for the total of reporting States, andthe national divorce rate: 194S-77 .............................................. ...... .................... .... ....................

Median and quartile duration of marriage at time of decree: Divorce-registration area and eachregistration State, 1970 and 1977 .............................................. .... ...................................... .........

Estimated number of divorces of fiist-married women, number of first-married women, andfirst-marriage divorce rate, by duration of first marriage: United States, 1970 ............. .............. ..

Median duration of marriage at time of separation and median duration of separation at time ofdecree: Total of 20 reporting States and selected States, 1977 .................................... .............. ...

Median age of husband and wife at time of separation for couples divorcing in data year: Total of18 reporting States and selected States, 1977 ............................................................................. ..

Median and quartile duration of marriage at time of decree, by nurqber of this marriage ofhusband and wife: Divorce-registration area, 1977 ..... ............................................................... ...

Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by age at marriage of husband and wife:Divorce-registration area, 1977 .. ................................................................................. ....... ..........

Median age at marriage of divorcing husband and wife, by duration of marriage at time of decree:Divorce-registration area, 1977 .................................. ...................................... ............ .................

1

1

22335

7

77

10

11121314

15

16

28

4

6

8

11

11

12

13

13

...Ill

J. Percent distribution of divorces by number of children under 18 years of age, according toduration of marriage of divorcing couples at time of decree: Divorce-registration area, 1977 ....... 14

K. Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of children under 18 years of age:Divorce-registration area, 1961.77 ................................................................................................ 15

LIST OF TEXT FIGURES

1. Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1867-1977......................... 3

2. Cumulative percent of divorces by duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States,1950-77........................................................................................................................................ 5

3. Regression of divorce rate on the median duration of mrm-iage at time of decree: States indivorce-registration area, 1970...................................................................................................... 7

4. Estimated divorce rates by duration of marriage at time of decree for couples with wife -edonce: United States, 1970 ............................................................................................................ 9

5. Percent distribution of divorces by duration of marriage at time of separation and duration ofseparation at time of decree: Totaf of 20 reporting States, 1977.................................................. 10

6. Median duration of marriage at time of decree by number of this marriage of husband and wife:Divorce-registration area, 1977..................................................................................................... 12

SYMBOLS

Data not available-----—--——–--——-—— - -I-

Category not applicable -------------------- . . .

Quantity zero--------------------——--------- -

Quantity more than O but less than 0.05---- 0.0

Figure does not meet standards ofreliability or precision–----—-------–-— *

iv

DURATION OF MARRIAGE BEFORE DIVORCE:

UNITED STATES

Alexander A. Plateris, Ph.D., Division of Vital Statistics

INTRODUCTION

From its inception, marriage is subject to therisk of disruption. In the early years of marriagethe greatest risk of disruption is by divorce;however, this risk declines in the later yearswhen the risk of death of a spouse surpasses it.

Although information is not generally avail-able on the duration of marriages dissolved bydeath, it is possible to obtain a fairly definitivecharacterization of marriages that end in divorceaccording to the duration of marriage at thetime the divorce decree becomes final. Data onthe duration of marriage, especially on themedb.n duration to divorce, provide informationthat can be related to other variables associatedwith maritaI disruption by divorce. Significantamong these are the number of children involvedin divorce, the ages of husband and wife atmarriage, and the marriage order of each spouse.

Information recorded on certificates ofdivorce is used to generate the statistics neededfor analysis of the duration of marriage at thetime of decree. States that participate in thedivorce-registration area enable the NationalCenter for Health Statistics to develop statisticalinformation for a significant portion of theUnited States. A description of the divorce-registration area and technical notes on methodsfor data preparation are contained in the ap-pendix.

Generally, data on the duration of marriageto divorce are more completely recorded thanthose for any other characteristic of divorce. In1977, information used to calculate duration

was stated on more than 99 percent of alldivorce records obtained from the States in thedivorce-registration area. Moreover, statistics onduration are available for 81 years of the periodfrom 1867 to 1977.

Each year, the National Center for HealthStatistics prepares several cross-tabulations onduration of marriage to divorce by otherselected variables. These cross-tabulations showthe variation in duration of marriage to divorcefor the various categories of the divorcingpopulation. Most of the analysis presented inthis report is based on these tabulations.

In addition to the data obtained through thevital statistics system, information on the dura-tion of marriage is also collected by the U.S.Bureau of the Census, particularly in the decen-nial censuses. Census figures provide informationon the duration of marriage of currently marriedpersons at the time of enumeration. These datacan be used to obtain divorce rates by durationof marriage.

SUMMARY

Recently the national divorce rate has in-creased. Meanwhde, the median duration ofmarriage at the time of decree has declined from7.5 years in 1963 to 6.5 years in 1974-76. Stateswith high divorce rates generally have shortmedian duration to divorce, and vice versa.

Divorce rates by duration of marriage at thetime of decree were estimated for first marriagesof wives in the United States in 1970. The ratewas highest for first marriages that lasted 3 years

1

(34.3 divorces per 1,000 first-married women inthat duration interval ) and declined with in-creasing duration to 1.0 divorces per 1,000women in the interval of 35 years or moreduration.

Information on the date of separation, re-ported by a limited number of States, permitstabulation of the duration of marriage to separa-tion and the duration of separation to decree. In1977, for the reporting States combined, themedian duration of marriage at time of separa-tion (for those couples divorcing in 1977) was4.9 years. The median duration of separation atthe time of decree was 1.1 years in the reportingStates combined, and for approximately 75percent of the couples this duration was lessthan 2 years.

On the average, the more times a divorcingperson has been married, the less the elapsedtime between marriage and divorce. In 1977, themedian duration of marriage at the time ofdecree was 7.5 years for husbands married once,4.8 years for husbands married twice, and 3.5years for those married three times or more. Forwives, the medians were similar.

When first marriages and remarriages areconsidered together, divorcing husbands andwives who married in their twenties tended tohave longer marriage durations than divorcingpersons who married at older ages. For divorcinghusbands married in their teens, the medianduration in 1977 was 7.2 years; the medianincreased to 7.9 years for those married at 20-24years of age and then declined consistently withincreasing age to 3.4 years for those who weremarried at 45 years of age and over. For wives,the median duration was gre~test for thosemarried under 20 years of age.

The median duration of marriage at the timeof divorce increased with the number of re-ported children under 18 years of age. Although .a general dechne of the median duration ofmamage at divorce has recently occurred, themedian duration has increased for divorcingcouples with two children and with three chilckenor more. For the former, the median duration ofmarriage at decree lengthened from 8.9 years in1961 to 10.1 years in 1977. For the lattergroup, the median increased from 12.1 to 14.2years over the same period.

TRENDS AND VARIATION

Trends in Duration to Divorce

For most of the years between 1867 and1977, data are available for the United States orportions thereof to calculate the median dura-tion of marriage at time of decree (table 1). Asshown in figure 1, considerable fluctuation hasoccurred in the median duration of marriageover this 11 l-year period. The median durationhas ranged between 5.8 and 8.3 years and thetrend has changed directions several times. Themedian durations for 1870-72 were almost thesame as those for 1969-72 (6.9 years in 1870,1872, and 1969; 6.7 years in lt]71 and1970-72). ‘

In the 1870’s and 1880’s the median dura-tion increased. It reached the high{est levelduring the 1887-1905 period; during these yearsthe median was 8.0 years or higher, with amaximum of 8.3 years occurring in 1889, 1891,1900, and 1901. Although information on dura-tion was not collected during the years from1907 to 1921, the median duration of marriageto divorce did change from 7.9 years in 1906 to6.6 years in 1922. It increased again during the1920’s, particularly as the Depression started.The second period when data were not col-lected, 1933-47, covered the Depression andWorld War 11 years. During this period the changewas comparatively small, dropping from 7.1years in 1932 to 6.4 years in 1948. The median forthe reporting States combined reached an all-time low in the early 1950’s, particularly in1950 (5.8 years) and 1951 (6.0 years).

From 1950 to 1977, the median duration ofmarriage to divorce rapidly increased to a levelof 7.5 years in 1963 and then decreased to 6.5-6.6 years in 1973-77. The median ran counterto the trend in the divorce rate, which declinedfrom a peak in 1946 to a low in the late 1950’sand then began to increase in 1963 (table A).

Since 1953, the third quartile of the dura-tion of marriage to divorce followed the sametrend as the median duration. The third quartileincreased from 12.0 years in 1953 to 14.9 yearsin 1963 and then declined to 12.9 in 1976 (tableA). The first quartile did not show any cleartrend; in 1959-77 it oscillated between 3.2 and

6.0

5.0

1

l“

v

.................. ....

‘- . . . A““””’’.,--J -...........-fl

0.0 I I I I I I I I I I 1 I [1860 187o 1880 1890 19CJI 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 19;0

YEAR

\() I I Ii,a,k,, 1,,,,,,,,1,L,,,. %14!.,,<,!,,,,1,,1>1,

I

Figure 1. Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1867-1977

3.4 years. Some variations in these indexes maybe caused by the changes in the number ofreporting States, but the trends continued in theyears when the number of reporting States didnot change (1952-56, 1963-67, and 1971-77)indicating that the data give a reasonable repre-sentation of divorce behavior in the UnitedStates.

For divorces granted in the reporting Statescombined during the years 1950-77, the percentdistributions by duration of marriage to time ofdecree are shown in table 2. Recently, the modalduration interval was 2 years; however, in theearly 1950’s it was 1 year. When the divorce ratewas increasing and the median duration wasdeclining (1963-76), the percent for the com-bined intervals of 1-4 years and 5-9 yearsshowed an increase; however, the intervals of10-14 and 15-19 years declined.

The trend in the cumulative percent distribu-tion of divorces by duration for 1950-77 isshown in figure 2. The proportion of marriagesthat lasted less than 5 years declined from themiddle 1950’s to the middle 1960’s and thenincreased, although the latter increase was muchless pronounced than the prior decline.

Duration of Marriage at Annulment

Among those marriages dissolved by courtdecree, a considerable difference occurred be-tween the duration of marriages that ended byabsolute divorce and those by annulment. Dura-tion data for the two types of decrees have beentabulated separately for the years 1951 through1959. For aIl reporting States combined, theannual median duration at the time of annul-ment varied from 1.0 to 1.2 years over thk9-year period; however, the median duration atthe time of absolute divorce varied from 5.8 to7.1 years. Thus the duration of marriage at thetime of divorce was about 5 times longer thanthat at the time of annulment. Annulments com-prise an insignificant fraction of all judicizddissolutions of marriage, varying in recent yearsfrom 1.1 to 1.9 percent of the combined totalsfor all reporting States combined. Hence theoverall duration of marriage at the time of itsdisruption by judicial decree is aIways simihi.rtothat at the time of absolute divorce.

Geographic Variation

Individual States show ku-ge differences inthe yearly fluctuations of the median duration

3

Table A. Median and auartile duration of marriage at time of decree for the total of reporting States, and the national divorce rate:

1948-77

[ Figures for 1948-59 are based on compIete counts; figures for 1960-77 are based on sample data]

Year decree granted

19w ...... .. ... ... .. ... ... .... .. . ..... . . .....4. ... .. . ..... . ... ... .. . ..... . .... .. ... .. .. .. ..... . . .... .. ... .... . .1963 ..... .. .... .. ... .. .. .. ... .. .. .... ... .. .. ... .... . . ..... . ... .. ... .. ... . . ..... . .. .... . .. ... ... .... .... . ..... ..1962 ..... .. .... .. .. .... ... . ... .. . .... .. .. ... ... . ... . .. .... . . ..... .. .. ... .. .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .... . . ..... .. .. .. ... .1961 .. .. . .. . .. .. .. . .. ... .. .. ... . ... ... . ... ... .. . .... . ... .. .. ... ... .. . .... . ... .. ... ... .. ... . .... . .... ... . . ..... .1960 ..... . ... .... .. .. ... . .. .. ... . .. .. .... . ... .. .. ... . .. .... ... . ... .. .. .... . ... .... . .... .. .. .... . .. .... .... .... .

1959 .... .. ... . ... .. .. .... . . .. ... . ... ... ... .... ... . .... . ... . .... . .... . .. ... ... . ..... . ...... .. .... ... . .. ... .. ... .1958 .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .... .. ... ... . ... .... .. .. .... .. .... ... ..... .. .. .. .. .. .... .. . .... . .. .. .. . . .... ... . ..... . .. .. .1957 .. ... .. . ... .. .... . . .... .... .. ... . .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... .. .. .... . .. ... .. ..... .. .. ... .. ...?. . .. .. ... .. . .. .. .. .. ..1956 .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .... .. .. ... . .. .... .. .... .. .. .... .. ..... . .. .... .. .. .. .. . ... .. .. .. .. .. .. . ..... ... ... .. .. .1955 ... ... . .... .. .... .. .. .... . ... .. .. . .. .. .. ... ... . .. .... . .. .... . .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .... . ... .. ... . .... .. .. ... . ....19w .... .. .. .... .. . ... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. . ... .. .. .. .. ..... . .. .... .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .1953 ..... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .... . . .. .. .. .... .. ... .... . ... ... ... .. ... ..1952 .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ...... .. .... .. .. .... .. .... .. .. .... .. .. ... . .. .... .. .. .... .1951 ... .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .... .. .. . . .. .. .. ... . .. .. .. .. ...#... ... .. .. .... .. .. .. . ... ...... . .... .1950 .. .. .... .. . ... ... . .... .... .. ... . .... .. .. .. .. .. ... . ... ... .. .. ... .. . .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. ... ... .. .... .. .. .. .

1949 .. .. .. .. ... .. .... .. . ..... .. .. ... . . ... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. . .... . .. .... . . .. .. ... . .. ... . .. ... ... .. .. .. .. ..... . . ...1948 ... .. . .... .. .. .... . . .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. ... ... . . .... .. .. ... . .. .... .. . ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .

Numberof

reportingStates

2929292929292928

282622222222222120

250

16122423232323231916

1212

Duration of marriage attime of decree (in vears)

Firstquartile

3.43.33.33.33.33.23.23.3

3.23.23.23.23.23.33.43.43.3

3.3

3.22.83.02.92.92.92.92.93.02.8

2.92.8

Median

6.66.56.56.56.66.76.76.7

6.97.07.17.17.27.47.57.37.1

7.2

7.06.46.76.56,46.46.16.16.05.8

1::

Third

quartilel

12.912.913.113.313.613.613.813.7

14.114.314.614.614.814.614.914.514.0

13.8

13.512.612.712.412.312.112.012.012.312.1

13.113.2

divorcerate per

1,000population

5.05.04.94.64.44.13.73.5

3.22.92.62.52.52.42.32.22.3

2.2

2.22.12.2.2.3

~ 2.32.42.52.52.5

‘ 2.6

2.72.8

lcomputed from grouped data.21n~ludes the District of Columbia.

.

of marriage to divorce (table 3). In 1966, for medians and quartiles of duration are shown forexample, ‘tie median duration increased in themajority of States despite a decline in theduration for the totaI divorce-registration area(DRA). This situation occurred when theincreases were smaller than the declines in theaggregate.

The distribution of divorces by duration ofmarriage is summarized in table B, where

the DRA andeach participating State in 1970and 1977. The medians vary wideIy; however,many are concentrated within the limits of asingle year of duration. In 1970, the highestmedian duration (9.3 years in New York) wasmore than twice the size of the lowest medianduration (4.6 years in Idaho and Wyoming). In1977, the medians ranged from 4.6 years in

4

100

90

80

1

Durat,on

-—-- Less than 25 years

.-—- Less thm 15 years

---- Lessthm 10yeys

—-—- Lw thm 8 years

—— Less thm 5 years

------- Less than 3 yam

— Less than 1 war

.... .. ........,------- ..--...-------, -------

‘“--—’~\ -\ ,/—\ /.-”

\,------

701- ------

1\

‘------

40 ‘.- /’,,‘., -, ~---- -------------

“ \__~

30

1..........-.-...A,

,,. .... ............. . ......... .... .....20

. .

10

Io~79m

YEAR

\ol I 11,,,!.,,, I,,le,,,, !,,.,1<.L,,,,mrl ,,,,!,,101,.

Figure 2. Cumulative percent of divorces by duration of mar.riage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1950-77

Wyoming to 8.4 years in Maryland. Moreover, inboth years, more than one-third of the Statemedians were in the 5 .O-5.9-year interval.Similarly, the first quartiles ranged from 1.9 to4.9 years in 1970 and from 2.1 to 4.9 years in1977; however, about half of those quartiles fellinto the interval of 2.0-2.9 years for both 1970and 1977. The range of the third quartilewas wider than that of the median or of the first

quartile. In 1970, the third quartile ranged from10.3 years in Idaho to 17.1 years in New Yorkand in 1977, it ranged from 8.9 years inWyoming to 15.2 years in Connecticut. Thedistribution of the third quartile is moreuniform, without a concentration in oneparticular duration interval.

A geographic pattern in median duration canbe observed. There is a long median durationamong those DRA States in the New Englandand Mid-Atlantic Divisions and a relatively shortduration in the Mountain Division. A geographicpattern also was found in the divorce rate,indicating an inverse relationship betweenmedian duration and the divorce rate of theDRA States. High medians tend to be associatedwith low divorce rates, and low medians withhigh rates, as shown in figure 3. Thus in 1970,the correlation coefficient between the medianduration and the divorce rate was -0.72 for theStates in the DRA. The divorce rates used forthis correlation ardysis were computed per1,000 married women in 1970.

International Comparisons

One way to gain a perspective on thepreviously described data on the duration ofmarriage at the time of divorce is to compare themedian duration of the United States with thatof other countries. Therefore, the medianduration of marriage at the time of divorcedecree was computed for selected foreigncountries from data published in theDemographic Yearbook of the United Nationsfor the years 19581 and 1976.2 The medianspresented in table 4 refer to divorces granted in1948, 1956, 1966, and 1974, unless otherwisefootnoted.

Many countries do not report duration ofmarriage at the time of decree and the reportingis unsatisfactory in some of those that do. Thecountries shown in table 4 were selected pri-marily because they provide a representation ofall major areas of the globe and a wide variety ofpolitical and social regimes.

As expected, a striking feature of table 4 is~e wide range in the median duration ofmarriage to divorce among the countries shown.The medians for 1974 ranged from 2.2 years in

5

Table B. Median and quartile duration of marriage at time of decrea: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1970 and1977

[ Based on sample data. AM medians and quartiles of 10.0 and above were calculated using grouped data]

State

Divorce-registration area ... .. .. .. .... ... . .. .... . .. ... ... . ... . .. .. .... .. . ... .. .

Rhode island .. .... . .. . ..... . .. .... .. . .. ... .. .... . . .... .. .. .... .. .. .... . .. ... .. . ..... .. .. ... . .. .... .South Carolina ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... .. .. .... .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . .... .. .. .... .. .. .... . ... .. .South Dakota .. .... .... .. ... ... ... .. .. ..... . .. ... .. .. ..... . .. ... .. .. .... . . .... . ... ... . .... .. .. ... ..Tennessee ... ... ... . .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. . ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. ...... .. .... .. .... .. .. ... ... . . .... .. ..Utah .. .. . ... ... . .... . ... .... .. .. .... .. .. ... . .. .. ... . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... . ... .. .. .. .. . .. ... .... .... .. ..

1977 I 1970

3.4

2.12.53.84.42.5

2.92.43.13.02.4

2.74.93.62.72.4

3.1

4.52.93.24.2

4.63.73.02.52.3

4.44.43.92.2

6.6

4.95.07.08.35.3

5.75.06.25.85.2

5.68.47.0

‘5.55.1

6.18.16.o6.07.7

8.26.85.8

5.34.8

7.87.87.04.6

First IMedianquartile

Duration (in years)

12.9

10.99.4

13.315.211.2

10.69.6

12.412.310.2

11.214.613.111.410.3

12.2

15.012.211.914.4

15.113.112.5

11.29.7

14.414.413.3

8.9

3.3

2.12.63.64.62.3

3.62.13.02.62.4

2.64.83.62.42.3

2.84.93.02.84.0

4.6—

2.72.52.5

4.24.13.91.9

6.7

5.35.46.88.65.4

7.24.6

6.65.65.1

5.78.87.05.45.1

6.09.36.35.98.1

9.2-.

5.95.65.3

8.37.77.94.6

Thirdquartile

13.7

12.711.413.616.512.2

13.910.313.612.412.1

12.716.014.412.112.0

13.317.113.612.516.1

16.3.-

13.412.311.6

15.315.115,311.7

2s

26

24

22 [

20

I

6I

.

.

●

✎

● ✎

✎

✎ ✎✎

✎✎

● ☛

L______4 5 6 7 8 9 10

MEDIAN DURATION OF MARRIAGE AT TIME OF DECREE I IN YEARSI

Figure 3. Regression of divorce rate on the median duration ofmarriage at time of decree: States in divorce-registrationarea, 1970

Egypt to 12.2 years in Australia; a similarvariation was found for other years.

The median duration is shorter in the UnitedStates than in most other countries shown. In1974, 9 countries out of 36 had medians lowerthan those for the United States; this findingwas similar in 1966 (11 countries out of 36), in1956 (6 countries out of 29), and in 1948 (5countries out of 26). Generally, the medianduration of marriage for Asia, Africa, the MiddleEast and Eastern Europe tends to be shorterthan that for the United States.

DIVORCE RATES BY DURATIONOF FIRST MARRIAGE

The risk of divorce is much greater in theearly years of a marriage than in the later years.However, the actual pattern that the risk followsis not well known because the informationneeded to calculate divorce rates by duration ofmarriage is not readily available in any givenyear. Data from the 1970 census of the UnitedStates provide estimates, according to durationof marriage, of the numbers of women who werein their first marriage in 1970. These data, withthe 1970 national estimates of divorces byduration of first marriage of women, yielddivorce-rate estimates for the United States in1970 by duration of marriage for couples wherethe wife was married once (table C). A moredetailed description of the estimation procedureis provided in the appendix.

The estimated first-marriage divorce rates aregraphed by duration in figure 4. The pattern ofthe divorce rate shows a steep rise in the first 3years of marriage, with a peak at 3 years’duration. Thereafter, the rate declines steadilyto relatively low levels after the 19th year ofduration. The divorce rate at 3 years’ duration ismore than double the rate of 11 years’ duration,four times the rate in the duration interval of20-24 years, and eleven times the rate in theduration interval of 30-34 years.

SEPARATION

Duration of Marriage to Separation

The duration of a marriage to absolutedivorce is divided into two distinct periods: theperiod when the spouses live together and theperiod when they are separated. At the time ofthe final separation the family ceases to functionas a social unit, children lose one of theirparents, and the household disbands. Becausedivorce proceedings can take many months oryears, a period occurs in which the marriage isdisrupted but is not yet legally dissolved.Therefore, for practical purposes the familyceases to exist at the beginning of the separationperiod. Consequently, the date of separation is

7

Table C. Estimated number of divorces of first-married women, number of first-married women, and first-marriage divorce rate, by

duration of first marriage: United States, 1970

[ Based on sample data. Rates per 1,000 first-married women]

Estimatednumber of

divorces

16,19035,96945,73743,70039,57736,80229,86326,81922,73319,69418,50115,71914,42214,51413,03151,97241,78221,01910,299

6,637

Number offirst-married

women

965,9801,496,5791,410,7891,275,8571,220,0621,187,7791,108,6831,040,501

995,743979,692

1,003,917941,639929,847974,706989,706

4,695,9295,349,1774,123,6523,395,5296,936,401

First-marriagedivcwce rate

16.824.032.434.332.431.026.925.822.820.118.416.715.514.913.211.1

7.85.13.01.0

an important demographic characteristic ofmarital dissolution.

The date of separation is reported by alimited number of States in the DRA (20 Statesin 1977). By using that date, the duration ofeach of the two periods may be calculated, thatis, the duration of marriage to separation andthe duration of separation to divorce. Forcouples who have separated more than once, thedivorce certificate should contain a record of thedate of the last separation before the decree.These separation data do not refer to separationsthat occurred during a given data year, nor tothe entire separation population in a given year,but to separations of couples who were divorcedin a given year. De facto separations are notregistered and legal action is unnecessary.Spouses, if they wish, can obtain a limiteddivorce decree, such as divorce from bed andboard, legal separation, separate maintenance,and so forth, but it is not necessary to do so.Hence, the variation between the Statesre~rding the length of the duration of marriage

to separation is caused by factors other than thedifferences in the divorce laws.

The distribution of divorces by duration ofmarriage to separation for couples divorced in1977 is shown in table 5 and figure 5, and themedian durations are shown in table DI for thereporting States. The modal year of separation isthe year immediately following the marriage. Inthe reporting States combined, about 13 percentof all couples divorced in 1977 were separatedduring the first year of their marriage. The samepattern is found in 11 of the 15 States listed intable 5. In addition, generally more separationsoccurred during the 6 months immediatelyfollowing the marriage than during thesubsequent 6-month period. The percentdeclined with added duration, but a smallnumber of couples (less than 2 lpercent )separated after 30 years or more of marriage.

In the reporting States combined, themedian duration of marriage to separationdeclined slightly in the years 1970-74. For theseStates, the median duration of marriage to

3.5

34

32

30

28

26

24

22

20

18

18

14

12

10

8

8

4

2

0

DURATION OF MARRIAGE AT TIME OF OECREE (IN YEARS)

Figure 4. Estimated divorce rates by duration of marriage at time of decree for couples with wife married once: United States, 1970

9

50

h

\

40

I\

30

\

Duration of sepmtmn at time of decree

5

:

k+

20 \

-----

10 /--

-.i-----

, ~..,

---- Durarm of rmrri+x at time of separation----

--------- ------------ . ..-

1 !0

1 ---------- ...e---- ------— .1---- 1

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28

DURATION OF MARRIAGE (IN YEARS)

Figure 5. Percent distribution of divorces by duration of marriageattimeof separationanddurationof separationattimeof decree:

Total of 20 reporting States, 1977

separation was 4.9 years in 1970-71, 4.8 years in1972-73, and 4.7 years in 1974. From 1970 to1974 medians declined in 13 reporting Statesand increased in 3.

In addition to the duration of marriage atseparation, information about age at separationis available for 18 reporting States in 1977.Median ages at separation are shown in table Efor persons divorcing in 1977. For husbands,these median ages varied from 29.1 to 32.1 yearsamong the 15 selected States shown. For wives,the median ages varied from 27.0 to 29.4 years.

Duration of Separation to Divorce

As expected, the second period of theduration of marriage-the duration of separationto decree—shows a heavy concentration ofdivorces soon after separation. In 1977, for thereporting States combined, over 46 percent ofdivorces were granted within less than 1 yearafter separation and over 75 percent within lessthan 2 years (table 6). The percent declinedrapidly with increased duration of separation, sothat in 1977 only 6.8 percent of divorcesoccurred 5 years or more after separation.

The variation among States was verypronounced, reflecting differences in legal

grounds and procedural re~lations for obtainingan absolute divorce. In Idaho, over 60 percent ofall divorces were granted during the first 6months after separation and in six other Statesover 40 percent were granted during the sameinterval. At the opposite extreme, less than 2percent of decrees were granted during the first6 months after separation in California,Vermont, and Virginia.

In the reporting States combined, themedian duration of separation at time of decreewas 1.2 years in 1970 and 1.1 years in 1977(refer to table D for 1977 figures). In 1970, thelowest State median was 0.4 years in Idaho andWyoming, and the highest median was 2.3 yearsin New York. In 1977, the median duration ofseparation to decree ranged from 0.4 to 1.7years. In the majority of reporting States, themedian duration of separation was less than 1year in both 1970 and 1977.

These data aid in considering whether anassociation exists between two variables-theduration of marriage to separation and theduration of separation to decree. That is,whether couples who have been married for ashort time tend to divorce sooner, or later, afterseparation than those who have been married formany years. For the reporting States combined,

10

Table D. Median duration of marriage at time of separation andmedian duration of separation at time of decree: Total of20 reporting States and selected States, 1977

[Based on sample data. Medians were computed only forindividual reporting States with duration of marriage toseparation and duration of separation to decree 50 percentor more complete]

Median duration

(in years) fromState

Total reporting States .. ..

Alaska .... . ... .. .. . . ... . .. ..... . ..... . ... ....California . .... .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .... .. .. .. .. .Connecticut ... .... .. ... . .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .Hawaii .... .. .. . ... .. .. .... .. .. .. ... . .... .. ..Idaho .. .. ... ... .. .. .. . .... . . .... . .. . ... . .. . ..

Illinois ... . ... .. .. .. ... ... .... . . .... ... . ... ..Iowa .. .... .. ... . .. .... .. .. .. ... . ... . .. ..... . .Kansas ... . .... .. .... .. .. ... . ... .. ... .... .. . .Michigan .... . .... .. .. ... . .... .. ... . .... . . ..Missouri . .. .. . .... .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .

Nebraska ..... . ... .... .. .. .. ... . .. .. .. .. ... .New York ... .... .. .. .. ... .. . .... .. .. .. .. ..Rhode Island ... .. .. .. .. .. . .... . .. .... .. .Tennessee ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. ... ... . .... . ...Utah .. .... . ... ... .. . ... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Vermont .. .... . .. ... .. .. .... .. .... .. .. ... . .Virginia ... ..... . ... .. .. . .. .. .. . ... .. ... .... .Wisconsin ... . .. .... . ... . ... . .. .. .. ... ... .. .Wyoming ... .. .... .. . . .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .

Marriage toseparation

4.9

3.84.86.54.54.3

4.54.74.45.24.3

5.05.45.14.23.6

5.85.55.63.8

Separation todecree

1.1

0.61.51.00.70.4

0.80.70.40.90.5

0.61.71.70.50.8

1.51.70.90.4

Table E. Median age of husbend and wife at time of separationfor couples divorcing in data year: Total of 18 reportingStates and selected States, 1977

[ Based on sample datal Medians were computed only forindividual reporting States with age-reporting 50 percent ormore complete ]

. .

State ,

Total reporting States .... . ... ... .. ... .... ..

Alaska ... . ... .... .... . . .... ... ..... . . .... . . ...i .. .. ... .. . .. .. ..California ... .. .... .... .. .. ... . .. .. .... .. .... .. ..... . .. ... .. . .Connecticut .... .. . ... .. .. ... . .. ....1. .. .. .. .. .... . .... ... ..Hawaii .... .. . ... .. .. .... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. . .. .. .. . . ....Illinois ... . .. .... .. . ... .. ... ... .. .... . ... .. .. . ... .. .. .. . .. ... ..

Kansas ... .. ... .. .. ... .. . ... ... . . ... . ...... . . .... . ... .. .. . ... .. .Missouri ..... . .. . ... . . .... ... ..... ... ... . . .... .. . ... .. . ... .. ..New York ... . .... .. .... .. .. .. .. .. ... ... .... .. .. ... . .. .. . ... .Rhode Island ... .. ... . .. .. .. .. .. ... .. . .. ... . ..... ... . .. ... .Tennessee .. ... ... . ..~.. . .. .. . .... .. . .. ... .. . ... .. . ..... . . ...

Utah .. .. ... .. .. .. .. . . ... . ... ... . .... . .. ... ... . .. .. .. ... .. . .... .Vermont ..... . ...... . ... . ... .. .. .. .. .... . .. ... .. . ... . ... .... .Wrginia ... .. .. .. ... . .. .... . ... .. .. ..... . . ..l .. .... .. .. .... . . ..Msconsin ... . ... .. . ... .. .. .... . ... .. . ... ... . .. ... . .. .... ... ..Wyoming ... .... . .. ... .. .. .. .. .. ...l .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. . ....'

the 1970 median duration of separation to

Median age(in years)

Husbarid

30.9

30.431.832.131.230.1

28.630.331.329.728.5

28.131.130:230.12S).8

Wife

States with the Iongest median duration ofseparation to decree (New York, Rhode Island,Vermont, and Viginia) were among the sevenStates with the longest median duration of

decree was computed for each dura~on intervalof marriage to separation. All medians weresimilar and varied only by 0.1 or less in eitherdirection from the overall median of 1.2 years.The median duration of separation was 1.1 yearsfor couples who had separated less than 1 yearafter marriage, 1.2 years for those who hadseparated 1-5 years after marriage, and 1.3 yearsfor those who had separated 6 years or moreafter marriage.

When State medians are compared, a certainrelationship between the two variables can beobserved. Of the reporting States in 1970, theseven States with the shortest median durationof marriage to separation (Alaska, Idaho,Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, andWyoming) were among those States with theshortest median duration of separation; the four

28.5

27.729.129.428.427.8

27.527.928.927.427.2

27.028.828.028.227.1

marriage to sermration.

. .

DURATION OF MARRIAGEBY SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS

The duration of marriage to divorce isassociated with other characteristics of husbandand wife and their marriage. Three of thosecharacteristics are (1) the number of thismarriage of the husband and wife, (2) the age atmarriage of the husband and wife, and (3) thenumber of chiliken under 18 years of ageinvolved in the divorce. The first twocharacteristics are determined at the time ofmarriage and are constant for the duration ofthe marriage. The number of children under 18years of age involved in divorce is influenced bythe duration of the cqmples’ marriage.

11

.’.

.,

Number of Times Married

Generally, the more times a divorcing personhas been married, the less the elapsed timebetween marriage and divorce. For the entireDRA, the 1977 median duration for alldivorcing couples was 6.6 years, but fordivorcing men and women who had beenmarried only once, the median duration was 7.5and 7.4 years, respectively. In contrast, for thosewho were married more than once the medianduration was 4.6 years for both men and women(table F). Among the remarried, the medianduration for divorcing persons who were marriedtwice was considerably higher than for thosewho were married three times or more; themedian durations were 4.8 and 3.5 years formen and 4.9 and 3.4 years for women (fiLgure 6).The same pattern is shown by the first and thirdquartiles (table F). In all reporting States, withthe exception of Hawaii, the median duration ofmarriage to divorce declined with increasingnumber of marriages for both men and women(table 7).

The median duration .of marriage at decreehas been published by marriage order by using1959 data from a group of 10 reporting States(Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana,Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, an d Utah).3The 1959 median duration for this 10-Stategroup shows the same pattern as that previouslydescribed for 1977. The median duration fordivorcing persons married once was 7.7 years for

6 —

5 —

4 —

3 —

2 —

1 —

oTotal

First marriage Izz2

Second mamage =

Th(rd marr( age or mow u

Husband W,fe

Figure 6. Median duration of marriage at time of decree bynumber of this marriage of husband and wife: Divorce-registration area, 1977

Table F. Median and quartile duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of this marriage of husband and wife:Divorce-registration area, 1977

[ Based on sample data. Nebraska did not require reporting number of this marriage]

I Husband I Wife

Number of this marriageFirst

MedianThird First

MedianThird

quartile quartile quartile quartile

I Duration (in years)

Total .. .... .... ..... . .. . ... . .. ... .. . ... .. ... .... . ... .. ... .. .... . .. ... . .. ..... .. .... .. .. . 3.4 6.6 12.6 3.4 6.6 12.6

First marriage .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. . ... .. . ..... .... .. .. . . .. .... .. .... . ... .. ... . .... . . .... . .. . .. .. .. 4.0 7.5 14.1 3.9 7.4 14.0

Remarriages~ .. .... .. .. .... . . .. ... .. .. ... .. .. ... ... .... .. .. ... . .. .. ... . .. .... . ... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. . 2.2 4.6 8.5 2.2 4.6 8.7

Second marriage ...... .. . ... .. . ... . . .. .. .... .. . .... . . .... . ... ... .. . ... .. . .. ... .. ... .. .. .. ... . 2.4 4.8 8.9 2.4 4.9 9.3

Third marriage or more ... .. .... .. .. .... .. . ... .. ...... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .... . .. .. .. .. .. .. . 1.6 3.6 6.9 1.6 3.4 6.7

1Incl~de~ number of remarriages not @ated.

12

husbands and 7.8 years for wives; the medianduration for remarried persons was 4.6 years forboth sexes.

Data for the DRA in 1977 (table 8) showthat the proportion of husbands and wives whowere ending their first marriages was fairly lowamong those divorced during the early years ofmarriage; however, the proportion who wereremarried was relatively high. About 75 percentof divorcing husbands and wives were marriedonce; however, among those married less than 1year, 43-44 percent were married once. Forthose marriages that lasted 35 years or more,more than 90 percent of the divorces wereamong persons married only once. The percentof divorces granted to remarried personsdeclined with increasing duration of marriage.

According to table 8, husbands and wiveswho were married three times or morerepresented about 20 percent of those divorcingless than 1 year after marriage, but less than0.5 percent of persons divorcing after 35 yearsor more. One factor regarding this relationship isthe tendency, within the same duration ofmarriage interval, for persons married more thanonce to be older than those married only once.Hence, the former have a higher probability ofdying at each duration interval, so that deathposes a higher competing risk than the divorcerisk. In addition, remarried persons generallyhave higher divorce rates in each durationintervaL4 Because of death and divorce theremarried population becomes depleted earlierthan tie population married once, and thisdepletion is reflected in the decline of theproportion remarried, particularly .in thosemarried three times or more, among personswho divorce after many years of married life.

Age at Marriage

In 1977, husbands who married at ages20-24 years and wives who married at ages under20 years had the highest median duration for theDRA. Table G shows that after these ages, themedians declined with increasing age atmarriage. The association of an older age atmarriage with a shorter duration of marriage todivorce is partly due to the increasingproportion of remarriages as age at marriageincreases because the second and third marriages

Table G. Median duration of marriaga at time of decree, by ageat marriage of husband and wife: Divorce-ragistretion area,1977

[Based on sample data. Medians were computed from groupeddata. F@res differ slightly from medians computed fromsingle-year data and published elsewhere ]

Age at marriage Husband Wife

Median duration

(in years)

Total .... . ... ... . .... .. . ... . ... .... .. . ... .. ... .... .. .

m

7.0 7.0

Under 20 years .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... .. .. .. .... . . .. .. .. . .... 7.2 7.820-24 yaars .. .. .... .. .. .. ... . ... .. . ... .. ... .. . .. .... . .. ..... 7.9 7.525-28 years ... ..... .. .... .. .... .. . ... .. .. .... . .. . .. .. . ... .. . 7.0 5.730-34 years .. .. .. . .. ... .. .. .... .. . ... .. .. ... . ... .. .. . ... . ... 5.7 4.935-39 years .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 5.2 4.64044 years .. ... . .. .... ... ... . .... .. .. . .... . . ..... ... ... . . .. 4.4 4.145 years and over .. . .. .. .. ... .... . . ... .. . . .... .. .. .. . . .. . 3.4 3.1

tend to end in divorce at a shorter duration thando first marriages.

In table H, the median age at marriage wascomputed for nine duration intervals. As table Hshows, little variation occurs in the median ageat marriage among the various intervals ofmarriage duration, although men and womenwho divorced after less than 1 year of marriagehad been married at a somewhat older age thanother divorcing persons. This finding reflects thetendency for remarried persons to be older thanfirst-married persons, combined with the

Table H. Median age at marriage of divorcing husband and wife,by duration of marriage at time of decree: Divorce-registra-tion area, 1977

[Based on sample data. Medians were computed from groupeddata ]

Duration ofmarriage at

time of decree

Less than 1 year ... .. .... ... . ... ... .. . ... . .. ... . . .... .. . ..1-2 ymm .... . .. .... . . .. .. .. . ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. ..34 yearn .... . .. ... .. . .... . ... .. . .. ... .. ... ... ..... .. ... .. . .. .5-9 yeaw ..... .. .. ... . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... . ... .. .... .. .. .. .. . .. .10-14 years ... ... . .. ... .. . ... .. .. .. . ... .. .. ... .. . .. ... .. .. ..15-19 years ... .... . ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. ... ... .... . . ....20-24 yaam ... .. .. .... .. .... . . .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .... .. . ... ..

25-29 Yaaw.................................................30 years or more .... .... .. .... . .. ... .. .... .. .... .. .. .. .. .

Median age atnarriage (in yaars)

Husband

28.724.623.623.223.123.023.223.223.2

Wife

25.722.421.221.020.619.820.320.620.6

13

tendency for remarriages to end in divorce at amuch shorter duration than first marriages.

Children in Divorce

Statistics concerning children involved indivorce are routinely limited to children under18 years of age, some of whom were not born ofthe marriage that ended in divorce. Whencouples divorce after many years of marriage,most children are likely to be grown and henceare not involved in the divorce. According to thedata in table J for the DRA in 1977, theproportion of divorcing couples who reportedhaving no children under 18 years of agedeclined from 90 percent in the durationinterval of less than 1 year to 17 percent in theduration interval of 10-14 years. In the groupwith a duration of 15 years or more, 33 percenthad no children under 18 years of age. Theproportion of couples reporting two or three ormore children increased rapidly between thethird and fourteenth years of duration, as wasexpected. For couples divorcing after less than 1year of marriage, 1.0 percent had three childrenor more. This finding is explained by theinclusion of all children involved in the divorce,whether born to the current marriage or to priormarriages of the husband or ivife, or adopted.

