Almost 96% of adults in the United States today have married during their lifetime, and more than 50% of couples in the United States remain in their first marriage (Hei — man et al., 2011). Research confirms that the proportion of all marriages—first, second, or more—ending in divorce increased dramatically since the 1950s, when one in four marriages ended in divorce. By 1977 the ratio was one divorce to every two marriages. Since 1977 the ratio of divorces to marriages has tended to level off and has held relatively steady, with the exception of one age group. The divorce rate has doubled in
the past 2 decades for people ages 50 and older (Thomas, 2012). Most divorced people remarry: Approximately 26% of men and women ages 40 to 44 have been married two or more times (Goodwin et al., 2010).