Data from the

NATIONAL VITAL STATISTICS SYSTEM

Duration of Marriage Before Divorce

United States

An analysis of trends and patterns of divorce according to duration

of marriage at time of decree. Discusses selected characteristics of

divorces and divorcing persons in relation to duration of marriage to

divorce.

DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 81-1916

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

Office of Health Research, Statistics, and Technology

National Center for Health Statistics

Hyattsville, Maryland July 1981

Series 21

Number 38
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Plateris, Alexander A.

Duration of marriage to divorce, United States.

(Vital and health statistics. Series 21, Data from the national vital statistics system ; no.

38) (DHHS publication ; no. (PHS) 81-1916)

1. Divorce–United States–Statistics. 2. Marriage–United States–Statistics. I. Title.

II. Series. III. Series: DHHS publication ; no. (PHS) 81-1916.

HA211.A3 no. 38 [HQ834] 312’.1’73s 81-9668

ISBN 0-8406 -0127-0 [306.8’0973] AACR2

For sale hy tl]e Superintendent of l)ocuments, LT.S. (government I1rir]tin~ Oificc, Washin~ton, I), C. 20402
NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS

DOROTHY P. RICE, Director

ROBERT A. ISRAEL, Deputy Director

JACOB J. FELDMAN, Ph.D., Associate Director for Analysis and Epidemiology

GAIL F. FISHER, Ph. D., Assocrizte Director for the Cooperative Health Statistics System

GARRIE J. LOSEE, Associate Director for Data Processing and Services

ALVAN O. ZARATE, Ph.D., Assz”stantDirector for International Statistics

E. EARL BRYANTj Associate Director for Interview and Examination Statistics

ROBERT C. HUBER, A.woctite Director for Mamgement

MONROE G. SIRKEN, Ph.D., Associate Director for Research and Methodology

PETER L. HURLEY, Associate Director for Vital and Health Care Statistics

ALICE HAYWOOD, Information Officer

DIVISION OF VITAL STATISTICS

JOHN E. PATTERSON, Director

ALICE M. HETZEL, Deputy Director

ALICE M. HETZEL, Chief Marriage and Divorce Statistics Branch

JOSEPH D. FARRELL, Chief Programming Branch

MABEL G. SMITH, Chief, Statistical Resources Branch

Vital and Health Statistics-Series 21-No. 38

., DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 81-1916

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 81-9668

>, ... .,,’?
CONTENTS

k&oduction ............................................................................................................................................

Summary .................................................................................................................................................

Trends and Variation ...............................................................................................................................

Trends in Duration to Divorce ...........................................................................................................

Duration of Marriage at Annulment ...................................................................................................

Geographic Vfition .........................................................................................................................

Intemationsl Comparisons .................................................................................................................

Divorce Rates by Duration of First Mmiage ...........................................................................................

Separation ...............................................................................................................................................

Duration of Marriage to Sepmation ....................................................................................................

Duration of Separation to Divorce .....................................................................................................

Duration of Marriage by Selected Characteristics ....................................................................................

Number of Times Married ..................................................................................................................

Age at Mtiage ..................................................................................................................................

Children in Divoxe ............................................................................................................................

Refmences ...............................................................................................................................................

Iist of Detailed Tables ................................................................. ..........................................................

Appendix: Technical Notes ....................................................................................................................

A.

B.

c.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

LIST OF TEXT TABLES

Median and quartile duration of marriage at time of decree for the total of reporting States, and

the national divorce rate: 194S-77 ................................................................................................

Median and quartile duration of marriage at time of decree: Divorce-registration area and each

registration State, 1970 and 1977 .................................................................................................

Estimated number of divorces of fiist-married women, number of first-married women, and

first-marriage divorce rate, by duration of first marriage: United States, 1970 .............................

Median duration of marriage at time of separation and median duration of separation at time of

decree: Total of 20 reporting States and selected States, 1977 .....................................................

Median age of husband and wife at time of separation for couples divorcing in data year: Total of

18 reporting States and selected States, 1977 ...............................................................................

Median and quartile duration of marriage at time of decree, by nurqber of this marriage of

husband and wife: Divorce-registration area, 1977 .......................................................................

Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by age at marriage of husband and wife:

Divorce-registration area, 1977 .......................................................................................... ..........

Median age at marriage of divorcing husband and wife, by duration of marriage at time of decree:

Divorce-registration area, 1977 .....................................................................................................

1

1

2

2

3

3

5

7

7

7

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

28

4

6

8

11

11

12

13

13

...

Ill
J. Percent distribution of divorces by number of children under 18 years of age, according to

duration of marriage of divorcing couples at time of decree: Divorce-registration area, 1977 ....... 14

K. Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of children under 18 years of age:

Divorce-registration area, 1961.77 ................................................................................................ 15

LIST OF TEXT FIGURES

1. Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1867-1977......................... 3

2. Cumulative percent of divorces by duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States,

1950-77........................................................................................................................................ 5

3. Regression of divorce rate on the median duration of mrm-iage at time of decree: States in

divorce-registration area, 1970...................................................................................................... 7

4. Estimated divorce rates by duration of marriage at time of decree for couples with wife -ed

once: United States, 1970 ............................................................................................................ 9

5. Percent distribution of divorces by duration of marriage at time of separation and duration of

separation at time of decree: Totaf of 20 reporting States, 1977.................................................. 10

6. Median duration of marriage at time of decree by number of this marriage of husband and wife:

Divorce-registration area, 1977..................................................................................................... 12

SYMBOLS

Data not available-----—--——–--——-—— - -ICategory not applicable -------------------- . . .

Quantity zero--------------------——--------- -

Quantity more than O but less than 0.05---- 0.0

Figure does not meet standards of

reliability or precision–----—-------–-— *

iv
DURATION OF MARRIAGE BEFORE DIVORCE:

UNITED STATES

Alexander A. Plateris, Ph.D., Division of Vital Statistics

INTRODUCTION

From its inception, marriage is subject to the

risk of disruption. In the early years of marriage

the greatest risk of disruption is by divorce;

however, this risk declines in the later years

when the risk of death of a spouse surpasses it.

Although information is not generally available on the duration of marriages dissolved by

death, it is possible to obtain a fairly definitive

characterization of marriages that end in divorce

according to the duration of marriage at the

time the divorce decree becomes final. Data on

the duration of marriage, especially on the

medb.n duration to divorce, provide information

that can be related to other variables associated

with maritaI disruption by divorce. Significant

among these are the number of children involved

in divorce, the ages of husband and wife at

marriage, and the marriage order of each spouse.

Information recorded on certificates of

divorce is used to generate the statistics needed

for analysis of the duration of marriage at the

time of decree. States that participate in the

divorce-registration area enable the National

Center for Health Statistics to develop statistical

information for a significant portion of the

United States. A description of the divorceregistration area and technical notes on methods

for data preparation are contained in the appendix.

Generally, data on the duration of marriage

to divorce are more completely recorded than

those for any other characteristic of divorce. In

1977, information used to calculate duration

was stated on more than 99 percent of all

divorce records obtained from the States in the

divorce-registration area. Moreover, statistics on

duration are available for 81 years of the period

from 1867 to 1977.

Each year, the National Center for Health

Statistics prepares several cross-tabulations on

duration of marriage to divorce by other

selected variables. These cross-tabulations show

the variation in duration of marriage to divorce

for the various categories of the divorcing

population. Most of the analysis presented in

this report is based on these tabulations.

In addition to the data obtained through the

vital statistics system, information on the duration of marriage is also collected by the U.S.

Bureau of the Census, particularly in the decennial censuses. Census figures provide information

on the duration of marriage of currently married

persons at the time of enumeration. These data

can be used to obtain divorce rates by duration

of marriage.

SUMMARY

Recently the national divorce rate has increased. Meanwhde, the median duration of

marriage at the time of decree has declined from

7.5 years in 1963 to 6.5 years in 1974-76. States

with high divorce rates generally have short

median duration to divorce, and vice versa.

Divorce rates by duration of marriage at the

time of decree were estimated for first marriages

of wives in the United States in 1970. The rate

was highest for first marriages that lasted 3 years

1
(34.3 divorces per 1,000 first-married women in

that duration interval ) and declined with increasing duration to 1.0 divorces per 1,000

women in the interval of 35 years or more

duration.

Information on the date of separation, reported by a limited number of States, permits

tabulation of the duration of marriage to separation and the duration of separation to decree. In

1977, for the reporting States combined, the

median duration of marriage at time of separation (for those couples divorcing in 1977) was

4.9 years. The median duration of separation at

the time of decree was 1.1 years in the reporting

States combined, and for approximately 75

percent of the couples this duration was less

than 2 years.

On the average, the more times a divorcing

person has been married, the less the elapsed

time between marriage and divorce. In 1977, the

median duration of marriage at the time of

decree was 7.5 years for husbands married once,

4.8 years for husbands married twice, and 3.5

years for those married three times or more. For

wives, the medians were similar.

When first marriages and remarriages are

considered together, divorcing husbands and

wives who married in their twenties tended to

have longer marriage durations than divorcing

persons who married at older ages. For divorcing

husbands married in their teens, the median

duration in 1977 was 7.2 years; the median

increased to 7.9 years for those married at 20-24

years of age and then declined consistently with

increasing age to 3.4 years for those who were

married at 45 years of age and over. For wives,

the median duration was gre~test for those

married under 20 years of age.

