Divorce : Census numbers \ Adult Children | Make it the Norm.... 9/20/07

[Smartmarriages]

- CENSUS REPORT: NEWS BRIEF
- CENSUS DIVORCE REPORT: LONGER VERSION
- GERMAN POLITICIAN PROPOSES SEVEN-YEAR LIMIT ON MARRIAGE
- CHILDREN OF DIVORCE CARE PROVIDE LESS ELDER CARE

########################
- CENSUS REPORT: NEWS BRIEF
News in brief
Mercury News Wire Services
09/20/2007

Silver anniversary 
less than an even shot

More than half the Americans who might have celebrated their 25th wedding
anniversaries since 2000 were divorced, separated or widowed before reaching
that milestone, according to the latest census survey, released Wednesday.

For the first time since at least World War II, women and
men who married in the late 1970s had a less than even chance of still being
married 25 years later.

"We know that somewhere between 40 percent and 50 percent of marriages
dissolve," said Barbara Risman, executive officer of the Council on
Contemporary Families, a research group. "Now, when people marry, everyone
wonders, is this one of those marriages that will be around for a while?"

David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values, a
marriage research and advocacy group, said he was struck that the percentage
of people who celebrated their 15th anniversary also had declined.

About 80 percent of first marriages that took place in the late 1950s lasted
at least 15 years. Among people who married in the late 1980s for the first
time, however, only 61 percent of the men and 57 percent of the women were
married 15 years later.

#######################
- CENSUS DIVORCE REPORT: LONGER VERSION

Majority of Marriages End Before 25 Years, Census Finds
The New York Times 
By SAM ROBERTS
Sept 19, 2007

Don¹t stock up on silver anniversary cards. More than half the Americans who
might have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversaries since 2000 were
either divorced, separated or widowed, according to a census survey released
today.

For the first time at least since World War II, married people had a less
than even chance of still being married 25 years later.

The latest survey by the Census Bureau confirmed that most Americans
eventually marry, but they are marrying later and are less likely to be wed
only once. Those trends continued, although the proportion who have ever
been divorced, about one in five, remained constant.

³Basically, it looks like we¹re pretty much holding steady,² said Rose
Kreieder, a Census Bureau demographer. ³There are not radical differences.²

Among people in their late 20s, a majority of men ‹ 54 percent ‹ had never
married, as had 41 percent of women. In 1996, the comparable proportions
were 49 percent among men and 35 percent among women.

At that time, about 69 percent of men and 76 percent of women age 15 and
older had married only once. In the latest analysis, 54 percent of men and
58 percent of women had married only once.

The oldest baby boomers recorded the highest divorce rates. Among people in
their fifties, 38 percent of men and 41 percent of women had been divorced.
In 1996, the comparable figures were 36 percent and 35 percent.

One statistical constant has been the so-called seven-year itch, as
popularized in the play and film about errant husbands. Couples who separate
do so, on average, after seven years and divorce after eight. The duration
of first marriages that end in divorce appears to have increased slightly
among men.

Among adults 25 and older who had been divorced, 52 percent of men and 44
percent of women were currently married.

On average, people who remarry typically wed again in about three-and-a-half
years. Second marriages that end in divorce last about 8.6 years for men and
7.2 years for women.

In 2004, 12 percent of men and 13 percent of women had married twice. Three
percent each had married three or more times.

The survey of the civilian, non-institutionalized population found
disparities on the basis of race and ethnicity. Among currently married
women, non-Hispanic whites were the only group in which a majority had
marked their 15th anniversary.

Among men over 15, the proportion who have never been married was 28 percent
for whites, 45 percent for blacks, 39 for Hispanic people and 33 percent for
Asians.

Among women over 15, it was 22 percent for whites, 44 percent for blacks, 30
percent for Hispanic people and 23 percent for Asians.

##############################

- GERMAN POLITICIAN PROPOSES SEVEN-YEAR LIMIT ON MARRIAGE
Sept  20, 2007
[This is nothing new, such proposals have been around for decades.  Just
sharing to remind us that "things could be worse"....  - diane]

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) ‹ A conservative German politician on Wednesday
proposed making marriage contracts expire after seven years, with the option
to renew for those not feeling the proverbial itch.