The median duration of marriage to divorcecan be tabulated according to the number ofchildren reported, as shown in table 9, for the

DRA and each registration State in 1977. In allStates, the median duration of marriageincreased with increasing numbers of children,but the variation among States is pronounced.This is particularly the case for those divorceswith no children, where the highest durationmedian (6. 1 years in Maryland) is more than twotimes as large as the lowest median (2.7 years inAlabama and Utah). The variation in the medianduration to divorce is much less proncwncedamong couples reporting two children or more.For example, for three children or more, theState medians varied from 11.4 to 16.01 years(table 9). The wide range among States fordivorcing couples with no children may reflectvariations both in the proportion of marriagesthat are remarriages and in the age at marriage,as well as variations in other legal and regionalfactors.

Trends in the median duration of marriageby number of children are shown in table K.Couples who divorce with no children are endingmarriages of shorter duration; however, coupleswho divorce with one child or more are endingmarriages of longer duration. In the years1963-69, the median duration to divorcedeclined for couples with no children, as did themedian for all divorcing couples. The medianduration for childless couples was 5.0 years in1962 and 1963, but 4.0-4.2 years in 1971 andsubsequent years. For couples who reportedhaving chikh-en, the median duration increasedregardless of the number of children.

Table J. Percent distribution of divorces by number of children under 18 years of age, according to duration of marriage of divorcingcouples at time of decree: Divorce-registration area, 1977

[ Based on sample data]

Number of childrenDuration of marriage at time of decree

Alldivorces

None 1 2 3 or more

All divorces ... ... .... .. ... ..... .. .. ... . .. .. .... .. . ..... .. .. .... ... ... .. .. . ... .. .. .... .. .. ... ... .. .... .. .. .. .. . 100.0 45.1 25.3 18.8 10.8

Less than 1 year ... .. ... ...... . ... .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... ... .. .. . ... .. . .... .. ... ... ... . .... . ... ... ... . .... .. .. ... . .. .. .... . .. .... .. 100.0 80.4 6.4 2.2 1.0

1-2 years ... .. .. .. .. .. ... . .. ...... .. . .... ... . .... .. .. .... .. .. . .... ... .... . .. . .... .. . .... . ... .... . .... ... . .... ... . .. .. ... . .... . .. 100.0 74.7 21.7 2.8 0.834 years .. ... . .. .. .. .... .. ... ..... . ... .... ... ... .. ... . .... .. ..... .. .. .... .. . ..... . ..... .. .... .... . .. ... .. ... .. .. .. ..... . . .. .. .. 100.0 57.2 32.5 8.9 1.4

!5-9 years ..... ... .. . .... .. .. .. ..... .. .... . ... .... .. ... ... .. ... . ... .. .... ... ... . .. . .. ... .. .. .. ..... . ..... . . .... . .... .... .. ... .. .. 100.0 35.0 32.3 25.5 7.2

10-14 years ... ... .. ... .. .. ...... .. . ..... . ... .. .. .. .. .... .. .. ... . .. .... .. ... .... . .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... . . .... .. 100.0 16.7 19.7 37.8 25.815 years or mwe ... .. .. ..... . .. ..... ... . .. .. .. . ..... . .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. ... . ... ..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .... . . .... .. 100.0 32.9 20.3 22.0 24.8

14

Table K. Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by numbar of chiIdren under 18 years of age: Divorce-registration area,1961-77

[Based on sample data. Medianswere computed from grouped &ta. Figuresfor all divorces differ slightly from medianscomputedfrom single-year&ta and publishedelsewhere]

Year decree granted

1977 ... .. . ... .. .... .. . ... .. .. ... ... . ........ . .. ... . ... .... . .. ... .. .. ..... ... ... .. .. .... . .. .... . ... ... ... . .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. ......1976 ...... ... .. .... . . .. .. .. .. .... ... . ....... .. .... .. .. .... .. .... .. . . .. .. . .. ... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. ..... .. .. . ... . . .... .. ... .. .......1975 .. .... .. .. .. .. . ... .. .. .. ... ... .. .... ... . .. .. .... . ..... . . .... .. . ... .. . . .... .. . .... ... .... .. .. .... . ... .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .....1974 ..... ... . ... . .... .... . ..... .. .. ... .... .. . .... . .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .... .. . ..... . .. .. .. .. ... ... . .. .. .. .. .. . .. ... .... . ... ... . .. .....1973 .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .... . ... .... . ... .. .. . ... . ... .. .. .. . .... . . ..... . . .. .. .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. . ... .. .. .... .. .. .....1972 ..... . . .. .. .. .... .. .. . ... .. ... ... ..... . .... ... . ... .. . ..... . .. .. .. . . .. .. ... . .... .. . ... .. ... ... ... . .... . . .. . .... ... . .. .. .......1971 ... . .. .... . . .... .. .. ... . .. .... .. .... ..... . .. ..... . .. .... .. . .... .. . .... .. .. .... . .. ... . ... ... . .. .. .. ... . .... . ..... . ... . ........1970 .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... .. . ... .... .... .. . . ....... . .... .. .. .. ... . .. .... . . ...... .. .. .. .. . ... .... . ... . ... .... ... . .... . ... .. ... . .... .....

1969 .. ... . ... . .... . ... ... . .. ..... .. ... .... .. .. . ... .. .. .... . ... .. .. ... ... .. ... .. .. . .... . . .... .. .. .... . .. .. . ... . ..... . ... ... .. .....1968 .. . ... .. .. .. .. .. .... . ... .. .. .. .. .... .... .. ... ... .... .. .. ... .. ... . .. .. ...... ... .. ... . ... .. .. ..... . . ..... . .. ... ... .. ... . .. .....1967 ... ... .. .... .... ... . .. . .. .. ... .. .. .. .. . . .... ... . ..... . . ... . . .. .. .. .... .... . . .. .. .. . ... .. .. . .... . . .... . ... ... .. ... ... .. .. .....1966 .... .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .... .. .... ... .. ... .. .. . .... . .. . ... .. .. .... .. .. .. . ... ... . ... ..... . . .... .. ... . ... . .... .. .. .......1965 ... ... .... . .. ... .. .... .. .. ...... .... .. ..... . . .. ... . .. . .. .. ... .. .. .. ... ... . .... .. . ... .. .. ... .. .. . .... .. . ... . ... . ... .. .. .......1964 .. . . .... .. .. .... .. . ... .. .... ..... ... .. .... . ... ... . .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .... .... .. .. ... . .. .... .. . .... . .... ... . .. .... .....1963 .. .. ... .. .. .... . . .. .. .. .... ..... ... .... ... ... ... . ... .. .. ... . .. . .. ... ... . ... ... .. .. .. ... ... . ... ... ... . .... .. . ... ... .. ... ... ...1962 .. .. .. ... . .. .. .. .... .. .. ........ . . .. .... . .. .... . .. .... .... . ... . ... ... . .... .. .. .... . .. ... .. . .. ... ... .... .. . ..... . .. ... .. ......1961 .... .. .. .. . ... .. .... .. . ..... .. .. .. .. ... . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . ... ... .. .... . . .... .. .. ... .. .. .... . .. .. .. . ... .. .. ... ... .. .. .....

REFERENCES

lUnited Nations: Demographic Yearbook, 1958. NewYork. United Nations, 1958.

2United Nations: Demographic Yearbook, 1976. NewYork. United Nations, 1977.

‘National Center for Health Statistics: Vital Statisticsof the United States, 1959, Vol. I. DHEW Pub. No.(0-621685). Public Health Service. Washington. U.S.Government Printing Office, 1961.

4National Center for Health Statistics: Nationalestimates of marriage dissolution and survivorshlp, by J.

iiEEE5EMadian duration (in years)

7.0 4.26.9 4.16.9 4.06.9 4.07.0 4.07.1 4.07.1 4.07.2 4.1

7.2 3.97.3 3.97.5 4.17.5 4.37.5 4.6

17.7 4.77.8 5.07.7 5.07.4 4.8

6.76.46.26.15.85.55.55.5

5.45.25.15.35.15.25.56.05.9

10.19.89.89.59.49.39.39.3

9.29.39.19.18.98.99.28.98.9

14.214.214.014.113.913.813.613.3

13.813.412.912.712.512.312.412.312.1

Weed. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 3-No. 18. DHHSPub. No. (PHS) 81-1403. Public Health Service. Washing-ton. U.S. Government Printing Office, Nov. 1980.

5National Center for Health Statistics: Vital Statisticsof the United States, Vol. III, Mzrriage and Divorce.Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office, selected years.

6U.S. Bureau of the Census: Census of Population:1970. Final Report PC(2)-4C, Marital Status. Washing-ton. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972.

15

LIST OF DETAILED TABLES

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1867-1906, 1922-32, 1948-77 .. .. . . .... .. .. ... . .. .. .. .... .. .. ....

Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1950-77 .... .. .. .... .. ... ... .... . ..

Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1958-77 . .. .. ...... . .... ... .. . ..

Median duration of marriage at time of decree: United States and selected foreign countries, 1948, 1956, 1966, and 1974 . . ..

Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marriage at time of separation: Total reporting States and selected States,1977 . .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. ...... . . .... .. .. .... .. . ..... . ... .... ... .. ... .. .... .. .. .... .. . ..... .. .. .... .... .. .. .... .. .. .. ..................................................................

Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of separation at time of decree: Total reporting States and selected States, 1977 .. ....

Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of this marriage of husband and of wife: Divorce-registration area

and selected States, 1977 .. ..... .. .. .. ... .. ... ... ... . ... .. .... . ... ... ... . .... .. . .... ... . ... .. . . ..... .. .. ..... .. ..... ... . .... . . ..... . .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .................. ..........

Percent distribution of divorces by number of this marriage of husband and wife, according to the duration of marriage attime of decree: Divorce-registration area, 1977 ..... . . .... .. .. .. ... . .... . ... .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .... ... . .. .. .. .. ... . . ..... . ... .... .. .. .. .. .... .. .

Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of children under 18 years of age: Divorce-registration area and

each registration State, 1977 .. .. .. .... . ... ... ... . ... .. .. ... . .. .. ... ... . ..... .. .. .. .. .. ..... . .. .. .. .. . . .... . . .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . .. .. .. .. . ..... . . ............................

17

18

19

21

22

23

24

25

26

16

Table 1. Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1867-1906,1922-32,1948-77

[Data for 1867-1906, 1922-32, and 1960 are for the United States; data for 1961-77 are for the divorce-registration area: dsta for1948-59 are for total of reporting States]

.

Year decree granted

1977 .................... ........ ........ .......... ...... ........ .....1976 .... ........................ ...... .................... ...........1975 .................. ... ............................................1974 .. .......... ...... .......................... .....................1973 ........... .. .............................. ................ ......1972 .......... ................ ........ ........ .. ...... ...............1971 ................. ................................ ................1970 ................ ............................................... ..1969 ................................................. ................1968 ......... ........................................................

1967 ......... .............. .................... .......... ............1966 ............ .... ...... .. .... ........................ .............1965 ..... ...... .... .............. ........ ............................1964 ...................................................... ...........1963 ... .. .. .... .... ........ ...... .................. .... ........ ......1962 ...... ...........................................................1961 ............................................... ..................1960 ............. ......... ................ ........ ...................1959 ................................................... .. ............1958 ...... ................................ ........ ............ .......

1957 ................................................. ................1956 .. .. ...... ........ ........ ........ ................ ...............1955 ................................................. ................1954 ................ ................................ ...... ...........1953 ... ............ .. ................................ ...... ........ ..1952 ................ ...... .......... .......... .......................1951 ................. .............................. ..................1950 ...................... .......................... ...... ...........1949 ..... .... .......... ............ ........ .. ......... ........ ......1948 .......... ....... ............... .............. ...................

1933-47 .... .. .................. .... ................................1932 ....... .. ...... .............. .. .... ........ ...... ................1931 .................................................................1930 ....... ........ .................... .............. ...... ..........1929 ...... ...... .. .... .......... ...... ........ .................... ...1928 ............................. ............................... .....1927 .. ............ .................... ........ .. .......... ...........1926 ................................. ................................1925 .......................... ........ ...... .........................1924 ........... .......... ...... ........ ...... ........ ...... ...... .. ..1923 ....................................................... ........ ..1922 ....... .. .. .... .. ................................................

Medianduration ofmarriage at

time of decree(in years)

6.66.56.56.56.66.76.76.76.97.0

7.17.17.27.47.57.37.17.27.06.4

6.76.56.46.46.16.16.05.86.36.4

.-

7.17.16.96.96.96.86.66.66.66.56.6

Year decree granted

1907-21 .. .......... ....... ..................... .. .............. ....1906 ............. .... .................. .. .............. .......... ....1905 .............. ................ ........................ ...........1904 ....... ...................... ...... .......... ................ ....1903 .............................. .... ................ ...............1902 ............. ...... .......... ............ .......... ........ ......1901 ............................ ............................ .........1900 ............. ...... ................ ................ ..............1899 .................. ................ ...............................1898 ..... ............................ ............................ ....

1887 ......................... ....................... .................1896 ......................... ........ ............................ ....1885 ........ .... .... .. ...... ...................................... ...1894 .................................................................1883 ........................ .........................................1892 ....................... ...... .................. .... ..............1891 .............................. .............................. .....1890 ............... ...... .............. .. ........ ...... .. ............1889 ............................................ .............. .......1888 ....................... .... .. ................ ....................

1887 .... .. .............. ............. ................................1886 ... .. ................ .... ........ ...................... ..........1885 .............................................. ........ ...........18W ......... ........ .. ...... ........ ............ .... ............ ....1883 ........................ ...... .... ............ ...................1882 ... .................................................. ............1881 ............................................................ .....1880 ... .................................................. ............1879 ........ .......................................... ...............1878 ........................... .. ..................... ...............

1877 ................. .......... ........................ ..............1876 .... ........ ...... .......... ...... ...... .......... ...............1875 ................................. ........ ........................1874 ............ ...... .............................. .. .......... .....1873 ................. ................ ...... .. ........ .... .. ...... ....1872 .. ...................... .................................... .....1871 ............... .......... .............. ...... .... ............ ....1870 .............................. ....... ........ ................ ....1869 ... ...... ...... ........ ...... ................ ...... .. ........ ....1868 .. ...... ...... ................ .. .... ................ .............1867 ............................. ........ .............. ........ ......

Medianduration ofmarriage at

time of decree(in years)

---7.98.08.18.28.28.38.38.28.1

8.08.08.18.18.28.28.38.28.38.1

8.07.77.78.07.87.97.87.97.77.7

7.67.57.47.37.26.96.76.97.17.37.4

17

Table 2. Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1950-77

[ Figures for 1950-59 are based On complete counts; figures for 1960-77 are based cm sample &ta ]

Year decree granted and number of reporting StatesDuration of

marriaga attime of decree

1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1966 1967 1966

29 28 28 28 29

1965

29

‘1984

29 28 28 26 22 22 22

States

22States States States States States States States States States States States States States

All divorces...

Less than 1 year . .. .. . . .. . . .

1-4 years . .. .. . . . . . . . .. . .. .. .. ..1 yaar ... . .. . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . .2 years .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. . . .. .3 years .. . . .. .. . . .. .. . . .. . ..4 years . .. . .. .. . . .. . . . .. . .. .

5-9 years .. . .. .. . . .. .. .. . . .. . . ..

5 years .. . . .. .. .. . . .. . . .. .. .6 years .. . . .. .. . .. . . . . . .. . ..

7 years .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .S years .. . . .. .. . . .. . . . . .. . . .9 years .. . . .. .. . . . . .. . . .. . . .

10-14 yeara . .. . . .. .. . . . . .. . . . .

15-19 years . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .

20-24 years . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. .. . .

25-29 years .. . . .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .30 years or more . .. .. . .. . . .

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

4.6

35.0

S.79.1

8.78.5

26.7

7.2

6.15.14.43.8

13.1

8.2

5.9

3.82.7

100.0 100.0

4.7

35.0

8.39.89.27.7

25.1

6.55.8

4.94.3

3.7

13.3

8.9

6.5

3.82.7

100.0

5.832.5

9.18.48.1

6.923.3

6.05.34.7

3.9

3.414.4

10.0

7.1

3.92.8

100.0

5.632.5

8.98.97.8

6.9

23.8

6.0

5.44.64.0

3.814.1

10.8

6.73.7

‘2.8

100.0100.0

4.6

34.78.89.58.87.5

24.9

6.4

5.94.84.13.7

13.5

9.0

7.0

3.62.6

100.0

4.8

34.1

8.59.48.57.7

25.3

6.9

5.65.04.1

3.613.8

9.0

7.03.32.6

100.0

5.2

33.8

8.69.28.57.5

24.6

6.4

5.44.7

4.2

1:

9.5

7.13.5

2.5

100.0

5.1

33.6

8.79.38.57.2

24.3

6.05.54.8

4.3

3.714.2

9.6

7.3

3.62.4

100.0

4.4

34.7

8.19.09.28.4

27.9

7.2

6.25.74.74.1

13.5

8.0

5.4

3.32.8

4.4

35.48.39.89.28.3

27.4

7.16.5

5.44.6

3.813.3

7.8

5.5

3.62.6

4.5

35.0

8.69.48.98.1

27.2

7.4

6.25.24.44.0

13.6

6.0

5.63.7

2.5

4.7

34.68.39.09.28.1

26.0

6.95.85.14.4

3.813.2

8.6

6.13.9

2.7

5.3

32.8

9.38.68.06.9

23.6

5.95.14.5

4.23.9

13.711.2

6.5

3.63.1

5.331.3

8.88.47.36.8

24.8

6.2

5.25.04.6

3.814.6

11.4

6.3

3.42.9

Table 2. Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marria~ at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1950-77–Ccm.

[ Figures for 1950-59 are based on complete counts; figures for 1960-77 are based on sample &ta ]

Year decree granted and numbar of reporting StatesDuration of

marriage at

time of decree

Al I divorces...

Less than 1 year . . . .. . . .. .. .l-l years .. . .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

1 year .. .. . .. . . . . .. .. . . .. .. .

2 years .. . . .. .. . . .. . . .. .. .. .3 years .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .

4 years .. .. . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .5-9 years .. . . . .. .. . . . . .. . . .. .. . .

5 years .. .. . . .. .. . . . . .. .. .. .

6 years .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . .. . .

7 years .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .8 years .. .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . .

9 yaws .. .. .. . . . . .. . . .. .. . . .

10-14 years . .. .. . . . . . .. . .. .. . .

15-19 year. . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .

20-24 years .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .25-29 years .. . . . . .. .. . . .. . . . . .30 years or more . . . . .. .. .. .

1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 19E1422 21 20

1853 1952 195116

195012 24 23 23 22 22 22 18

States15

States State9 Us. States states States States States States Ststes States States States

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

7.634.2

9.410.1

8.2

6.623.5

6.0

5.14.7

4.1

3.615.2

8.5

5.42.7 ~2.9

100.0

6.134.0

9.8

9.2

8.0

7.124.7

6.2

5.44.7

4.3

4.115.1

6.65.42.9

3.2

100.0

6.434.5

9.7

9.4

8.2

7.126.0

6.45.44.8

4.7

4.8

14.1

8.14.62.8

3.2

100.0

6.335.6

9.710.0

8.5

7.426.9

6.2

5.4

5.35.3

4.7

12.8

7.84.73.02.9

100.0

6.435.6

10.1

9.7

8.5

7.227.1

6.1

6.15.9

5.5

3.6

12.6

7.8

A

4.6

2.92.9

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

5.2

31.2

8.68.4

7.5

6.823.9

5.7

5.5

5.04.0

3.714.9

11.5

6.63.5 (

3.01

5.131.1

8.6

8.3

7.6

6.625.3

7.0

5.14.9

4.4

3.9

15.1

10.3

13.2

3:::

9.48.0

7.7

7.324.7

6.1

5.64.94.0

4.0

15.6

9.7

12.2

6.231.4

8.1

8.1

7.9

7.324.5

6.4

5.0

4.94.3

3.9

17.0

8.9

12.0

5.932.7

8.2

9.1

8.37.1

24.3

6.0

5.44.7

4.3

3.916.2

9.0

{

5.63.13.2

7.035.2

10.1

9.8

8.17.2

26.8

7.0

6.7

6.14.0

3.0

12.8

7.74.63.1

2.8

3::

9.99.0

8.3

8.026.2

7.7

7.04.5

3.6

3.4

13.0

7.64.83.1

3.0

6.6

36.3

9.5

9.0

9.0

8.825.2

8.1

5.1

4.2

4.0

3.912.7

7.75.13.33.0

6.440.1

10.3

10.310.0

9.422.7

5.94.5

4.34.3

3.612.2

7.3

5.2

;::

18

Table 3. Medien duration of marriage at time of decree: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1958-77

[Figures for 1958-59 are based on complete counts; figures for 1960-77 are based on sample data]

State

Divorce-registration area .. ... .... .. ..... .. .... ... ..

Alabama .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... . ... .. .. ... . .. ...Alaska . .. . ..... .. .. ... . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ....California .... .... .. .. .. ... . .. .... .. .. .. .. ... . . ..... .. .... . . .. .. .. . .... .Connecticut .. .. .... .. .. .. .. ..... . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... ... .. . .. . . .. . ... ..Georgia .. ..... ... ... . . ..... .. . .. .. . .... .. .. .. . ... .. . .... . .. ... .. .. ... .. .

Hawaii .. .... .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..... ... .. .. .. .. ... .. . .... .. .... .. ..Idaho .. . ... .. .. .... . . .... .. .... .. ... ...... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. .... . .. ... . .. ..Illinois ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .... . ... . ... .. .. .... . ... . . ...Iowa ... ... .. .. ... .. . .... .. . ... . .... .... . ... . ... . ... .. .. .. ... . ... ... . .. ...Kansas .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .... . .... . .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .... . . ....

Kentucky .... .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .... .. . .... .Maryland ... . . ... ... . ... . ... .... .. .. ... ... .. . .... .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. . .... . .Michigan .... .. .. .. .. .... .. ........ .. .. .... .. .. .. .. . ... .. . ..... .. .... .. .Missouri .... .. .. .. .. ... ... ...... .... .... .. .. .. . ... . .... . .. .... . . .... .. . .Montana .... . . .... . ..... . ... ...... . .. ... .. .. ... .. . ... .. ..... . .. .. ... . ..

Nebraska .. .. .. .. ..... ... .. .... .. .. . ..... . . ... . ... ... ... .. ... . .... . .... .New York .... . .. .. ..... ...... . ... .... .. .. ... . . ... .. .. ... . .. ... . .. ....-Ohio ... .. . ..... .. .... .. .. ..... . .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. ... .. .. ... . . .... .. .. .. ..Oregon ........ ........ .................. ................................Pennsylvania .............................. ...........................

Rhode Island .............................................. .........-South Carolina ....... ...... .. .. .................... .. ...............South Dakota ........ ........ ................ ............ ...........Tennessee .............................................................Utah ........................................................... .........-

Vermont ................................ ........... ...................-Wrginia ....... .......................... .................... .... ........Wisconsin..... ............................. ............................Wyoming ....................................................... .......

lE~cludes Wayne county.

Year decree granted

1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968

Median duration (in years)

6.6

4.95.07.08.35.3

5.75.06.25.86.2

5.68.47.05.55.1

6.18.16.0

.6.07.7

8.26.85.85.34.8

7.87.87.04.6

6.5

4.85.26.98.25.3

5.44.66.15.75.0

5.67.96.65.75.0

5.87.95.96.07.8

8.16.85.65.25.1

7.67.77.24.3

6.5

4.75.16.88.25.2

5.44.86.15.55.2

5.98.36.85.64.7

5.98.06.05.87.7

7.86.65.65.34.9

7.67.77.04.7

6.5

5.05.16.78.15.2

5.34.76.15.65.2

5.58.5

16.75.54.8

5.98.06.35.87.7

8.06.85.65.24.9

7.97.87.24.8

6.6

5.35.36.98.45.2

5.64.56.55.65.2

5.59.0

16.65.44.8

5.78.76.25.87.6

8.46.95.95.24.8

7.97.97.44.5

6.7

5.05.66.98.15.4

6.14.76.15.95.0

5.98.6

16.45.45.1

6.38.86.35.78.3

8.27.05.95.64.9

8.07.87.64.7

6.7

5.45.26.98.75.3

6.85.06.45.85.1

5.78.66.95.55.3

6.29.36.55.77.6

8.77.15.85.54.7

9.18.37.74.9

6.7

5.35.46.88.65.4

7.24.66.65.65.1

5.78.87.05.45.1

6.09.36.35.98.1

9.2. . .5.95.65.3

8.37.77.94.6

6.9

5.65.66.98.95.2

7.35.06.75.75.4

5.89.27.15.65.6

6.29.46.75.88.5

9.1. . .6.65.75.5

9.18.48.04.9

7.0

6.15.97.19.05.5

7.04.96.76.15.9

. . .8.87.35.75.7

6.7. . .7.26.09.1

9.0. . .7.35.95.8

9.08.88.65.0

19

J

Table 3. Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1958-77–Con.

[ Figures for 1958-59 are based on complete counts; figures for 1960-77 are based on sample data]

StateYear decree granted

Divorce-registration area . .... .. .. .... .. .. ...... ....

Alabama .... . ..... . .. ..... ... .. .. .. ... ..... . .. ..... .. . ... .... .. ..... ...Al=ka .. .... . .... ... .. .. ..... .. . .... . ... . .... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. ..California ... . ...... .. .. . .. ... .. ... ... .. .... .. .. .... ... . ...... . . ..... ...Connecticut .. .... .... . ... ... .. ... ... . ... .. . .. .. .... . . ...... . ... ... ...Georgia .. .... . . .. ... ... .. .... .. . ... ... . .. .... .. ... ... .. .. .... .. .. . .... ..

Hawaii ... ... .. .. .... .... .... .. .. ... ... .. ...... .. . .. . .... ...... . ... .. ... .Idaho .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .... . . .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. ..... . .. .... .. .. .. .. ..Illinois .... ... .. .. .... .. .. ..... .. . .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. . ... .. ... ... .. .Iowa .. .. .. .... .. .. . ... .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... . ....... .. .. .... .Kansas ... .. .. .. .. . ...... .. . ..... .. . ...... . ... ... .. . .... .. .. ... .. ... .....

Kentucky ... .. ... .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. ... ... .. ...... .. ..... ... .. ... .Maryland ... .. .. ... ..... . . .. ... . .. ..... ... .... ... .. ... .. . ..... .. .. .... .Michigan .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ..... .. . . .... .Missouri ... .... ... . ... .. .. . ..... . .. .... .. .. .... .. . ..... .. .. .... ... . .... .Montana .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. . .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. . ....

Nebraska ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. . .. ....... . ... ..New York ... .. .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... . .. ... .. ... ..... .. .. ..