The median duration of marriage at the time

of divorce increased with the number of reported children under 18 years of age. Although .

a general dechne of the median duration of

mamage at divorce has recently occurred, the

median duration has increased for divorcing

couples with two children and with three chilcken

or more. For the former, the median duration of

marriage at decree lengthened from 8.9 years in

1961 to 10.1 years in 1977. For the latter

group, the median increased from 12.1 to 14.2

years over the same period.

TRENDS AND VARIATION

Trends in Duration to Divorce

For most of the years between 1867 and

1977, data are available for the United States or

portions thereof to calculate the median duration of marriage at time of decree (table 1). As

shown in figure 1, considerable fluctuation has

occurred in the median duration of marriage

over this 11 l-year period. The median duration

has ranged between 5.8 and 8.3 years and the

trend has changed directions several times. The

median durations for 1870-72 were almost the

same as those for 1969-72 (6.9 years in 1870,

1872, and 1969; 6.7 years in lt]71 and

1970-72). ‘

In the 1870’s and 1880’s the median duration increased. It reached the high{est level

during the 1887-1905 period; during these years

the median was 8.0 years or higher, with a

maximum of 8.3 years occurring in 1889, 1891,

1900, and 1901. Although information on duration was not collected during the years from

1907 to 1921, the median duration of marriage

to divorce did change from 7.9 years in 1906 to

6.6 years in 1922. It increased again during the

1920’s, particularly as the Depression started.

The second period when data were not collected, 1933-47, covered the Depression and

World War 11 years. During this period the change

was comparatively small, dropping from 7.1

years in 1932 to 6.4 years in 1948. The median for

the reporting States combined reached an alltime low in the early 1950’s, particularly in

1950 (5.8 years) and 1951 (6.0 years).

From 1950 to 1977, the median duration of

marriage to divorce rapidly increased to a level

of 7.5 years in 1963 and then decreased to 6.5-

6.6 years in 1973-77. The median ran counter

to the trend in the divorce rate, which declined

from a peak in 1946 to a low in the late 1950’s

and then began to increase in 1963 (table A).

Since 1953, the third quartile of the duration of marriage to divorce followed the same

trend as the median duration. The third quartile

increased from 12.0 years in 1953 to 14.9 years

in 1963 and then declined to 12.9 in 1976 (table

A). The first quartile did not show any clear

trend; in 1959-77 it oscillated between 3.2 and
6.0

5.0

1

l“

v

..

..

...

..

..

...

...

. ....

““””’’.,--J

‘- . . .

-.....

...... A

-fl

0.0 I I I I I I I I I I 1 I [

1860 187o 1880 1890 19CJI 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 19;0

YEAR

\() I I Ii,a,k,, 1,,,,,,,,1,L,,,. %14!. ,,<,!,,,,1,,1>1,

I

Figure 1. Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1867-1977

3.4 years. Some variations in these indexes may

be caused by the changes in the number of

reporting States, but the trends continued in the

years when the number of reporting States did

not change (1952-56, 1963-67, and 1971-77)

indicating that the data give a reasonable representation of divorce behavior in the United

States.

For divorces granted in the reporting States

combined during the years 1950-77, the percent

distributions by duration of marriage to time of

decree are shown in table 2. Recently, the modal

duration interval was 2 years; however, in the

early 1950’s it was 1 year. When the divorce rate

was increasing and the median duration was

declining (1963-76), the percent for the combined intervals of 1-4 years and 5-9 years

showed an increase; however, the intervals of

10-14 and 15-19 years declined.

The trend in the cumulative percent distribution of divorces by duration for 1950-77 is

shown in figure 2. The proportion of marriages

that lasted less than 5 years declined from the

middle 1950’s to the middle 1960’s and then

increased, although the latter increase was much

less pronounced than the prior decline.

Duration of Marriage at Annulment

Among those marriages dissolved by court

decree, a considerable difference occurred between the duration of marriages that ended by

absolute divorce and those by annulment. Duration data for the two types of decrees have been

tabulated separately for the years 1951 through

1959. For aIl reporting States combined, the

annual median duration at the time of annulment varied from 1.0 to 1.2 years over thk

9-year period; however, the median duration at

the time of absolute divorce varied from 5.8 to

7.1 years. Thus the duration of marriage at the

time of divorce was about 5 times longer than

that at the time of annulment. Annulments comprise an insignificant fraction of all judicizd

dissolutions of marriage, varying in recent years

from 1.1 to 1.9 percent of the combined totals

for all reporting States combined. Hence the

overall duration of marriage at the time of its

disruption by judicial decree is aIways simihi.rto

that at the time of absolute divorce.

Geographic Variation

Individual States show ku-ge differences in

the yearly fluctuations of the median duration

3
Table A. Median and auartile duration of marriage at time of decree for the total of reporting States, and the national divorce rate:

1948-77

[ Figures for 1948-59 are based on compIete counts; figures for 1960-77 are based on sample data]

Year decree granted

19w ...... ........ ........ ...................4................... ........ .............. ........................

1963 ..... ........ .................... ....... ................................................... .............. ..

1962 ....... .... .. .. ......................... ...................................................................

1961 .. .................... ........................... ... ........................................ .............. .

1960 ............................. ................................................. ........................ .....

1959 ...................................... .......................................... ...... .....................

1958 ................ ......... ....... ...... ...... .. .... ........ ........................ .........................

1957 ..... .................. ...................... ...................... .................?......................

1956 .... .. ............ .. .................... .............. ............................ ...... ........ ...........

1955 ............. ..............................................................................................

19w ...... ...... ........ ........ ...... ........ ...... ...... .......... .... .......... .... .. ................ .. .....

1953 ............. .......... ...... ...... .. .... .. ........................................... .....................

1952 ........ .............. ........ ...... .. ...... ...... ...... .. ...... ...... .............. ...................... .

1951 ... ........ ...... ...... .. .... ........ ...... .. .......... .......... .....#.......... .................... ......

1950 ........ .............. .............. .... .... .............. ...................... ........ ...................

1949 ......................... ............ .. ...... ........ ............................................ ..........

1948 ................................ .. ...................... ...... ............ ................ ...... ...........

Number

of

reporting

States

29

29

29

29

29

29

29

28

28

26

22

22

22

22

22

21

20

250

16

12

24

23

23

23

23

23

19

16

12

12

Duration of marriage at

time of decree (in vears)

First

quartile

3.4

3.3

3.3

3.3

3.3

3.2

3.2

3.3

3.2

3.2

3.2

3.2

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.4

3.3

3.3

3.2

2.8

3.0

2.9

2.9

2.9

2.9

2.9

3.0

2.8

2.9

2.8

Median

6.6

6.5

6.5

6.5

6.6

6.7

6.7

6.7

6.9

7.0

7.1

7.1

7.2

7.4

7.5

7.3

7.1

7.2

7.0

6.4

6.7

6.5

6,4

6.4

6.1

6.1

6.0

5.8

1::

Third

quartilel

12.9

12.9

13.1

13.3

13.6

13.6

13.8

13.7

14.1

14.3

14.6

14.6

14.8

14.6

14.9

14.5

14.0

13.8

13.5

12.6

12.7

12.4

12.3

12.1

12.0

12.0

12.3

12.1

13.1

13.2

divorce

rate per

1,000

population

5.0

5.0

4.9

4.6

4.4

4.1

3.7

3.5

3.2

2.9

2.6

2.5

2.5

2.4

2.3

2.2

2.3

2.2

2.2

2.1

2.2

.2.3

~ 2.3

2.4

2.5

2.5

2.5

‘ 2.6

2.7

2.8

lcomputed from grouped data.

21n~ludes the District of Columbia.

.

of marriage to divorce (table 3). In 1966, for medians and quartiles of duration are shown for

example, ‘tie median duration increased in the

majority of States despite a decline in the

duration for the totaI divorce-registration area

(DRA). This situation occurred when the

increases were smaller than the declines in the

aggregate.

The distribution of divorces by duration of

marriage is summarized in table B, where

the DRA and- each participating State in 1970

and 1977. The medians vary wideIy; however,

many are concentrated within the limits of a

single year of duration. In 1970, the highest

median duration (9.3 years in New York) was

more than twice the size of the lowest median

duration (4.6 years in Idaho and Wyoming). In

1977, the medians ranged from 4.6 years in

4
100

90

80

1

Durat,on

-—-- Less than 25 years

.-—- Less thm 15 years

---- Lessthm 10yeys

—-—- Lw thm 8 years

—— Less thm 5 years

------- Less than 3 yam

— Less than 1 war

.... ..........

,------- ..--...-------, -------

‘“--—’~\ -\ ,/—

\

/.-”

\,------

70

1- ------

1

\‘------

40 ‘.- /’,,

‘., -, ~---- -------------

“ \__~

30

1

.-... A,

,,.

. .... ......... ............. . ........

20

. .

10

I

o~ 79m

YEAR

\ol I 11,,,!.,,, I,,le,,,, !,,.,1<.L,,,,mrl ,,,,!,,101,.

Figure 2. Cumulative percent of divorces by duration of mar.

riage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1950-77

Wyoming to 8.4 years in Maryland. Moreover, in

both years, more than one-third of the State

medians were in the 5.O-5.9-year interval.

Similarly, the first quartiles ranged from 1.9 to

4.9 years in 1970 and from 2.1 to 4.9 years in

1977; however, about half of those quartiles fell

into the interval of 2.0-2.9 years for both 1970

and 1977. The range of the third quartile

was wider than that of the median or of the first

quartile. In 1970, the third quartile ranged from

10.3 years in Idaho to 17.1 years in New York

and in 1977, it ranged from 8.9 years in

Wyoming to 15.2 years in Connecticut. The

distribution of the third quartile is more

uniform, without a concentration in one

particular duration interval.

A geographic pattern in median duration can

be observed. There is a long median duration

among those DRA States in the New England

and Mid-Atlantic Divisions and a relatively short

duration in the Mountain Division. A geographic

pattern also was found in the divorce rate,

indicating an inverse relationship between

median duration and the divorce rate of the

DRA States. High medians tend to be associated

with low divorce rates, and low medians with

high rates, as shown in figure 3. Thus in 1970,

the correlation coefficient between the median

duration and the divorce rate was -0.72 for the

States in the DRA. The divorce rates used for

this correlation ardysis were computed per

1,000 married women in 1970.

International Comparisons

One way to gain a perspective on the

previously described data on the duration of

marriage at the time of divorce is to compare the

median duration of the United States with that

of other countries. Therefore, the median

duration of marriage at the time of divorce

decree was computed for selected foreign

countries from data published in the

Demographic Yearbook of the United Nations

for the years 19581 and 1976.2 The medians

presented in table 4 refer to divorces granted in

1948, 1956, 1966, and 1974, unless otherwise

footnoted.

Many countries do not report duration of

marriage at the time of decree and the reporting

is unsatisfactory in some of those that do. The

countries shown in table 4 were selected primarily because they provide a representation of

all major areas of the globe and a wide variety of

political and social regimes.

As expected, a striking feature of table 4 is

~e wide range in the median duration of

marriage to divorce among the countries shown.

The medians for 1974 ranged from 2.2 years in

5
Table B. Median and quartile duration of marriage at time of decrea: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1970 and

1977

[ Based on sample data. AM medians and quartiles of 10.0 and above were calculated using grouped data]

State

Divorce-registration area ......... .............................................

Rhode island .............................. .................................... .....................

South Carolina ..................... ........ ...... .. .... .. ...... ........ ...... .......... ...........

South Dakota ............... ........ .......................................................... .....

Tennessee ...................... ........................ ...... ........ ...... ........ .............. ....

Utah .......................... ...... ................ ........ ...... ................ .............. ........

1977 I 1970

3.4

2.1

2.5

3.8

4.4

2.5

2.9

2.4

3.1

3.0

2.4

2.7

4.9

3.6

2.7

2.4

3.1

4.5

2.9

3.2

4.2

4.6

3.7

3.0

2.5

2.3

4.4

4.4

3.9

2.2

6.6

4.9

5.0

7.0

8.3

5.3

5.7

5.0

6.2

5.8

5.2

5.6

8.4

7.0

‘5.5

5.1

6.1

8.1

6.o

6.0

7.7

8.2

6.8

5.8

5.3

4.8

7.8

7.8

7.0

4.6

First I

Median quartile

Duration (in years)

12.9

10.9

9.4

13.3

15.2

11.2

10.6

9.6

12.4

12.3

10.2

11.2

14.6

13.1

11.4

10.3

12.2

15.0

12.2

11.9

14.4

15.1

13.1

12.5

11.2

9.7

14.4

14.4

13.3

8.9

3.3

2.1

2.6

3.6

4.6

2.3

3.6

2.1

3.0

2.6

2.4

2.6

4.8

3.6

2.4

2.3

2.8

4.9

3.0

2.8

4.0

4.6

—

2.7

2.5

2.5

4.2

4.1

3.9

1.9

6.7

5.3

5.4

6.8

8.6

5.4

7.2

4.6

6.6

5.6

5.1

5.7

8.8

7.0

5.4

5.1

6.0

9.3

6.3

5.9

8.1

9.2

-.

5.9

5.6

5.3

8.3

7.7

7.9

4.6

Third

quartile

13.7

12.7

11.4

13.6

16.5

12.2

13.9

10.3

13.6

12.4

12.1

12.7

16.0

14.4

12.1

12.0

13.3

17.1

13.6

12.5

16.1

16.3

.-

13.4

12.3

11.6

15.3

15.1

15,3

11.7
2s

26

24

22 [

20

I

6 I

.

.

●

✎

● ✎

✎

✎ ✎

✎

✎ ✎

● ☛

L______ 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

MEDIAN DURATION OF MARRIAGE AT TIME OF DECREE I IN YEARSI

Figure 3. Regression of divorce rate on the median duration of

marriage at time of decree: States in divorce-registration

area, 1970

Egypt to 12.2 years in Australia; a similar

variation was found for other years.

The median duration is shorter in the United

States than in most other countries shown. In

1974, 9 countries out of 36 had medians lower

than those for the United States; this finding

was similar in 1966 (11 countries out of 36), in

1956 (6 countries out of 29), and in 1948 (5

countries out of 26). Generally, the median

duration of marriage for Asia, Africa, the Middle

East and Eastern Europe tends to be shorter

than that for the United States.

DIVORCE RATES BY DURATION

OF FIRST MARRIAGE

The risk of divorce is much greater in the

early years of a marriage than in the later years.

However, the actual pattern that the risk follows

is not well known because the information

needed to calculate divorce rates by duration of

marriage is not readily available in any given

year. Data from the 1970 census of the United

States provide estimates, according to duration

of marriage, of the numbers of women who were

in their first marriage in 1970. These data, with

the 1970 national estimates of divorces by

duration of first marriage of women, yield

divorce-rate estimates for the United States in

1970 by duration of marriage for couples where

the wife was married once (table C). A more

detailed description of the estimation procedure

is provided in the appendix.

The estimated first-marriage divorce rates are

graphed by duration in figure 4. The pattern of

the divorce rate shows a steep rise in the first 3

years of marriage, with a peak at 3 years’

duration. Thereafter, the rate declines steadily

to relatively low levels after the 19th year of

duration. The divorce rate at 3 years’ duration is

more than double the rate of 11 years’ duration,

four times the rate in the duration interval of

20-24 years, and eleven times the rate in the

duration interval of 30-34 years.

SEPARATION

Duration of Marriage to Separation

The duration of a marriage to absolute

divorce is divided into two distinct periods: the

period when the spouses live together and the

period when they are separated. At the time of

the final separation the family ceases to function

as a social unit, children lose one of their

parents, and the household disbands. Because

divorce proceedings can take many months or

years, a period occurs in which the marriage is

disrupted but is not yet legally dissolved.

Therefore, for practical purposes the family

ceases to exist at the beginning of the separation

period. Consequently, the date of separation is

7
Table C. Estimated number of divorces of first-married women, number of first-married women, and first-marriage divorce rate, by

duration of first marriage: United States, 1970

[ Based on sample data. Rates per 1,000 first-married women]

Estimated

number of

divorces

16,190

35,969

45,737

43,700

39,577

36,802

29,863

26,819

22,733

19,694

18,501

15,719

14,422

14,514

13,031

51,972

41,782

21,019

10,299

6,637

Number of

first-married

women

965,980

1,496,579

1,410,789

1,275,857

1,220,062

1,187,779

1,108,683

1,040,501

995,743

979,692

1,003,917

941,639

929,847

974,706

989,706

4,695,929

5,349,177

4,123,652

3,395,529

6,936,401

First-marriage

divcwce rate

16.8

24.0

32.4

34.3

32.4

31.0

26.9

25.8

22.8

20.1

18.4

16.7

15.5

14.9

13.2

11.1

7.8

5.1

3.0

1.0

an important demographic characteristic of

marital dissolution.

The date of separation is reported by a

limited number of States in the DRA (20 States

in 1977). By using that date, the duration of

each of the two periods may be calculated, that

is, the duration of marriage to separation and

the duration of separation to divorce. For

couples who have separated more than once, the

divorce certificate should contain a record of the

date of the last separation before the decree.

These separation data do not refer to separations

that occurred during a given data year, nor to

the entire separation population in a given year,

but to separations of couples who were divorced

in a given year. De facto separations are not

registered and legal action is unnecessary.

Spouses, if they wish, can obtain a limited

divorce decree, such as divorce from bed and

board, legal separation, separate maintenance,

and so forth, but it is not necessary to do so.

Hence, the variation between the States

re~rding the length of the duration of marriage

to separation is caused by factors other than the

differences in the divorce laws.

The distribution of divorces by duration of

marriage to separation for couples divorced in

1977 is shown in table 5 and figure 5, and the

median durations are shown in table DI for the

reporting States. The modal year of separation is

the year immediately following the marriage. In

the reporting States combined, about 13 percent

of all couples divorced in 1977 were separated

during the first year of their marriage. The same

pattern is found in 11 of the 15 States listed in

table 5. In addition, generally more separations

occurred during the 6 months immediately

following the marriage than during the

subsequent 6-month period. The percent

declined with added duration, but a small

number of couples (less than 2 lpercent )

separated after 30 years or more of marriage.

In the reporting States combined, the

median duration of marriage to separation

declined slightly in the years 1970-74. For these

States, the median duration of marriage to
3.5

34

32

30

28

26

24

22

20

18

18

14

12

10

8

8

4

2

0

DURATION OF MARRIAGE AT TIME OF OECREE (IN YEARS)

Figure 4. Estimated divorce rates by duration of marriage at time of decree for couples with wife married once: United States, 1970

9
50

h

\

40

I

30 \

\

Duration of sepmtmn at time of decree

5

:

k+

20 \

---

--

10 /

--

-.

i-----

, ~..,

---- Durarm of rmrri+x at time of separation ----

--------- ----

-------- . ..-

1 !

0

— 1 ---------- ...e---- ------ .1---- 1

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28

DURATION OF MARRIAGE (IN YEARS)

Figure 5. Percent distribution of divorces by duration of marriageattimeof separation anddurationof separationattimeof decree:

Total of 20 reporting States, 1977

separation was 4.9 years in 1970-71, 4.8 years in

1972-73, and 4.7 years in 1974. From 1970 to

1974 medians declined in 13 reporting States

and increased in 3.

In addition to the duration of marriage at

separation, information about age at separation

is available for 18 reporting States in 1977.

Median ages at separation are shown in table E

for persons divorcing in 1977. For husbands,

these median ages varied from 29.1 to 32.1 years

among the 15 selected States shown. For wives,

the median ages varied from 27.0 to 29.4 years.

Duration of Separation to Divorce

As expected, the second period of the

duration of marriage-the duration of separation

to decree—shows a heavy concentration of

divorces soon after separation. In 1977, for the

reporting States combined, over 46 percent of

divorces were granted within less than 1 year

after separation and over 75 percent within less

than 2 years (table 6). The percent declined

rapidly with increased duration of separation, so

that in 1977 only 6.8 percent of divorces

occurred 5 years or more after separation.

The variation among States was very

pronounced, reflecting differences in legal

grounds and procedural re~lations for obtaining

an absolute divorce. In Idaho, over 60 percent of

all divorces were granted during the first 6

months after separation and in six other States

over 40 percent were granted during the same

interval. At the opposite extreme, less than 2

percent of decrees were granted during the first

6 months after separation in California,

Vermont, and Virginia.

In the reporting States combined, the

median duration of separation at time of decree

was 1.2 years in 1970 and 1.1 years in 1977

(refer to table D for 1977 figures). In 1970, the

lowest State median was 0.4 years in Idaho and

Wyoming, and the highest median was 2.3 years

in New York. In 1977, the median duration of

separation to decree ranged from 0.4 to 1.7

years. In the majority of reporting States, the

median duration of separation was less than 1

year in both 1970 and 1977.

These data aid in considering whether an

association exists between two variables-the

duration of marriage to separation and the

duration of separation to decree. That is,

whether couples who have been married for a

short time tend to divorce sooner, or later, after

separation than those who have been married for

many years. For the reporting States combined,

10
Table D. Median duration of marriage at time of separation and

median duration of separation at time of decree: Total of

20 reporting States and selected States, 1977

[Based on sample data. Medians were computed only for

individual reporting States with duration of marriage to

separation and duration of separation to decree 50 percent

or more complete]

Median duration

(in years) from

State

Total reporting States .. ..

Alaska .................... ..... ..............

California ..... ........ ...... ........ .......

Connecticut ....... ........ .... .. .. .......

Hawaii ........ ............ ..................

Idaho .......... ..............................

Illinois ....... ......... ... ...................

Iowa ...... ...................................

Kansas ........ ...... ................ ........

Michigan ..... ..............................

Missouri ... .............. ...................

Nebraska ............. .. ............ .... ....

New York ... ............................ ..

Rhode Island ..... .................... .. .

Tennessee .................................

Utah ............. .......... ..................

Vermont ....... ............... .............

Virginia ... ...... ........................... .

Wisconsin ........... .................... .. .

Wyoming ... .............. ........ ........ .

Marriage to

separation

4.9

3.8

4.8

6.5

4.5

4.3

4.5

4.7

4.4

5.2

4.3

5.0

5.4

5.1

4.2

3.6

5.8

5.5

5.6

3.8

Separation to

decree

1.1

0.6

1.5

1.0

0.7

0.4

0.8

0.7

0.4

0.9

0.5

0.6

1.7

1.7

0.5

0.8

1.5

1.7

0.9

0.4

Table E. Median age of husbend and wife at time of separation

for couples divorcing in data year: Total of 18 reporting

States and selected States, 1977

[ Based on sample datal Medians were computed only for

individual reporting States with age-reporting 50 percent or

more complete ]

. .

State ,

Total reporting States ........ ........ ......

Alaska ........... ............. ................i .............. ..

California ..... .... ........ ........ ...... ...... ...............

Connecticut .... ....................1....... ...... ........ ..

Hawaii ............ .. .... ........ ........ ......... .. ..........

Illinois ........................ ................................

Kansas ................. ............. ...........................

Missouri ..................... ..... ............................

New York ........ ................ ...... ................. ....

Rhode Island ............... ..................... ..........

Tennessee ...........~................. ......................

Utah ....... ...... ............................ ................. .

Vermont ..... ............................................... .

Wrginia ....... .................... .........l .. ........ ........

Msconsin ....... ........................................ .....

Wyoming ..................... .. ...l ...... .. ...... ...... .....'

the 1970 median duration of separation to

Median age

(in years)

Husbarid

30.9

30.4

31.8

32.1

31.2

30.1

28.6

30.3

31.3

29.7

28.5

28.1

31.1

30:2

30.1

2S).8

Wife

States with the Iongest median duration of

separation to decree (New York, Rhode Island,

Vermont, and Viginia) were among the seven

States with the longest median duration of

decree was computed for each dura~on interval

of marriage to separation. All medians were

similar and varied only by 0.1 or less in either

direction from the overall median of 1.2 years.

The median duration of separation was 1.1 years

for couples who had separated less than 1 year

after marriage, 1.2 years for those who had

separated 1-5 years after marriage, and 1.3 years

for those who had separated 6 years or more

after marriage.

When State medians are compared, a certain

relationship between the two variables can be

observed. Of the reporting States in 1970, the

seven States with the shortest median duration

of marriage to separation (Alaska, Idaho,

Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, and

Wyoming) were among those States with the

shortest median duration of separation; the four

28.5

27.7

29.1

29.4

28.4

27.8

27.5

27.9

28.9

27.4

27.2

27.0

28.8

28.0

28.2

27.1

marriage to sermration.

. .

DURATION OF MARRIAGE

BY SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS

The duration of marriage to divorce is

associated with other characteristics of husband

and wife and their marriage. Three of those

characteristics are (1) the number of this

marriage of the husband and wife, (2) the age at

marriage of the husband and wife, and (3) the

number of chiliken under 18 years of age

involved in the divorce. The first two

characteristics are determined at the time of

marriage and are constant for the duration of

the marriage. The number of children under 18

years of age involved in divorce is influenced by

the duration of the cqmples’ marriage.

11

.’.

.,
Number of Times Married

Generally, the more times a divorcing person

has been married, the less the elapsed time

between marriage and divorce. For the entire

DRA, the 1977 median duration for all

divorcing couples was 6.6 years, but for

divorcing men and women who had been

married only once, the median duration was 7.5

and 7.4 years, respectively. In contrast, for those

who were married more than once the median

duration was 4.6 years for both men and women

(table F). Among the remarried, the median

duration for divorcing persons who were married

twice was considerably higher than for those

who were married three times or more; the

median durations were 4.8 and 3.5 years for

men and 4.9 and 3.4 years for women (fiLgure 6).

The same pattern is shown by the first and third

quartiles (table F). In all reporting States, with

the exception of Hawaii, the median duration of

marriage to divorce declined with increasing

number of marriages for both men and women

(table 7).

The median duration .of marriage at decree

has been published by marriage order by using

1959 data from a group of 10 reporting States

(Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana,

Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, an d Utah).3

The 1959 median duration for this 10-State

group shows the same pattern as that previously

described for 1977. The median duration for

divorcing persons married once was 7.7 years for

6 —

5 —

4 —

3 —

2 —

1 —

o

Total

First marriage Izz2

Second mamage =

Th(rd marr( age or mow u

Husband W,fe

Figure 6. Median duration of marriage at time of decree by

number of this marriage of husband and wife: Divorceregistration area, 1977

Table F. Median and quartile duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of this marriage of husband and wife:

Divorce-registration area, 1977

[ Based on sample data. Nebraska did not require reporting number of this marriage]

I

Husband I

Wife

Number of this marriage First

Median

Third First

Median

Third

quartile quartile quartile quartile

I

Duration (in years)

Total .......... ............................. ................................... ......... 3.4 6.6 12.6 3.4 6.6 12.6

First marriage ...... .. ...................................................... ........................ 4.0 7.5 14.1 3.9 7.4 14.0

Remarriages~ ...................................... .............. .......................... ......... 2.2 4.6 8.5 2.2 4.6 8.7

Second marriage ............................ ................. ................... ............. 2.4 4.8 8.9 2.4 4.9 9.3

Third marriage or more ... .............. ........ .................... ................ ..... 1.6 3.6 6.9 1.6 3.4 6.7

1Incl~de~ number of remarriages not @ated.

12
husbands and 7.8 years for wives; the median

duration for remarried persons was 4.6 years for

both sexes.

Data for the DRA in 1977 (table 8) show

that the proportion of husbands and wives who

were ending their first marriages was fairly low

among those divorced during the early years of

marriage; however, the proportion who were

remarried was relatively high. About 75 percent

of divorcing husbands and wives were married

once; however, among those married less than 1

year, 43-44 percent were married once. For

those marriages that lasted 35 years or more,

more than 90 percent of the divorces were

among persons married only once. The percent

of divorces granted to remarried persons

declined with increasing duration of marriage.

According to table 8, husbands and wives

who were married three times or more

represented about 20 percent of those divorcing

less than 1 year after marriage, but less than

0.5 percent of persons divorcing after 35 years

or more. One factor regarding this relationship is

the tendency, within the same duration of

marriage interval, for persons married more than

once to be older than those married only once.

Hence, the former have a higher probability of

dying at each duration interval, so that death

poses a higher competing risk than the divorce

risk. In addition, remarried persons generally

have higher divorce rates in each duration

intervaL4 Because of death and divorce the

remarried population becomes depleted earlier

than tie population married once, and this

depletion is reflected in the decline of the

proportion remarried, particularly .in those

married three times or more, among persons

who divorce after many years of married life.

Age at Marriage

In 1977, husbands who married at ages

20-24 years and wives who married at ages under

20 years had the highest median duration for the

DRA. Table G shows that after these ages, the

medians declined with increasing age at

marriage. The association of an older age at

marriage with a shorter duration of marriage to

divorce is partly due to the increasing

proportion of remarriages as age at marriage

increases because the second and third marriages

Table G. Median duration of marriaga at time of decree, by age

at marriage of husband and wife: Divorce-ragistretion area,

1977

[Based on sample data. Medians were computed from grouped

data. F@res differ slightly from medians computed from

single-year data and published elsewhere ]

Age at marriage Husband Wife

Median duration

(in years)

Total .......................... ......................

m

7.0 7.0

Under 20 years .... ...... .. .. ............ ................. 7.2 7.8

20-24 yaars ........ ......................................... 7.9 7.5

25-28 years ........ ...... .. ........................ ......... 7.0 5.7

30-34 years ................................................. 5.7 4.9

35-39 years ...................... ............ ...... ......... 5.2 4.6

4044 years ............ ........................... .......... 4.4 4.1

45 years and over ......... ............................... 3.4 3.1

tend to end in divorce at a shorter duration than

do first marriages.

In table H, the median age at marriage was

computed for nine duration intervals. As table H

shows, little variation occurs in the median age

at marriage among the various intervals of

marriage duration, although men and women

who divorced after less than 1 year of marriage

had been married at a somewhat older age than

other divorcing persons. This finding reflects the

tendency for remarried persons to be older than

first-married persons, combined with the

Table H. Median age at marriage of divorcing husband and wife,

by duration of marriage at time of decree: Divorce-registration area, 1977

[Based on sample data. Medians were computed from grouped

data ]

Duration of

marriage at

time of decree

Less than 1 year ..... .... .................................

1-2 ymm ....... ........................ ...... ...... ..........

34 yearn ............................... ...... ....... .........

5-9 yeaw ..... ............ ...... .............. .......... ......

10-14 years .................................................

15-19 years ........................... .... .. ...... ..........

20-24 yaam ..... .. .... ............ .............. ............

25-29 Yaaw.................................................

30 years or more .... ...... ............ ...... .............

Median age at

narriage (in yaars)

Husband

28.7

24.6

23.6

23.2

23.1

23.0

23.2

23.2

23.2

Wife

25.7

22.4

21.2

21.0

20.6

19.8

20.3

20.6

20.6

13
tendency for remarriages to end in divorce at a

much shorter duration than first marriages.

Children in Divorce

Statistics concerning children involved in

divorce are routinely limited to children under

18 years of age, some of whom were not born of

the marriage that ended in divorce. When

couples divorce after many years of marriage,

most children are likely to be grown and hence

are not involved in the divorce. According to the

data in table J for the DRA in 1977, the

proportion of divorcing couples who reported

having no children under 18 years of age

declined from 90 percent in the duration

interval of less than 1 year to 17 percent in the

duration interval of 10-14 years. In the group

with a duration of 15 years or more, 33 percent

had no children under 18 years of age. The

proportion of couples reporting two or three or

more children increased rapidly between the

third and fourteenth years of duration, as was

expected. For couples divorcing after less than 1

year of marriage, 1.0 percent had three children

or more. This finding is explained by the

inclusion of all children involved in the divorce,

whether born to the current marriage or to prior

marriages of the husband or ivife, or adopted.

The median duration of marriage to divorce

can be tabulated according to the number of

children reported, as shown in table 9, for the

DRA and each registration State in 1977. In all

States, the median duration of marriage

increased with increasing numbers of children,

but the variation among States is pronounced.

This is particularly the case for those divorces

with no children, where the highest duration

median (6. 1 years in Maryland) is more than two

times as large as the lowest median (2.7 years in

Alabama and Utah). The variation in the median

duration to divorce is much less proncwnced

among couples reporting two children or more.

For example, for three children or more, the

State medians varied from 11.4 to 16.01 years

(table 9). The wide range among States for

divorcing couples with no children may reflect

variations both in the proportion of marriages

that are remarriages and in the age at marriage,

as well as variations in other legal and regional

factors.

Trends in the median duration of marriage

by number of children are shown in table K.

Couples who divorce with no children are ending

marriages of shorter duration; however, couples

who divorce with one child or more are ending

marriages of longer duration. In the years

1963-69, the median duration to divorce

declined for couples with no children, as did the

median for all divorcing couples. The median

duration for childless couples was 5.0 years in

1962 and 1963, but 4.0-4.2 years in 1971 and

subsequent years. For couples who reported

having chikh-en, the median duration increased

regardless of the number of children.

Table J. Percent distribution of divorces by number of children under 18 years of age, according to duration of marriage of divorcing

couples at time of decree: Divorce-registration area, 1977

[ Based on sample data]

Number of children

Duration of marriage at time of decree All

divorces None 1 2 3 or more

All divorces ...... ...... .......... ...................... ........ ........................................ .... ... 100.0 45.1 25.3 18.8 10.8

Less than 1 year ..... ... .................................................................................................. .. 100.0 80.4 6.4 2.2 1.0

1-2 years ......................................................... ........................................... ........... ........ 100.0 74.7 21.7 2.8 0.8

34 years .................................. ................ ........................ ....... ................ ...................... 100.0 57.2 32.5 8.9 1.4

!5-9 years .......................... ........................ ....................................... .............................. 100.0 35.0 32.3 25.5 7.2

10-14 years ............... ...... ........................ ........................................ ........ ...................... 100.0 16.7 19.7 37.8 25.8

15 years or mwe ....................................... .............. .. ...................................... .............. 100.0 32.9 20.3 22.0 24.8

14
Table K. Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by numbar of chiIdren under 18 years of age: Divorce-registration area,

1961-77

[Based on sample data. Medianswere computed from grouped &ta. Figuresfor all divorces differ slightly from medians computed

from single-year&ta and publishedelsewhere]

Year decree granted

1977 ............... ...................................................... ...................................... ..................

1976 .......................................... .............. .................................. ...................................

1975 .......... .......................................................................... ...................... ...... .. .... .......

1974 ................. .... ................................. ............ ...........................................................

1973 .................... .. .................... ........................ ...........................................................

1972 .............................................................................................................................

1971 ................ ...................................................... .......................................................

1970 .......... ...... .......... ...................... .......... ............ .......................................................

1969 .. ....... ............... .............................................................................................. .......

1968 ........ .................... .................... ..................... ...... ............................................. .....

1967 ............ .................. ...............................................................................................

1966 ...... .............. ...... .......... .................................... ............................................ .........

1965 ... ........ ....... ........................................ ...................................................................

1964 ................ ........ .... ........ ................ ............ ...... .......... .............. ...... ................ .........

1963 ....... ................................... ................................................................................ ...

1962 ...................... ................................ ...................... .................... .............................

1961 ...... .. ............ .............. ........ ...... .............................................................................

REFERENCES

lUnited Nations: Demographic Yearbook, 1958. New

York. United Nations, 1958.

2United Nations: Demographic Yearbook, 1976. New

York. United Nations, 1977.

‘National Center for Health Statistics: Vital Statistics

of the United States, 1959, Vol. I. DHEW Pub. No.

(0-621685). Public Health Service. Washington. U.S.

Government Printing Office, 1961.

4National Center for Health Statistics: National

estimates of marriage dissolution and survivorshlp, by J.

iiEEE5E

Madian duration (in years)

7.0 4.2

6.9 4.1

6.9 4.0

6.9 4.0

7.0 4.0

7.1 4.0

7.1 4.0

7.2 4.1

7.2 3.9

7.3 3.9

7.5 4.1

7.5 4.3

7.5 4.6

1

7.7 4.7

7.8 5.0

7.7 5.0

7.4 4.8

6.7

6.4

6.2

6.1

5.8

5.5

5.5

5.5

5.4

5.2

5.1

5.3

5.1

5.2

5.5

6.0

5.9

10.1

9.8

9.8

9.5

9.4

9.3

9.3

9.3

9.2

9.3

9.1

9.1

8.9

8.9

9.2

8.9

8.9

14.2

14.2

14.0

14.1

13.9

13.8

13.6

13.3

13.8

13.4

12.9

12.7

12.5

12.3

12.4

12.3

12.1

Weed. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 3-No. 18. DHHS

Pub. No. (PHS) 81-1403. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, Nov. 1980.

5National Center for Health Statistics: Vital Statistics

of the United States, Vol. III, Mzrriage and Divorce.

Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. Government

Printing Office, selected years.

6U.S. Bureau of the Census: Census of Population:

1970. Final Report PC(2)-4C, Marital Status. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972.

15
LIST OF DETAILED TABLES

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1867-1906, 1922-32, 1948-77 ...................... .......... ....

Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1950-77 ........ ...................

Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1958-77 ..... ...................

Median duration of marriage at time of decree: United States and selected foreign countries, 1948, 1956, 1966, and 1974 ....

Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marriage at time of separation: Total reporting States and selected States,

1977 ..... ........ .. ...... .... .................... ................ ...................................... ........ ........ ....................................................................

Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of separation at time of decree: Total reporting States and selected States, 1977 ......

Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of this marriage of husband and of wife: Divorce-registration area

and selected States, 1977 .................................................................................... ............................... .......................... ..........

Percent distribution of divorces by number of this marriage of husband and wife, according to the duration of marriage at

time of decree: Divorce-registration area, 1977 ................................... .. .............. .......... ............................................ .......... ...

Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of children under 18 years of age: Divorce-registration area and

each registration State, 1977 .................................................. ........ ............................ ........ ................ ....................................

17

18

19

21

22

23

24

25

26

16
Table 1. Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1867-1906,1922-32,1948-77

[Data for 1867-1906, 1922-32, and 1960 are for the United States; data for 1961-77 are for the divorce-registration area: dsta for

1948-59 are for total of reporting States]

.

Year decree granted

1977 .................................................................

1976 .................................................................

1975 .................................................................

1974 .................................................................

1973 .................................................................

1972 .................................................................

1971 .................................................................

1970 .................................................................

1969 .................................................................

1968 .................................................................

1967 .................................................................

1966 .................................................................

1965 .................................................................

1964 .................................................................

1963 .................................................................

1962 .................................................................

1961 .................................................................

1960 .................................................................

1959 .................................................................

1958 .................................................................

1957 .................................................................

1956 .................................................................

1955 .................................................................

1954 .................................................................

1953 .................................................................

1952 .................................................................

1951 .................................................................

1950 .................................................................

1949 ......................................... .......................

1948 .................................................................

1933-47 ............................................................

1932 .................................................................

1931 .................................................................

1930 .................................................................

1929 .................................................................

1928 .................................................................

1927 .................................................................

1926 .................................................................

1925 .................................................................

1924 .................................................................

1923 .................................................................

1922 .................................................................

Median

duration of

marriage at

time of decree

(in years)

6.6

6.5

6.5

6.5

6.6

6.7

6.7

6.7

6.9

7.0

7.1

7.1

7.2

7.4

7.5

7.3

7.1

7.2

7.0

6.4

6.7

6.5

6.4

6.4

6.1

6.1

6.0

5.8

6.3

6.4

.-

7.1

7.1

6.9

6.9

6.9

6.8

6.6

6.6

6.6

6.5

6.6

Year decree granted

1907-21 ............................................................

1906 .................................................................

1905 .................................................................

1904 .................................................................

1903 .................................................................

1902 .................................................................

1901 .................................................................

1900 .................................................................

1899 .................................................................

1898 .................................................................

1887 .................................................................

1896 .................................................................

1885 .................................................................

1894 .................................................................

1883 .................................................................

1892 .................................................................

1891 .................................................................

1890 .................................................................

1889 .................................................................

1888 .................................................................

1887 .................................................................

1886 .................................................................

1885 .................................................................

18W .................................................................

1883 .................................................................

1882 .................................................................

1881 .................................................................

1880 .................................................................

1879 .................................................................

1878 .................................................................

1877 .................................................................

1876 .................................................................

1875 .................................................................

1874 .................................................................

1873 .................................................................

1872 .................................................................

1871 .................................................................

1870 .................................................................

1869 .................................................................

1868 .................................................................

1867 .................................................................

Median

duration of

marriage at

time of decree

(in years)

---

7.9

8.0

8.1

8.2

8.2

8.3

8.3

8.2

8.1

8.0

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.2

8.2

8.3

8.2

8.3

8.1

8.0

7.7

7.7

8.0

7.8

7.9

7.8

7.9

7.7

7.7

7.6

7.5

7.4

7.3

7.2

6.9

6.7

6.9

7.1

7.3

7.4

17
Table 2. Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marriage at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1950-77

[ Figures for 1950-59 are based On complete counts; figures for 1960-77 are based cm sample &ta ]

Year decree granted and number of reporting States

Duration of

marriaga at

time of decree

1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1966 1967 1966

29 28 28 28 29

1965

29

‘1984

29 28 28 26 22 22 22

States

22

States States States States States States States States States States States States States

All divorces...

Less than 1 year . .. .. .. .. ...

1-4 years ... .. ....... ..... .. .. ..

1 yaar .... ... ... ..... .... ...

2 years .. .. .. .. .... .. .... .. .

3 years ...... .. .... .. .... ...

4 years ... ... .. .... ...... ...

5-9 years ... .. .... .. .. .... .... ..

5 years .... .... ...... .... ...

6 years ... ... ... ..... .... ...

7 years .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ...

S years ... ... ... ...... ......

9 years ... ... .. ........ .....

10-14 yeara ..... .... .... ......

15-19 years ... ............ ....

20-24 years ....... .... .... .. ..

25-29 years .. .... .. .. .. .... .. .

30 years or more ... ... ... ..

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

4.6

35.0

S.7

9.1

8.7

8.5

26.7

7.2

6.1

5.1

4.4

3.8

13.1

8.2

5.9

3.8

2.7

100.0 100.0

4.7

35.0

8.3

9.8

9.2

7.7

25.1

6.5

5.8

4.9

4.3

3.7

13.3

8.9

6.5

3.8

2.7

100.0

5.8

32.5

9.1

8.4

8.1

6.9

23.3

6.0

5.3

4.7

3.9

3.4

14.4

10.0

7.1

3.9

2.8

100.0

5.6

32.5

8.9

8.9

7.8

6.9

23.8

6.0

5.4

4.6

4.0

3.8

14.1

10.8

6.7

3.7

‘2.8

100.0 100.0

4.6

34.7

8.8

9.5

8.8

7.5

24.9

6.4

5.9

4.8

4.1

3.7

13.5

9.0

7.0

3.6

2.6

100.0

4.8

34.1

8.5

9.4

8.5

7.7

25.3

6.9

5.6

5.0

4.1

3.6

13.8

9.0

7.0

3.3

2.6

100.0

5.2

33.8

8.6

9.2

8.5

7.5

24.6

6.4

5.4

4.7

4.2

1:

9.5

7.1

3.5

2.5

100.0

5.1

33.6

8.7

9.3

8.5

7.2

24.3

6.0

5.5

4.8

4.3

3.7

14.2

9.6

7.3

3.6

2.4

100.0

4.4

34.7

8.1

9.0

9.2

8.4

27.9

7.2

6.2

5.7

4.7

4.1

13.5

8.0

5.4

3.3

2.8

4.4

35.4

8.3

9.8

9.2

8.3

27.4

7.1

6.5

5.4

4.6

3.8

13.3

7.8

5.5

3.6

2.6

4.5

35.0

8.6

9.4

8.9

8.1

27.2

7.4

6.2

5.2

4.4

4.0

13.6

6.0

5.6

3.7

2.5

4.7

34.6

8.3

9.0

9.2

8.1

26.0

6.9

5.8

5.1

4.4

3.8

13.2

8.6

6.1

3.9

2.7

5.3

32.8

9.3

8.6

8.0

6.9

23.6

5.9

5.1

4.5

4.2

3.9

13.7

11.2

6.5

3.6

3.1

5.3

31.3

8.8

8.4

7.3

6.8

24.8

6.2

5.2

5.0

4.6

3.8

14.6

11.4

6.3

3.4

2.9

Table 2. Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marria~ at time of decree: Total reporting States, 1950-77–Ccm.

[ Figures for 1950-59 are based on complete counts; figures for 1960-77 are based on sample &ta ]

Year decree granted and numbar of reporting States

Duration of

marriage at

time of decree

Al I divorces...

Less than 1 year ..... .... ...

l-l years ..... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

1 year .... ... ...... .. .... ...

2 years .... .. .. .. ...... .. .. .

3 years ................ .... .

4 years .. .... .... .. .. .. .. .. .

5-9 years ....... .. ...... .... ....

5 years .. .... .. ...... .... .. .

6 years ..... ... ...... ..... . .

7 years .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .... .

8 years .... ... . ........... ..

9 yaws .... ... ...... ... .. .. .

10-14 years ... ..... ..... .. .. ..

15-19 year. ........... .......

20-24 years ............ ... .. ..

25-29 years ........ .. .. .. .... .

30 years or more .... .. .. .. .