"I propose that marriages lapse after seven years," Gabriele Pauli told
reporters in Munich, the capital of the largely Catholic southern state of
Bavaria.

"This would mean that one will only commit for a fixed period and will
actively have to renew your vows if you still want to continue."

Pauli, 50, has been divorced twice.

The proposal is part of her manifesto as she prepares to contest the
leadership of Bavaria's governing party, the ultra-conservative Christian
Social Union (CSU), next week.

The CSU is the sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian
Democrats and the leadership is being vacated by a strategic ally of the
chancellor, Edmund Stoiber, who has also been premier of Bavaria for more
than a decade.

Stoiber in January agreed to step down at the end of September after a party
rebellion led by Pauli.

Shortly afterward he announced his decision, Pauli caused a stir by posing
for magazine pictures as a dominatrix wearing long latex gloves.

She is facing stiff competition for the CSU leadership from Agriculture
Minister Horst Seehofer and regional Economy and Transportation Minister
Erwin Huber.
##########################
- CHILDREN OF DIVORCE CARE PROVIDE LESS ELDER CARE

[This is also 'nothing new' ­ especially if you've been on the listserv for
awhile.  We've long realized and discussed the fact that the divorce crisis
is going to be a huge problem as the divorced Boomer population ages and
their disconnected, disenchanted adult children and unwilling to provide
elder care. One more study and one more rationale that supports what's
coming and how divorce and family breakdown are bad for the village
(taxpayers). -  diane]

Children of Divorce Care for Parents Less

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 17, 2007 (UPI) -- A divorce -- even one 30 years ago --
means a child may be less involved in care-giving for elderly parents, a
U.S. researcher says.

In a study, published in the Advances in Life Course Research, divorce
predicted an adult child would be less of involved with day-to-day
assistance later in life for the aging parent. These activities included the
child helping the parent maintain chores in the home.

"It's not the divorce itself that affects the quality of the parent-child
relationship, but it's what happens afterwards such as geographical
separation," study leader Adam Davey, of Temple University, said in a
statement.

Davey analyzed data from 2,087 parents, age 50 and older, who reported on
their 7,019 adult children in the National Survey of Family and Households
from 1987 to 1994 and found marital disruptions earlier in a child's life
can be less detrimental to the relationship than those occurring in
adulthood.

One surprising finding was that both mothers and fathers are only half as
likely to get support from a non-biological child.

"Society does not yet have a clear set of expectations for step-children's
responsibility," Davey added.

**************************
Send submissions and comments for the listserv to: diane at smartmarriages.com
Do NOT hit "reply". If you hit reply your email will go into cyberspace and
NO ONE will see your email.

This is a moderated list. Submissions and comments are read by Diane Sollee,
editor. Please indicate if your comment is NOT to be shared with the list.
PLEASE include your email address or url as part of your signature.

Please also understand that with thousands of subscribers, not all comments
can be shared. Also realize that opinions expressed are not necessarily
shared by members of the Coalition.

To SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, or Change your subscription address,
use the form at: http://www.smartmarriages.com. Click Newslist - in the left
column under the puzzle piece.

To read past posts to the listserv, visit the Archive at:
http://lists101.his.com/pipermail/smartmarriages/

12th Annual Smart Marriages® Conference, Hilton San Francisco Hotel,
July 2 - 5, 2008  
Pre-Conference Training Institutes June 30-July 2
Post-Conference Training Institutes July 6

List your program and resources on the Directory of Classes at
http://www.smartmarriages.com

Order conference audio & video CD/DVD/MP3s: 800-241-7785 or
http://www.iPlaybackSmartMarriages.com

Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, LLC (CMFCE)
Diane Sollee, Director
5310 Belt Rd NW, Washington, DC 20015-1961
http://www.smartmarriages.com
202-362-3332

FAIR USE NOTICE: This e-newsletter/site contains copyrighted material the
use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. We make such material available in our efforts to advance
understanding of marriage, family, couples, divorce, legislation, family
breakdown, etc. We understand this constitutes a 'fair use' of such material
as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational purposes. For more
information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you
wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own
that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner.