one partner is the initiator, it is usually the female. One study found that women initiated 75% of divorces (J. B. Kelly, 1989). The individual who wants his or her marriage to end is likely to view the marriage totally differently from the individual who wants the marriage to continue (Wang & Amato, 2000). In addition, the partner who initiated the divorce has often completed the mourning of the relationship by the time the divorce is complete, unlike the partner whose mourning begins once the divorce is finalized.
Why Do People Get Divorced?
It is very difficult to determine why some marriages fail; every couple has its own story. Sometimes the spouses themselves are at a loss to understand why their marriage failed. We will now explore some of the social, predisposing, and relationship factors that may contribute to divorce.
Social Factors Affecting Divorce
Divorce rates in the United States are influenced by changes in legal, political, religious, and familial patterns. For example, states have all instituted some type of no-fault divorce, whereby neither partner needs to be found guilty of a transgression (such as hav-
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