Divorce

Compared internationally, the United States has the highest divorce rate by a large margin—one and a half times that of the United Kingdom, approximately twice that of Japan, Germany, France, and Sweden, and more than seven times that of Italy. Although estimates vary, approximately half of all first-marriages and 60 percent of remarriages in the United States end in divorce. In the mid-nineteenth century approximately 5 percent of first marriages ended in divorce, so this dramatic increase in divorce has implications for all family members. Those family members most studied are children; yet the decision to end a marriage and the experiences that follow also affect the divorcing adults.