No one ever wants to imagine their walk down a flower-strewn aisle will end in a divorce court, but varying statistics indicate that the divorce rate in the United States ranges between 40 and 50 percent of all marriages, with higher divorce rates for second marriages.
Sadly, no matter how pure our intentions are when we exchange marriage vows with a spouse, life sometimes takes us on different paths. Understanding the leading causes of divorce in the U.S. may help spouses identify and address common problems before they escalate into the destruction of their marriage.
Lack of Commitment to the Marriage
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a divorce research study indicates that lack of commitment is the number one cause of divorce, cited by 75% of divorced respondents. When one or both spouses do not commit to working on relationship problems, maintaining love, companionship, and intimacy in the marriage, and supporting each other through tough times, it eventually indicates that the marriage may not be as important to the spouse who lacks commitment as it should be.
When a spouse feels that the marriage isn’t worth the commitment to working hard to keep it alive, it’s very likely to end in divorce.
Marital Infidelity
A critical component of marital commitment is the promise to be faithful and refrain from intimate relationships with others outside of the marriage. Unfortunately, 59.6% of married individuals and an astonishing 88.8% of one partner in a marriage reported infidelity as the cause of their divorce.
This discrepancy may indicate that one partner wrongfully suspects the other of being unfaithful or that one partner didn’t find infidelity to be the ultimate cause of the marriage’s demise.
When a spouse seeks sexual intimacy and companionship outside of the marriage, it breaks the marital bonds of trust and also indicates a deeper, underlying problem with the relationship.
Arguing and Conflict
Around 57.7% of individual respondents reported conflicts and arguments as the cause of their divorce. When arguments aren’t resolved through respectful discussion and continually escalate into harsh, dramatic conflicts, it erodes the marital partnership.
Eventually, arguing became the primary language of the marriage, with neither partner’s need for companionship and intimacy in the relationship being met, ultimately leading to divorce.
Getting Married Too Young
Just over 45% of divorced spouses report the main factor in their divorce as being too young when they married. When spouses marry before they’ve fully matured, they are more likely to grow apart, discover conflicting goals, or wish to explore other relationships. This leads to the other primary causes of divorce, such as arguing, infidelity, and lack of commitment to the marriage.
Financial Problems
Money and marital finances are a leading cause of arguments and conflict in marriages, cited as the reason for divorce by 36.7% of individual respondents. Financial problems may indicate a lack of agreement on financial priorities or could result from other problems, such as one spouse’s addiction, reckless spending, or a spouse’s health problem or disability.
Substance abuse was cited not only as a cause of financial problems leading to divorce, but was named as the primary cause of the divorce in 34.6% of surveyed divorced spouses.
Domestic Violence
Sadly, domestic violence was the cause of divorce reported by 23.5% of survey respondents. Most divorced spouses who cited physical and emotional abuse as the cause of their divorce reported that the abuse escalated over the duration of the marriage.
Other Common Causes of Divorce In the U.S.
Additional common causes and contributors to the divorce numbers in the United States are factors such as “growing apart,” lack of communication, lack of sexual intimacy, and differences in religious, ideological, and political beliefs. Contact our skilled family lawyers in Denver for a free divorce consultation today.