1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 19E14

22 21 20

1853 1952 1951

16

1950

12 24 23 23 22 22 22 18

States

15

States State9 Us. States states States States States States Ststes States States States

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

7.6

34.2

9.4

10.1

8.2

6.6

23.5

6.0

5.1

4.7

4.1

3.6

15.2

8.5

5.4

2.7 ~

2.9

100.0

6.1

34.0

9.8

9.2

8.0

7.1

24.7

6.2

5.4

4.7

4.3

4.1

15.1

6.6

5.4

2.9

3.2

100.0

6.4

34.5

9.7

9.4

8.2

7.1

26.0

6.4

5.4

4.8

4.7

4.8

14.1

8.1

4.6

2.8

3.2

100.0

6.3

35.6

9.7

10.0

8.5

7.4

26.9

6.2

5.4

5.3

5.3

4.7

12.8

7.8

4.7

3.0

2.9

100.0

6.4

35.6

10.1

9.7

8.5

7.2

27.1

6.1

6.1

5.9

5.5

3.6

12.6

7.8

A

4.6

2.9

2.9

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

5.2

31.2

8.6

8.4

7.5

6.8

23.9

5.7

5.5

5.0

4.0

3.7

14.9

11.5

6.6

3.5 (

3.01

5.1

31.1

8.6

8.3

7.6

6.6

25.3

7.0

5.1

4.9

4.4

3.9

15.1

10.3

13.2

3:::

9.4

8.0

7.7

7.3

24.7

6.1

5.6

4.9

4.0

4.0

15.6

9.7

12.2

6.2

31.4

8.1

8.1

7.9

7.3

24.5

6.4

5.0

4.9

4.3

3.9

17.0

8.9

12.0

5.9

32.7

8.2

9.1

8.3

7.1

24.3

6.0

5.4

4.7

4.3

3.9

16.2

9.0

{

5.6

3.1

3.2

7.0

35.2

10.1

9.8

8.1

7.2

26.8

7.0

6.7

6.1

4.0

3.0

12.8

7.7

4.6

3.1

2.8

3::

9.9

9.0

8.3

8.0

26.2

7.7

7.0

4.5

3.6

3.4

13.0

7.6

4.8

3.1

3.0

6.6

36.3

9.5

9.0

9.0

8.8

25.2

8.1

5.1

4.2

4.0

3.9

12.7

7.7

5.1

3.3

3.0

6.4

40.1

10.3

10.3

10.0

9.4

22.7

5.9

4.5

4.3

4.3

3.6

12.2

7.3

5.2

;::

18
Table 3. Medien duration of marriage at time of decree: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1958-77

[Figures for 1958-59 are based on complete counts; figures for 1960-77 are based on sample data]

State

Divorce-registration area .. ......... ....... .... .....

Alabama ...... ................................ .............. ...........

Alaska ....................... .. ........................ ..................

California .... ........................ .............. .............. ......

Connecticut ........ ........ ........ ..................................

Georgia ....... ......................... .................... .............

Hawaii ........ ...... ...... .... ...... ........ .................. ........ ..

Idaho ........ .............. ..............................................

Illinois ................... ................ .. .............................

Iowa .....................................................................

Kansas .. ...................... .......... .............. ..................

Kentucky ...... ...... ........ ...................... .. .... .. ............

Maryland ................... ............................ ...............

Michigan ................ .............. ........................ ........ .

Missouri .................. ..............................................

Montana ............................................... ................

Nebraska ........ .................................... ............. ......

New York ..... ......... .............................. ............ ....-

Ohio ........... .................... ...... .. .... .................... ......

Oregon..................................................................

Pennsylvania .........................................................

Rhode Island .......................................................-

South Carolina ......................................................

South Dakota .......................................................

Tennessee .............................................................

Utah ....................................................................-

Vermont ..............................................................-

Wrginia .................................................................

Wisconsin..............................................................

Wyoming ..............................................................

lE~cludes Wayne county.

Year decree granted

1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968

Median duration (in years)

6.6

4.9

5.0

7.0

8.3

5.3

5.7

5.0

6.2

5.8

6.2

5.6

8.4

7.0

5.5

5.1

6.1

8.1

6.0

.6.0

7.7

8.2

6.8

5.8

5.3

4.8

7.8

7.8

7.0

4.6

6.5

4.8

5.2

6.9

8.2

5.3

5.4

4.6

6.1

5.7

5.0

5.6

7.9

6.6

5.7

5.0

5.8

7.9

5.9

6.0

7.8

8.1

6.8

5.6

5.2

5.1

7.6

7.7

7.2

4.3

6.5

4.7

5.1

6.8

8.2

5.2

5.4

4.8

6.1

5.5

5.2

5.9

8.3

6.8

5.6

4.7

5.9

8.0

6.0

5.8

7.7

7.8

6.6

5.6

5.3

4.9

7.6

7.7

7.0

4.7

6.5

5.0

5.1

6.7

8.1

5.2

5.3

4.7

6.1

5.6

5.2

5.5

8.5

16.7

5.5

4.8

5.9

8.0

6.3

5.8

7.7

8.0

6.8

5.6

5.2

4.9

7.9

7.8

7.2

4.8

6.6

5.3

5.3

6.9

8.4

5.2

5.6

4.5

6.5

5.6

5.2

5.5

9.0

16.6

5.4

4.8

5.7

8.7

6.2

5.8

7.6

8.4

6.9

5.9

5.2

4.8

7.9

7.9

7.4

4.5

6.7

5.0

5.6

6.9

8.1

5.4

6.1

4.7

6.1

5.9

5.0

5.9

8.6

16.4

5.4

5.1

6.3

8.8

6.3

5.7

8.3

8.2

7.0

5.9

5.6

4.9

8.0

7.8

7.6

4.7

6.7

5.4

5.2

6.9

8.7

5.3

6.8

5.0

6.4

5.8

5.1

5.7

8.6

6.9

5.5

5.3

6.2

9.3

6.5

5.7

7.6

8.7

7.1

5.8

5.5

4.7

9.1

8.3

7.7

4.9

6.7

5.3

5.4

6.8

8.6

5.4

7.2

4.6

6.6

5.6

5.1

5.7

8.8

7.0

5.4

5.1

6.0

9.3

6.3

5.9

8.1

9.2

. . .

5.9

5.6

5.3

8.3

7.7

7.9

4.6

6.9

5.6

5.6

6.9

8.9

5.2

7.3

5.0

6.7

5.7

5.4

5.8

9.2

7.1

5.6

5.6

6.2

9.4

6.7

5.8

8.5

9.1

. . .

6.6

5.7

5.5

9.1

8.4

8.0

4.9

7.0

6.1

5.9

7.1

9.0

5.5

7.0

4.9

6.7

6.1

5.9

. . .

8.8

7.3

5.7

5.7

6.7

. . .

7.2

6.0

9.1

9.0

. . .

7.3

5.9

5.8

9.0

8.8

8.6

5.0

19
J

Table 3. Median duration of marriage at time of decree: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1958-77–Con.

[ Figures for 1958-59 are based on complete counts; figures for 1960-77 are based on sample data]

State

Year decree granted

Divorce-registration area ....................... ....

Alabama .... ........................................................ ...

Al=ka ...................................................................

California ... ................................... ........................

Connecticut ...... ....................................................

Georgia .................................................................

Hawaii .............. .... ........................ ........ ................

Idaho .... ...... ........ ............ ...... .......... ................ ......

Illinois ............... ...................................................

Iowa .................... .................. ........ ....... ....... .........

Kansas .......................................... ........................

Kentucky ...................................... .. ...... ................

Maryland ................................. ........................ .....

Michigan ............ .... .. ...... ........ .. .............................

Missouri ................................................................

Montana ................ .. ........................ .....................

Nebraska ...............................................................

New York ....... ........ ........ ......................................

Ohio ............................... ......................................

Oregon ............ ........ ................ ................. .............

Pennsylvania ............. .............................. .......... ....

Rhode Island ........... .. ................ ........................ ...

South Carolina ......... ................... ..........................

South Dakota .......... ........................ .....................

Tennessee ... ................. ....... ........ ..........................

Utah .....................................................................

Vermont .... .................. .........................................

Virginia ..... .......................... ..................................

Wisconsin ............. .................................................

Wyoming ............... .............. ........................ .........

1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958

7.1

6.2

5.8

. . .

6:1.

7.0

5.3

6:3

5.9

9:9

7.8

6.0

5.5

6.9

7:1.

5.9

9.0

8.9

;:0

5.8

5.6

. . .

8.8

8.1

5.5

7.1

5.8

6.4

. . .

6:2

5.8

5.0

6:3

6.0

9:6

7.7

5.8

6.0

6.3

;:5

6.3

8.4

9.3

. . .

6.8

6.0

5.5

8:8

8.5

6.1

7.2

6.6

6.0

. . .

. . .

6.1

5.8

5.1

5:9

5.9

9:2

7.9

5.8

5.8

6.3

. . .

7.8

5.9

8.9

9.1

. . .

6.3

6.1

5.2

9:0

8.2

5.5

Median duration (in years)

7.4

6.9

6.0

. . .

. . .

6.4

6.7

5.1

. . .

6.0

6.3

9:8

8.0

6.1

5.6

6.5

;:+

6.6

8.6

9.0

. . .

6.9

6.6

5.1

8:9

8.3

5.1

7.5

7.5

6.8

. . .

. . .

6.3

7.2

5.0

. . .

6.1

6.5

10:3

8.0

6.9

5.9

6.7

;:7

5.8

8.7

9.0

. . .

