Conventional wisdom has long held that women who have higher levels of education are less likely to get divorced. However, researchers at the National Center for Family and Marriage Research (NCFMR) have recently found that American women with the lowest and highest levels of education file for divorce at approximately the same rate.
The actual results of the study were as follows: women who had not earned their high school diploma or GED had a first divorce rate of 14.4 per thousand. By contrast, women who had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher had an almost identical rate of 14.2 per thousand. Interestingly enough, both groups of women had rates of divorce that were higher than average.
What these figures would seem to indicate is that having a college degree (or degrees) does not protect a woman from eventually becoming a divorcee. This further suggests that, as NCFMR director Dr. Susan Brown says, “the relationship between education and divorce is [far from] straightforward.”
In the past, individuals of both genders saw divorce as one of the worst life-decisions a married woman could make, largely because of the negative impact it would have on her social and financial standing. But as women continue to become more independent, divorce has become the accepted way to make a fresh start.
If you are a woman who is considering divorce but who is hesitating because of the social and financial disadvantages you believe a dissolution may create, do some research about the real effects that it will have on your life. The attorneys at the Barrera Law Firm can also assist you by going over your legal options as you begin the divorce process: call us today for a free consultation.