Ohio ... ... .. . .... .. . . .... ... ... .. .. .. .... ... . .... .. . .. ... .. .... .... . .. ...Oregon ... .. .. ..... .. . ... .. .. . .... .. . ...... .... .. ... ... .... . .. ..... .. .. ..Pennsylvania . .... .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .... .... .. .. ..

Rhode Island ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. ...South Carolina . .. ...... .. .. .... . ... .... ... ... ... . ..... ... . ..... . .. ..South Dakota . .. . ...... .. .. .... . ... .... .. .. .... .. .. ... ... .. .... .. .. .Tennessee ... ..... . ... .... . ... .... ... .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. ... ... ... .. ...Utah ... .... ... .. .. ..... .. .... . ... .... . ... ..... .. . .... .. . ... ... .. . .... .. . .

Vermont .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .... ... . ... .. ..Virginia ... .. .. .... .. .. .. ..... . .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. . .... . .. ..... . .... ... ...Wisconsin .. .. . ..... ... .. ..... . .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. ..... . ... ... .. .

Wyoming ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .... . ... .. .. .. ... . ... ... ... . ...... .... .. ...

1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958

7.1

6.25.8. . .

6:1.

7.05.3

6:35.9

9:97.86.05.5

6.9

7:1.5.99.0

8.9

;:05.85.6

. . .8.88.15.5

7.1

5.86.4. . .

6:2

5.85.0

6:36.0

9:67.75.86.0

6.3

;:56.38.4

9.3. . .

6.86.05.5

8:88.56.1

7.2

6.66.0. . .. . .6.1

5.85.1

5:95.9

9:27.95.85.8

6.3. . .7.85.98.9

9.1. . .6.36.15.2

9:08.25.5


7.4

6.96.0. . .. . .6.4

6.75.1. . .6.06.3

9:88.06.15.6

6.5

;:+6.68.6

9.0. . .6.96.65.1

8:98.35.1

7.5

7.56.8. . .. . .6.3

7.25.0. . .6.16.5

10:38.06.95.9

6.7

;:75.88.7

9.0. . .

6.36.65.1

9:28.15.3

7.3

7.16.2. . .

59

7.05.6

6:25.9

948.06.15.9

6.1. . .7.76.59.6

. . .

. . .

6.66.45.5

. . .8.67.25.3

7.1

7.36.3. . .

6:6

6.34.7

5:56.5

9:47.66.65.2

6.5. . .. . .

6.48.6

. . .

6:36.15.2

8:68.44.8

7.2

7.36.2. . .

6:;

6.34.8. . .5.75.8

9:0. . .

5:1.

6.3. . .

5:99.2

. . .

636.34.7

838.25.4

7.0

7.66.0. . .

6:1.

i:z. . .5.46.3

. . .

. . .

. . .

5:;

6.0. . .. . .6.09.1

. . .

. . .6.26.15.4

8:+7.45.1

6.4.—

7.4. . .. . .. . .5.9

4:6. . .5.6. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

5:4

5.9. . .. . .5.9---

. . .

5:95.75.4

8:5---

5.4

20

Table4. Median duration ofmarriaga attima of decree: United States andseIected foreign countries, 1948,19*, 19*, andl974

[Medians for foreign countries were computed from data published in the Demographic Yearbook of the United Nations, 1958 and 1976]

.Country

Auwria ......................... .......................................................................................................................................Belgium5 ..................................................................................... ........................................................................Bulgaria..................................................................................... ..........................................................................

CzwhoslovaHa ...................................................... ......................................................................................?......

Egypt (u.A. R.) ...................................................................................................................................................El Salmdor ........ ...................................... ............................................................................................................England and Wales5 ........ ....................................................................................................................................

Finland ................................................................................................................................. ..............................France ............................................................................. ................................ .............................................. ......German Democratic Republic ............................. ........................................................................ ....... .................Germanv, Federal Reoublic of ........................~......................................................................................... .. ........

Hungary ............. .... ................................................................................................................ .............................Israel .............................................................................................................................................................. .....Japan ..................................................................................................................................................................Jordan .... ................ ...... .................. ...... ............................ ...................... .............................................................Mexico ........................ ..................................................... ............................................................................... ....

Netherlands .......... .......................... .....................................................................................................................New Zealand5 .....................................................................................................................................................Norway ..................................................................................................................... ..........................................Poland ....... .............................. ........ ....................................................................................................................P0rtuga15 ......... ........................................ ...........................................................................................................

Romania ........................................................................................ ............................. ........................................

South Africa, white .... ................ .........................................................................................................................Sweden ...............................................................................................................................................................

Switzerland ................. ........................................................................................................................................Tunisia .... .......................................................................... .......... ........................................ ................................Turkey 5.; ........... ................................... ..............................................................................................................Uruguay5 ........................................... .................... .............................................................................................

Ukraine5 ........... ........ ...................... .............. ................... ...................................................................................Venezuela ....................................................... ................................................................ ....................................

Year decree granted

19741 ! 1966 I 19562 t 19483


6.512.2

6.611.14.4

7.47.92.29.1

11.4

9.09.37.08.27.3

7.25.54.92.8

56.0

10.011.89.18.7

10.7

8.59.78.4

510.7

8.63.36.2

11.97.5

7.559.056.2

7.114.0

5.812.03.8

7.98.22.28.3

11.4

9.3%1.1

5.8,7.47.2

7.76.14.43.8

58.2

9.314.5

9.29.1

14.2

4.9510.3

8.99.7

9.13.36.8

12.47.7

58.19.26.5

6.511.7

7.511.1

8.158.4

2.46.6

11.9

8.79.6

8.1. . .

6.95.04.5

54.257.8

9.112.3

9.23.5

16.8

. . .

% 1.58.39.7

8.8. . .

6.512.1---

. . .

57.555.8

6.410.8

8.112.7. . .

8.258.2

1.9..-

10.7

58.0

511.3

56.3.-.

58.8

3.93.6. . .

6.0

9.510.19.7-..

13.6

. . .

9.57.98.1

8.7---

6.812.2

---

..-

58.255.7

lThe medians for Frmce, South Africa Tunisia, and Turkey were computed from 1972&da. Themedians for f2zechrnbvakia*r)mmiwk*Esy PttEl Salvador, England and Wales, and Mexic’o were computed from 1973 data. The mediana for New Zealand and Pnland were computed from 1975data.

2The me&,n for poland ~$ comPut.d from 1953 data. The median for Venezuela was computed from 1954 data. The m.~am for Egypt, Fr~c%and Turkey were computed from 1955 data. The median for Jordan waa computed from 1957 date.

3The median, for Czecho,,omkja. ~enmmk. and Enzl~d and w~e, ~re e~m,mted from 19513 &t& The me&ana f~, ~,ael and U,urmay werecom uted from 1951 data.

&e 194s mefian is for , total of IO ~epo~ing ~tstes; the 1~56 median is for atotal of 23 r.pnrting States; and the 1966 end 1974 IU.di,IL9are

--

for the divorce-registration area.5Computed from grouped data.

21 ,

Table 5. Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marriage at time of separation: Total reporting States and selected States,1977

[Based on sample data. Date of separation was reported by 20 States in 1977. States where reporting was less than 75 percent completeare not shown separately ]

Alldivorces Less than

6 months

100.0 7.4

100.0 9.9100.0 8.4100.0 4.2100.0 7.5100.0 9.1

100.0 8.1100.0 6.1100.0 8.1100.0 9.0100.0 5.8

100.0 5.4100.0 9.1100.0 4.6100.0 5.5100.0 3.9

Duration of marriage at time of separation

3years

8.9

10.08.88.59.18.7

9.09.48.58.99.4

8.98.88.19.0

10.0

4years

State2

years5

years6-11

months1 6

years

5.3

year

5.8 11.4 10.2 7.2 6.0Total reporting States ... .. .. .. ... ... . ..... .. .. .

10.610.1

9.010.810.7

10.711.010.310.610.1

9.910.210.1

9.711.1

7.76.96.97.68.2

7.67.27.47.27.4

7.67.17.97.27.5

5.65.95.87.16.4

5.25.35.36.05.4

5.25.25.04.95.5

5.35.35.05.85.8

8.15.64.47.06.8

6.55.87.77.15.7

5.17.43.85.24.5

13.411.5

8.911.912.7

12.112.412.412.311.3

10.312.8

9.910.4

9.1

5.95.36.65.85.9

6.24.97.16.46.4

Table 5. Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marriage at time of separation: Total reporting ~

1977–Con.ates and selected States,

[Based on sample data. Date ofseparation wasreported by20Statesin 1977. States where reporting wasless than 75percent completeare not shown separately ]

Duration of marriage at time of separationAll

divorcesState25-29years

2.4

1.52.43.11.71.6

2.12.42.22.12.7

2.82.43.12.62.5

301yearsor more

——

1.6

7years

8years

9years

10-14years

15-19years

20-24years

100.0

100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

4.6

4.54.65.13.94.6

4.44.14.64.14.2

4.74.25.44.65.1

3.7

3.43.84.23.73.7

3.63.93.53.74.3

3.82.84.03.63.8

3.1 11.1

8.910.913.210.8

9.3

10.411.6

9.49.6

11.1

12.211.111.712.612.1

6.9

4.66.89.25.86.0

6.36.76.56.26.8

7.76.09.17.88.8

4.2

3.34.06.52.62.5

4.04.43.44.34.8

5.03.84.64.94.1

Total reporting States .. .... ... . .... ... ... ... .. ..

0.81.71.91.11.4

1.31.51.71.51.4

1.41.41.91.41.9

2.43.24.03.33.1

2.92.92.72.73.3

3.52.53.63.33.3

Illinois . ... ... .. .. .. .. .... ... ... . ... .. .. .. ...... .. .. .. ... . ...... ... .... ..lom ..... ... .. ..... .. . ...... .. .. .... .. .. .. ..... .. . ..... .. .. ... ... . ..... ..Kansas ... .... ..... . ... ..... ... . ..... .. .. ... ... .... .... .. . .... . .. ...... . .Missouri .. .. .... ... . .... ... ... ..... . .... ... .. ... .... . .. .. .... .. ..... .. ..Nebraska ..... ... . ... ... .. .. . .... .. ... .. .. .. .. . ... .. .... .. .. .. . ... ... ..

New York .... . ... .... ... .. .. .. ... . .... .. .. .. .... .. . .... .... . .... .. . .. .Tennessee .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... .. .. .. ... . .. . ..Vermont .. .... .. .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. ... . .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .Virginia ..... .. . .. .... .. ... .... . .. .. .... . . ...... .. .. .... ... . .. .. .. . ... ..Wisconsin ... . . .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. ... .. .. . .... .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. .. .. ...

22

Table6. Percent distribution of divorces, by duration ofseparation attime of decree: Totelreporting States andsAected States, 1977

[Based on sample data. Duration of separation was reported by 20 Statesin 1977. States where reporting was less than 75 percentcomplete are not shown separately ]

State

Total reporting States ..........

Alaska ...............................................California ..........................................Connecticut ................ ................ ...... .Hawaii ...............................................ldaho ... .. ............................................

lllinois ... ...................................... ......lowa ................... .. .............................Kansas .................. ...................... .......Missouri ............. ................................Nebraska ...........................................

Naw York ..........................................Tennessee .......... .. ........................ .. ....Vermont ..................... ............ ...........Virginia ... ........ .. .. ........ .................. ....Wisconsin .................... .......... ............

All

100.0

100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

Less than6 months

20.3

45.71.2

15.842.462.2

38.137.758.547.644.7

14.351.0

1.11.0

13.5

Duration of separation at time of decree

6-11months

26.3

23.932.234.622.419.1

22.433.623.624.330.7

14.622.121.3

1.142.4

1year

29.2

17.135.727.717.712.3

19.218.911.115.314.9

31.615.650.466.128.2

2years

10.1

6.313.29.88.13.1

7.25.12.85.24.4

14.54.0

17.714.8

7.8

3years

4.8

2.86.44.13.71.4

3.71.91.42.41.7

7.52.45.06.42.9

4years

2.6

1.63.32.01.70.4

2.30.90.51.60.9

4.81.31.83.21.6

5-9years

4.7

2.15.84.12.91.0

4.71.31.52.51.8

8.72.32.15.31.6

10-14years

1.2

0.31.41.10.50.2

1.30.30.50.60.5

2.30.60.51.20.3

15years

or more

0.9

0.30.80.70.50.2

1.10.30.10.60.4

1.90.80.10.90.6

23

Table 7. Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of this marriage of husband and of wife: Divorce-registratiorl areaand selectad States, 1977

[Based on sample data. Duration of marriage by marriage order was reported by 28 States in 1977. States where reporting was less than75 percent complete are not shown separately]

State

Husband–numbar of Wife–number of

Allthis marriage this marriage. ...

divorcesFirst Second

ThirdFirst Second

Thirdor more or more

II I I I I I


6.6 7.5

5.0 5.77.0 7.98.3 8.85.3 6.55.7 6.3

5.0 5.86.2 7.05.8 6.55.2 6.05.6 6.4

8.4 8.95.5 6.55.1 6.88.1 8.66.0 7.0

7.7 8.18.2 8.56.8 7.55.3 6.54.8 5.7

7.8 8.47.8 8.47.0 7.4

4.8

3.95.66.33.54.2

4.04.44.64.03.9

6.54.24.15.94.7

6.06.34.63.63.6

5.56.05.5

3.5

3.54.34.62.54.3

3.13.23.92.53.8

5.62.92.55.13.7

4.44.93.22.82.5

4.74.74.0

7.4

5.77.88.86.56.2

5.86.96.46.06.4

8.76.45.78.66.8

8.18.47.56.55.8

8.48.37.4

4.9

4.15.76.23.74.4

4.14.64.83.74.3

7.14.34.55.95.0

6.16.45.03.33.5

5.26.25.5

3.4

3.14.74.22.42.9

2.72.93.42.22.9

5.82.82.44.53.4

3.95.63.22.92.3

4.04.64.1

24

Table 8. Percent distribution of divorces by number of this marriage of husband and wife, according to the duration of marriage at timeof decree: Divorce-registration area, 1977

[Based on sample data. Figures exclude data for Nebraska]

Husband–number of this marriage

Duration ofmarriage at

time of decree

Al Idivorces rFirat

marriage

All divorces . .. ... ....... ..

Less than 1 year .. .. .. .... .... ...... .. ..1 year ... .. . .... ... . .... . .. .... .. . ....... .. . .2 years ... .. .... . .. ... ... ..... .. . .... .. ... . ..3 years .. .. .... .. .. .. .. . .. .... . ...... .. ... . ..4 years .. . . ..... . .. ... . .... . .. . . ..... ..... .. .5 years .. .. .... .. .. ... . ... .... .. .... .. .. .. ...6 years ... . ... .. .. ... .. .. .... .. . ..... ... . ....7 years .. .. ... . .. .... . ... .. ... . ....... ... . ...8 vears .. .. .. .. .. ... . .. . .... . .. .... .. .... ....9 years ... . ... . .... .. ..... .... ...... .... .... .10-14 years .. .. .. . . .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .15-19 years .. .. .. .. ..... . .. .. .... .. .. .. ...20-24 years .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..... . .. .. .. .25-28 years .. .... ... ... .... .. ..... . .. .. .. .30-34 years ...... .. .. .... .. .. .... ... ... .. .35 years or more ...... ... . .... .. .. ... ..

I 100.011 74.9

IT100.0 44.3100.0 57.7100.0 67.3100.0 70.9100.0 73.1100.0 74.4100.0 75.0100.0 77.6100.0 78.4100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

81.281.684.786.990.090.293.8

Total 1

25.1

55.742.332.729.126.925.625.022.421.618.818.415.313.110.09.86.2

Remarriage

rSecondmarriage

I 19.1

L36.129.723.822.321.019.819.918.017.615.515.012.110.69.09.15.5

Thirdmarriageor more

5.7

19.212.5

8.66.65.65.64.84.23.73.23.22.92.40.90.50.3

Wife-number of this marriage

Firstmarriage

75.2

43.057.967.672.674.275.476.578.178.080.780.885.487.189.088.693.1

Remarriage

Total 1 I Secondmarriage

24.8 18.7

57.0 36.042.1 28.832.4 23.227.4 20.425.8 20.324.6 18.523.5 18.321.9 17.422.0 18.119.3 15.719.2 15.614.6 12.012.9 10.811.0 9.111.4 10.7

6.9 6.1

Thirdmarriageor more

5.9

20.513.29.06.85.35.75.04.43.63.43.42.31.91.60.40.4

lInclu&s number of remarriages not stated.

25

Table9. Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of children under 18 years of age: Divorce-registration arf>a andeach registration State, 1977

[Medians were computed from grouped data and may differ slightly from those computed from ungrouped data]

State

Vermont .... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. . .... . .. .... .. ... ... .. . ..... .. .... .. . ... .. .. ..... . . ... ... . .... .. . . .... .. .. ...l ... ... . . .....Virginia ..... ... ... .... .. .. .... .. . ... .... .. ... .. ..... . . .... . ... .... . .. .... .. .. .. ... . .... .. . .... .. . .... ... .... .. .... .. .. ... ... . .....Wisconsin ... ..... . . ..... ... .. ... . .. .... . ... ... .. .. .... . .. .... ... . .... . .. .... .. .. ... . .. . ... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. . ... .. . .... . ... .. ....Wyoming . ... ..... . . ..... .. .. .... .. . .... . ... .. .... . .... . .. .... .. .. ... .. .. .... . . .. ... . ... ... ... ..... . ... .. ... .. .... . . .... .. .. .. ....

lDatame for number of children affectedly decree.

-EMedian duration (in years)

7.0

4.95.07.48.65.4

6.05.06.56.25.2

5.88.77.35.75.1

6.48.56.36.48.1

8.57.26.25.34.8

8.18.27.44.6

4.2

2.73.44.75.03.3

3.73.03.93.62.9

3.26.14.13.43.0

3.75.63.64.14.7

5.04.53.63.22.7

4.85.14.52.8

6.7

5.45.07.77.75.8

s.

6.04.66.04.84.7

5.98.26.75.54.6

5.38.05.55.87.3

7.36.94.76.04.3

7.57.96.44.4

10.1

9.48.8

10.811.410.6

8.68.49.59.28.7

9.211.8

9.89.48.6

9.311.5

9.39.9

10.6

10.710.4

8.99.58.1

10.011.6

9.58.4

14.2

13.912.514.614.413.5

11.412.413.913.212.4

14.315.014.214.312.8

14.214.714.114.014.6

16.713.913.713.412.4

16.015.714.912.4

26

APPENDIX

CONTENTS

TeAtid Notes . .................................. ........ ......................... .................................................................. 28

LIST OF APPENDIX TABLES

I. Percent cqmpletencss of reporting of dmation of marriage: Divorce-registration area, 1960-77 ..... 28

II. Percent completeness of reporting of duration of marriage and other selected vsriables:Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1977 ............................... ............... ........ .. 29

III. DNorce sampling rate, number of sample records, and estimated total: Dkorce-registntion sreaand each registration State, 1970 and 1977 .......... ...... ........................................ ................ ......... 30

IV. Sampling error of estimated percents: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1970and 1977 ............................. .................. .......................................... ..................... ..... .................. 31

27

APPENDIX

TECHNICAL NOTES

Data used in this report for 1960-77 weretaken mainly from the Vital Statistics of theUnited States, Volume 111–Man-iage andDivorce5 and from unpublished divorce work-tables for these and other years. Some informa-tion was taken from earlier annual issues of theVital Statistics of the United States and fromofficial vital statistics publications for the fol-lowing States: Connecticut, Florida, Illinois,Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri,New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, andVermont. International comparisons are basedon the 1958 and 1976 issues of the Denzo-graphic Yearbook of the United Nations. 1~z

Duration of marriage at divorce is calculatedfrom both the date of decree and recorded oneach divorce certificate. Both dates are requiredon the divorce certificates of all States thatparticipate in the divorce-registration area(DRA). Criteria for participation in the DRA are(1) a Statewide central ffle of divorce certifi-cates; (2) a statistical report form conformingclosely to the U.S. Standard Certificate ofDivorce or Annulment, as recommended by theU.S. Public Health Service; (3) regular reportingto the State by all courts that grant divorces;and (4) satisfactory tests for completeness andaccuracy of registration and reporting.

Because the date of decree is always knownfrom court records and the date of marriage isoften necessary in court proceedings, informa-tion on duration of marriage is now over 99percent complete for the DRA. This figurerepresents a higher level of completeness thanfor information on any other routinely pub-

NOTE: A list of references follows the text.

fished item of divorce statistics, and the percentof completeness has been increasing (table I).

The approximate date of separation is re-ported by a limited number of States. By usingthis date, three variables of demo.maphic im-portancemarriagehusbanddurationvariablesstatistics

“may be calculated: (1) the ‘du~ation ofto separation, (2) the age of the

and wife at separation, and (.3) theof separation to decree. For otherused in this report, detailed divorcewere obtained from certificates ob-

tained from the 29 States that participated inthe DRA during 1971-77. The percent of com-pleteness of reporting for the duration clf mar-

Table 1. Percent completeness of raporting of duration ofmarriage: Divorce-registration area, 1960-77

Year decree granted

1977 ... .. ... ... .. .... . .. ..... .. .... ... .. .... . ..1976 .. .. .... ... .... ... .. ... .. .. .... .. .. .. ... . ..1975 .. ... . ..... .... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. . .... .... .1974 ... .... . ... .... .. . .... .. ... ... .. . ... .... .. .1973 .. .... .. . .. .. ... . ..... .. . ... .. ... .. .. . .. ..-1972 ..... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . ... .1971 ... ... .... .... . .. ..... . ... .. ... . .... . .. .. ..1970 ... .... .... .. .. .. ... ... .. ... .. . .... .. .. ....

1969 ... .. .. . ... ... .. . .... .. . .... .. . . ..... ... . ..1968 ..... . . .. .... .. .. .... . ... .. .... .. .... .. . ...1967 ..... . ... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ... .... . .. ...1966 .... .. .. .... ... .. .. .. . .. .... . .. . .... . .. ....1965 ... .. . ...... .. . ... .. .. ..... .. ... ... .. .. ....1964 ..... .. ...... ... . .. .... . .... ... .. .... . .. ...1963 ... .. .. . .... ... .. .... .. ...... .. ..... . .... ..1962 .... .. .. ... .. .... . .. . .... .... .. . ... .. .. ....1961 .. .... . .... ... . .... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. . . ....1960 ..... . .. ... .... .. .. ... .. ... ... . .... ... . ....

Number ofStates inthe DRA

2929292929292928

28262222222222212018

Percent withduration of

marriagerepclrted

——

99.299.299.199.099.098.998.698.2

97.396.097.497.697.496.197.197.696.895.6

28

riage at decree and for other variables is given intable II for the entire DRA and for eachparticipating State in 1977.

Each State that participates in the DRAsends microfilms of all divorce certificates fordecrees granted during a calendar year to NCHS.The term “divorce” as used here covers decreesof absolute divorce, of annulment, and ofmamiage dissolution; the last type of decreereplaced absolute divorce in many States inrecent years. Microfilms of divorce certificatesare sampled and divorce statistics are estimatedfrom this sample. An exception to this pro-cedure occurs for those States that provide

preceded data for all divorces granted. In 1977there were 8 such States: Illinois, Missouri,Nebraska, New York, Rhode Island, SouthCarolina, Vermont, and Virginia. For the re-maining States in the DIU%, the microfilms aresampled at rates of one-half, one-fifth, one-tenth,or one-twentieth, depending on the number ofdivorces granted. States with small numbers ofdivorces have all of their divorces included in thesample. Sampling rates for all States partici-pating in the DRA in 1970 and 1977 are shownin table III.

All detailed divorce statistics are estimatedfrom sample data both for the DRA and for

Table II. Percent comple;eness%of reporting of duration of marria~ and other selected variables: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1977

.

State

Divorce-registration area . . .. . .

Total reporting States . ...... ...

Hawaii .. . . . . .. .. . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .. . .. . . . . .

[The divorce-registration area included 29 StiMes in 1977 I

)uration of Duration of Duration ofAga at Numb-w of Age at

separation this marrtageChildren

marriag3marriag2 marriage separation under 18to divorce to separation to dwwce

Husband Wife Husband Wife Husband Wifeyears

Percent

99.2

99.2

99.199.4

99.2

99.398,5

99.998.899.4

99.1

99.5

98.799.599.399.4

99.5

99.8

99.099,599.599.4

99.699.299.397.9

97.9

99.8

99.699.699.5

60.3

89.4

(1)87.996.5

89.8

(1)

97.484.890.685.6

93.9

(1 I(1)

69.896.1

(1)

97.7

90.1

(1)(1)

(1 I

57.1

(1 I24,8

60.970.7

98,0

98.094.962.6

60.5

89.8

(1 I88.1

96.990.0

(1)

97.582.691.0

86.1

94.3

(1)(Ii

70.296.4

(1)

97.6

90.6

{1)(1)

(1)

57.3

[1)25.1

81.970.8

98.198.295.062.7

52.0

80.3

(1)85.495.1

88.6

(1)

96.7. . .

86.2

(1 I93.4

(1}[1)

17.493.1

11)

5.1

61.9

(1)(1)

(11

56.8(11

11.1

80.467.1

97.795.794.058.2

51.8

79.2

(1)84.8

93.9

88.0

(1)

96.4. . .

85.4

(1)93.1

(11(11

17.792.7

(1 I

5.0

81.0

[1)(1)(1)

56.3

(1)11.479.5

57.3

37.034.833.957.6

81.9

82.7

68.497.0

95.799.3

90.1

99.996.791.898.8

99.8

83.798.112.094.198.1

(1)95.540.988.4

82.4

95.999.745.2

97.8

82.1

99.999.599.961.8

B2.O

82.8

68.797.195.6

98.8

90.2

99.996.491.798.9

99.7

83.398.512.594.197.6

(1)95.141.292.7

82.4

95.839.8$5.3

37.932.2

39.839.439.852.0

64.0

64.0

66.496.2

97.497.3

89.5

99.195.696.896.9

98.6

95.399.625.696.199.4

97.2

88.936.498.5

85.3

89.299.215.296.9

90.5

99.499.0

98.865.9

83.4

83.4=

66.595.4

96.196.8

88.8

98.494.696.496.8

98.3

94.399.325.995.4

98.3

97.1

87.736.797.9

85.0

99.238.315.2

35.530.1

38.738.538.855.1—

97.8

97.8

97.799.2

95.2

98.3

89.0

!39.999.298.797.7

100.0

96.997.994.999.699.0

100.0

98.199.898.797.5

97.599.999.799.4

96.3

99199.799.999.3

lNOt reportable.

29

Table III. Divorce sampling rate, number of sample records, and estimated total: Divorce-registration area and each registratiorl State,1970 and 1977

State

Divorca-registration area . ... ... .. .... .. . .. .... .. . .... . .. .... ... .

Alabama ... .. .. .. ... ... .. ..... ... .... .. .. .... .. .. ... ... .. .... . .. . ... ... .. ... .. ... .. .... .Alaska .. .. .. . .. ..... .. .. . .... .. . .... .. .. . ... ... .. ... .... . ..... .. .. ... . .. . ... .. .. .. .. .. .. . .California ... . .. .. .. .. . .. ... ... . .... .. .. . ..... . . .... .. .. . ... .. .... .. .. ... ..... .. ...... .. .Connecticut .. .... . . .. ... ... ..... ... .. .... ... . ..... ... ...... . .. ... ... .. .... . .. .. .. .. .. .Georgia ... ... .. ...... . ..... .. .. ..... . .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. ... ... .. .. .... . . .. .. .... ..

Hawaii .... . ... ...... . . .. .. .... ...... .. .. .. .. .. . .. ... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... . ..... .. . ..ldaho ... .. .... . . ...... .. . ... ... . .. ..... . .. . .... . .. ... .. .. ..... . . .... .. .. .... .. .. .... . . .. ..llIinoisl ... ... ...... . . .. ... . .. ...... . .. .. . .. .. .. ... . .. .. ... .. . .... .. .... .. ... . ... .. ... ...Iovva .... .... ... .. .... . ... .... .. .. ..... ... . . ... ... .. ... ... .... . .. ..... . ... .. ... . ..... .. . ...Kansas ... . ... .. ..... .. ... .. ... .... .... ... .. ... . . ..... .. ...... . .... ... . ... .. .. . ..... .. .. ..

Kentucky ... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .... .... .... .. .. .. . ..... .. ....Maryland .... .. .... .. ... ... ... . .... .. .. .... .. .. ... ... .. ... .. . .... .. ... ... .. .. .... .. .. ...Michigan “.. ... ..... . .. .. .. .... .. .... .... ..... . .. .... .. .... .... .... .. .. ... .. .. ..... .. . ....Missouri 1 .. ... ... ... . ..... . .. .... ... ... ... ... .... .. .. .... ... . .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .....Montana .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... .. .. . ....... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .... . ... ... .. . ...... .. ....

Nebraskal ... . . ...... . ... . .. ... .. .. .... .. .... .. .... .. .. ... ... .. ... . ... ... ... . .... .. .. .. .New Yorkl .. ..... .... .... .. .... .. .. .. .... . ... .. . .. . .. .. .... ...... .. .... . ... .... .. .. .. .Ohio ... .... .. .. ...... .. .. ... ... .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .... . ... .. .... .... .. . .... .. ... .. .. .. .... .Oregon .. .. . ... ...... .. . .... ... .. ... ... .. ... ... .. .... .. .. ... . .. ... .. ... ... .. ... .... . .. ... .Pennsylvania ..... . ... ... ... .. .... ... .. ..... . . .. .. . ... .. .. . .. ... .. . .... . .. .. .... . . .... .

Rhode lslandl .. .. .... . .. . .... .. .... .... .. ..... .. .... . .... .. .. .. .... . . ..... .. . . ... .. .South Carolina 1 .... .. .. .. ...... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. ... ... . ... . ... .... .. .. .... .. .. ... . .South Dakota .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. . ... .... .. . ..... .. .... .. .. .. .. .. ..... ... .... .... .... . .Tennessea .. .... .. .. .... ... . ... .... . .. .. .. .. .. ... . .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .... .. . ... .. .. .. .... ..Utah .... .. . ..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... . ... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. ..

Vermontl ... .. .. .. ..... . . .... .... . ..... .. . .. .. .. . ..... .. . .... . .. ..... . .. ... .. . .... .. .. .Virginial ...... ... . .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . ..... ... . ... .... .. ... . .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .... ... .. . .. . .Wwonsin .... .... . .... .. . ..... ... .. .... .. .. .. .... ..... .. . ..... . .. .. .. . .. ... ... ... .. . ... .Wyoming .... .... .. ... ... .... .. .. .. .... .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .... .... .... .. .... .. .. .. .. . . ...

Divorcesampling

rate

0.101.000.050.500.10

0.500.501.000.500.20

0.200.200.101.000.50

1.001.000.050.200.10

1.001.001.000.100.50

1.001.000.200.50

1977

Numberof

samplerecords

245,251

2,3833,5796,5686,1873,095

2,3013,007

48,9805,4452,532

3,1263,3074,287

25,3282,415

6,12655,802

2,8693,2773,792

3,42010,718

2,4362,7513,462

2,13221,464

2,9221,540

Estimatedtotal

656,339

23,8303,579

131,36012,37430,950

4,6026,014

48,98010,89012,660

15,63016,53542,87025,328

4,830

6,12655,80257,38016,38537,920

3,42010,718

2,43627,510

6,924

2,13221,46414,610

3,080

1970

Divorcesampling

rate

. . .

0.101.000.100.500.20

1.000.$00.100.500.50

0.200.200.100.201.00

0.500.100.100.200.10

1.00

1:000.200.50

1.000.200.501.00

Numberof

sampleracords

80,630

1,5071,694

11,1122,9103,728

2,5851,7763,6443,5394,340

2,1381,8452,9943,5693,060

1,8482,6403,9371,9142,259

1,693

1,3583,3101,814

1,0272,4024,1801,807

Estimatedtotal

——

429,498————

15,0701,694

111,1205,820

18,640

2,5853,552

36,4407,0788,680 .

10,6909,225

29,94017,645

3,060

3,69626,40039,370

9,57022,590

1,693

1,35816,550

3,628

1,02712,010

8,3601,s07

lFor 1977 computer tapes containing Preceded data for all divorces were supplied by thk State through the Cooperative Health

Statistics System.

each State except where all certificates arein the tions divided by the square root ofsample. Estimates based on sample data are the squares of their sampling errors:subject to sampling error, as shown in table IVfor 1970 and 1977. PI - P~

To determine if the difference between 2percents is statistically si~ificant, the percents @=and their corres~ondirw samrslirw errors should

the sum of

be converted in;o pro~ortio& (~e., divided by If this quotient is greater than 2 (or less than100 ), and the difference between the propor- - 2), the probability that the difference between

30

Table IV. Sampling error of estimated percents: Oivorce-registration area and each registration State, 1970 and 1977

State

Divorce-registration area ...

Alabama ........................ ..................Alasb ...............................................California ................. .........................Connecticut ....... .... ...........................Georgia .............................................

Hawaii ..............................................ldaho ................................................lllin0is2 ........... .................?...............Iowa ........................................3 .......Kansas .. ..................................... .......

Kentucky ..........................................Maryland ................ .... .................... ..Michigan ...........................................Missouri2 ............... ...........................Montana ...........................................

Nebraska2 ... ......................................New York . .....................................Ohio .................................................Oregon ..............................................Pennsylvania ........ .......... ...................

Rhode lsland2 ... ...............................South Carolipa2 ................................South Dakota ...................................Tennassea ................ .... .....................Utah .................................................

Vermont2 .........................................Virginia2 ...........................................Wisconsin..........................................Wyoming ............ ..............................

Estimatedtotal

656.339

23,83013,579

131,36012,37430,950

4,6026,014

148,98010,89012,660

15,63016,53542,870

125,3284.830

16,126155,802

57J8016,38537,920

13,420110,718

12,43627.510

6,924

12,132121 ,4E4

14,6103,080

1977

Estimated percent

1 or 99 100r90 25 Or 75 50

Sampling error

0.04

0.19. . .

0.120.090.17

0.150.13

. . .0.090.17

0.160.160.14

. . .0.14

. . .

. . .0.180.150.15

. . .

. . .

. . .0.180.12

. . ... . .

0.160.16

0.11

0.58. . .

0.360.270.51

0.430.38

. . .0.280.53

0.480.470.44

. . .0.41

. . .

. . .0.550.470.46

. . .

. . .

. . .0.540.36

. . .

. . .0.500.55

0.15

0.84. . .

0,520.390.74

0.630.57

. . .0.410.77

0.690.680.63

.,.0.60

. . .

. . .0.790.680.67

. . .

. . .

. . .0.780.52

. . .

. . .0.720.78

0.18=

0.97. . .

0.600.440.85

0.740.65

. . .0.480.88

0.800.780.73

. . .0.70

. . .

. . .0.910.780.77

. . .

. . .

. . .0.900.61

. . .

. . .0.830.91

Sstimatadtotal

429,498

15,07011,694

111,1205,820

18,540

12,5853,552

36,4407,0788,680

10,6909,225

29,84017,84513,060

3,69626,40039,370

9,57022,590

11,693

11,358

16,5!33,628

11,02712,010

8,36011,807

1970

Estimated percent

1 or 99 100r80 25 or 75 50

0.04

0.25. . .

0.0s0.140.14

. . .0.170.160.110.10

0.200.210.170.15

. . .

0.160.190.150.200.20

. . .

..-

. . .0.160.17

. . .0.180.12

. . .

Sampling error

0.12

0.74. . .

0.270.400.44

. . .0.510.470.370.32

0.580.630.520.45

. . .

0.490.550.460.620.60

. . .. . .

. . .0.470.52

. . .0.540.35

. . .

0.17

1.05. . .

0.390.570.63

. . .0.730.680.520.47

0.830.900.750.65

. . .

0.700.600.660.ss0.86

. . .

. . .

. . .0.680.77

. . .0.780.50

. . .

0.20

1.22. . .

0.450.650.73

. . .0.s40.780.610.54

0.961.040.870.75

. . .

0.s40.920.751.021.00

. . .

.-.

. . .0.780.88

. . .0.910.59

. . .

lA, records were used ~ the sample for thw State in this year.2FOr 1977 ~Omputer tapes ~Ontaifing ~recOded data fOr all divorces ware supplied by this State through the COOPmative Health statistics system.

the two proportions is due to chance is less than1 in 20.

Percentiles, medians, quartiles, and percentdistributions, as shown in this report, are com-puted by omitting cases with information thatwas not stated. Median duration for the DRAand each reporting State has been published inthe Vital Statistics of the United States, Volume111-Marriage and Divorce? The median dura-

NOTE: A list of references follows the text.

tions of marriage were generally computed fromungrouped data, but most medians of durationtabulated by other variables were computedfrom grouped data. Medians computed fromungrouped and from grouped data are notcomparable.

Population data for married women byduration of 1970 current marriage, which wereused as denominators for duration-specific rates(text table C), were obtained from a U.S. Bureauof the Census publication showing the ever-mar-ried population tabulated by the number of

31

years since the first marriage.6 Statistics wereused for women (rather than for men) becausedivorce rates per 1,000 married women arecomputed routinely and it is desirable to com-pute duration-specific rates by using comparablepopulation bases. For persons married once,

NOTE: A fist of references folIows the text.

years since first marriage are identical with yearsof current marriage. Thus for married womenwho were married once, population bases couldbe obtained directly from the Census publica-tion. Numerators for the duration-speciiic rates(national divorce data by duration) were esti-mated by applying the percent distribution byduration computed for the DRA to the 1970national divorce total.

000

32

VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS Series

Series 1. Programs and Collection Procedures. –Reports which describe the generaI programs of the NationalCenter for Health Statistics and its offices and divisions and data collection methods used and includedefinitions and other material necessary for understanding the data.

Series 2. Data Evaluation and Methods Research. –Studies of new statistical methodology including experi-mental tests of new survey methods, studies of vital statistics collection methods, new analyticaltechniques, objective evaluations of reliability of collected data, and contributions to statistical theory.

Series 3. Analytical Studies. –Reports presenting analytical or interpretive studies based on vital and healthstatistics, carrying the analysis further than the exposito~ types of reports in the other series.

Series 4. Documents and Committee Rrports. –Final reports of major committees concerned with vital andhealth statistics and documents such as recommended model vital registration laws and revised birthand death certi~lcates.

Series 10. Data From the Health Interzniew Survey. –Statistics on illness, accidental injuries, disability, use ofhospital, medical, dental, and other services, and other health-related topics, all based on data collectedin a continuing national household interview survey.

Stv-i,’s 11. Data From the Health Examination Survey and the H~alth and ,Vutrition Examination Survey. –Datafrom direct examination, testing, and measurement of national samples of the civilian noninstitu-tiomdized population provide the basis for two types of reports: (1) estimates of the medically definedprevalence of specific diseases in the United States and the distributions of the population with respectto physical, physiological, and psychological characteristics and (2) analysis of relationships among thevarious measurements without reference to an explicit finite universe of pdrsons.

.%ries 12. Data From the institutionalized Population Surz,eys. –Discontinued effective 1975. Future reports fromthese surveys will be in Series 13.

Sen”es13. Data on Health Resources Utilization n. -Statistics on the utilization of health manpower and facilitiesproviding long-term care, ambulatory care, hospital care, and family planning services.

Series 14. Data on Health Resources: Manpower and Facilities. –Statistics on the numbers, geographic distri-bution, and characteristics of health resources including physicians, dentists, nurses, other heafthoccupations, hospitals, nursing homes, and outpatient facilities.

Series 20. Data on Mortality. –Various statistics on mortality other than as included in regular annual or monthlyreports. Special analyses by cause of death, age, and other demographic variables; geographic and timeseries analyses; and statistics on characteristics of deaths not available from the vitaf records based onsample surveys of those records.

Series 21. Data on Natality, Marriage, and Divorce. –Various statistics on nattdity, marriage, and divorce otherthan as included in regular annual or monthly reports. Special amdyses by demographic variables;geographic and time series analyses; studies of fertility; and statistics on characteristics of births notavailable from the vital records based on sample sumeys of those records.

Series 22. Data From the National Alortality and Natality Surueys. –Discontinued effective 1975. Future reportsfrom these sample sun,eys based on vital records will be included in Series 20 and 21, respectively.

Series 23. Data From the National Survey of Family Growth. –Statistics on fertility, family formation and dis-solution, family planning, and related maternal and infant health topics derived from a biennial surveyof a nationwide probability sample of ever-married women 15-44 years of age.

For a list of titles of reports published in these series, write to: Scientific and Technical Information BranchNational Center for Heafth StatisticsPublic Health ServiceHyattsville, Md. 207S2

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