6.3

6.6

5.1

9:2

8.1

5.3

7.3

7.1

6.2

. . .

59

7.0

5.6

6:2

5.9

94

8.0

6.1

5.9

6.1

. . .

7.7

6.5

9.6

. . .

. . .

6.6

6.4

5.5

. . .

8.6

7.2

5.3

7.1

7.3

6.3

. . .

6:6

6.3

4.7

5:5

6.5

9:4

7.6

6.6

5.2

6.5

. . .

. . .

6.4

8.6

. . .

6:3

6.1

5.2

8:6

8.4

4.8

7.2

7.3

6.2

. . .

6:;

6.3

4.8

. . .

5.7

5.8

9:0

. . .

5:1.

6.3

. . .

5:9

9.2

. . .

63

6.3

4.7

83

8.2

5.4

7.0

7.6

6.0

. . .

6:1.

i:z

. . .

5.4

6.3

. . .

. . .

. . .

5:;

6.0

. . .

. . .

6.0

9.1

. . .

. . .

6.2

6.1

5.4

8:+

7.4

5.1

6.4

.—

7.4

. . .

. . .

. . .

5.9

4:6

. . .

5.6

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

5:4

5.9

. . .

. . .

5.9

---

. . .

5:9

5.7

5.4

8:5

---

5.4

20
Table4. Median duration ofmarriaga attima of decree: United States andseIected foreign countries, 1948,19*, 19*, andl974

[Medians for foreign countries were computed from data published in the Demographic Yearbook of the United Nations, 1958 and 1976]

.

Country

Auwria ................................................................................................................................................................

Belgium5 .............................................................................................................................................................

Bulgaria...............................................................................................................................................................

CzwhoslovaHa ............................................................................................................................................?......

Egypt (u.A. R.) ...................................................................................................................................................

El Salmdor ..........................................................................................................................................................

England and Wales5 ............................................................................................................................................

Finland ................................................................................................................................. ..............................

France ........................................................................................................................................................... ......

German Democratic Republic .............................................................................................................................

Germanv, Federal Reoublic of ........................~...................................................................................................

Hungary ................................................................................................................................. .............................

Israel .............................................................................................................................................................. .....

Japan ..................................................................................................................................................................

Jordan .................................................................................................................................................................

Mexico ............................................................................................................................................................ ....

Netherlands .........................................................................................................................................................

New Zealand5 .....................................................................................................................................................

Norway ...............................................................................................................................................................

Poland .................................................................................................................................................................

P0rtuga15 ............................................................................................................................................................

Romania .............................................................................................................................................................

South Africa, white .............................................................................................................................................

Sweden ...............................................................................................................................................................

Switzerland .........................................................................................................................................................

Tunisia ................................................................................................................................ ................................

Turkey 5.; ............................................................................................................................................................

Uruguay5 ............................................................................................................................................................

Ukraine5 .............................................................................................................................................................

Venezuela ...........................................................................................................................................................

Year decree granted

19741 ! 1966 I 19562 t 19483

Median duration (in years)

6.5

12.2

6.6

11.1

4.4

7.4

7.9

2.2

9.1

11.4

9.0

9.3

7.0

8.2

7.3

7.2

5.5

4.9

2.8

56.0

10.0

11.8

9.1

8.7

10.7

8.5

9.7

8.4

510.7

8.6

3.3

6.2

11.9

7.5

7.5

59.0

56.2

7.1

14.0

5.8

12.0

3.8

7.9

8.2

2.2

8.3

11.4

9.3

%1.1

5.8,

7.4

7.2

7.7

6.1

4.4

3.8

58.2

9.3

14.5

9.2

9.1

14.2

4.9

510.3

8.9

9.7

9.1

3.3

6.8

12.4

7.7

58.1

9.2

6.5

6.5

11.7

7.5

11.1

8.1

58.4

2.4

6.6

11.9

8.7

9.6

8.1

. . .

6.9

5.0

4.5

54.2

57.8

9.1

12.3

9.2

3.5

16.8

. . .

% 1.5

8.3

9.7

8.8

. . .

6.5

12.1

---

. . .

57.5

55.8

6.4

10.8

8.1

12.7

. . .

8.2

58.2

1.9

..-

10.7

58.0

511.3

56.3

.-.

58.8

3.9

3.6

. . .

6.0

9.5

10.1

9.7

-..

13.6

. . .

9.5

7.9

8.1

8.7

---

6.8

12.2

---

..-

58.2

55.7

lThe medians for Frmce, South Africa Tunisia, and Turkey were computed from 1972&da. Themedians for f2zechrnbvakia*r)mmiwk*Esy Ptt

El Salvador, England and Wales, and Mexic’o were computed from 1973 data. The mediana for New Zealand and Pnland were computed from 1975

data.

2The me&,n for poland ~$ comPut.d from 1953 data. The median for Venezuela was computed from 1954 data. The m.~am for Egypt, Fr~c%

and Turkey were computed from 1955 data. The median for Jordan waa computed from 1957 date.

3The median, for Czecho,,omkja. ~enmmk. and Enzl~d and w~e, ~re e~m,mted from 19513 &t& The me&ana f~, ~,ael and U,urmay were

com uted from 1951 data.

&e 194s mefian is for , total of IO ~epo~ing ~tstes; the 1~56 median is for atotal of 23 r.pnrting States; and the 1966 end 1974 IU.di,IL9are

--

for the divorce-registration area.

5Computed from grouped data.

21 ,
Table 5. Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marriage at time of separation: Total reporting States and selected States,

1977

[Based on sample data. Date of separation was reported by 20 States in 1977. States where reporting was less than 75 percent complete

are not shown separately ]

All

divorces Less than

6 months

100.0 7.4

100.0 9.9

100.0 8.4

100.0 4.2

100.0 7.5

100.0 9.1

100.0 8.1

100.0 6.1

100.0 8.1

100.0 9.0

100.0 5.8

100.0 5.4

100.0 9.1

100.0 4.6

100.0 5.5

100.0 3.9

Duration of marriage at time of separation

3

years

8.9

10.0

8.8

8.5

9.1

8.7

9.0

9.4

8.5

8.9

9.4

8.9

8.8

8.1

9.0

10.0

4

years

State 2

years

5

years

6-11

months

1 6

years

5.3

year

Total reporting States ..... ................ ..... 5.8 11.4 10.2 7.2 6.0

10.6

10.1

9.0

10.8

10.7

10.7

11.0

10.3

10.6

10.1

9.9

10.2

10.1

9.7

11.1

7.7

6.9

6.9

7.6

8.2

7.6

7.2

7.4

7.2

7.4

7.6

7.1

7.9

7.2

7.5

5.6

5.9

5.8

7.1

6.4

5.2

5.3

5.3

6.0

5.4

5.2

5.2

5.0

4.9

5.5

5.3

5.3

5.0

5.8

5.8

8.1

5.6

4.4

7.0

6.8

6.5

5.8

7.7

7.1

5.7

5.1

7.4

3.8

5.2

4.5

13.4

11.5

8.9

11.9

12.7

12.1

12.4

12.4

12.3

11.3

10.3

12.8

9.9

10.4

9.1

5.9

5.3

6.6

5.8

5.9

6.2

4.9

7.1

6.4

6.4

Table 5. Percent distribution of divorces, by duration of marriage at time of separation: Total reporting ~

1977–Con.

ates and selected States,

[Based on sample data. Date ofseparation wasreported by20Statesin 1977. States where reporting wasless than 75percent complete

are not shown separately ]

Duration of marriage at time of separation

All

divorces State 25-29

years

2.4

1.5

2.4

3.1

1.7

1.6

2.1

2.4

2.2

2.1

2.7

2.8

2.4

3.1

2.6

2.5

301years

or more

——

1.6

7

years

8

years

9

years

10-14

years

15-19

years

20-24

years

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

4.6

4.5

4.6

5.1

3.9

4.6

4.4

4.1

4.6

4.1

4.2

4.7

4.2

5.4

4.6

5.1

3.7

3.4

3.8

4.2

3.7

3.7

3.6

3.9

3.5

3.7

4.3

3.8

2.8

4.0

3.6

3.8

3.1 11.1

8.9

10.9

13.2

10.8

9.3

10.4

11.6

9.4

9.6

11.1

12.2

11.1

11.7

12.6

12.1

6.9

4.6

6.8

9.2

5.8

6.0

6.3

6.7

6.5

6.2

6.8

7.7

6.0

9.1

7.8

8.8

4.2

3.3

4.0

6.5

2.6

2.5

4.0

4.4

3.4

4.3

4.8

5.0

3.8

4.6

4.9

4.1

Total reporting States ...........................

0.8

1.7

1.9

1.1

1.4

1.3

1.5

1.7

1.5

1.4

1.4

1.4

1.9

1.4

1.9

2.4

3.2

4.0

3.3

3.1

2.9

2.9

2.7

2.7

3.3

3.5

2.5

3.6

3.3

3.3

Illinois .... ..................................... ................ .........

lom ........ .............................................................

Kansas ..................................................................

Missouri ..................................................... ...........

Nebraska ..............................................................

New York .............................................................

Tennessee ...... ........ ...... ........ ............ .......... ...........

Vermont ...................... .... ........ ................ .......... ...

Virginia ................................................................

Wisconsin ........................ ................ .....................

22
Table6. Percent distribution of divorces, by duration ofseparation attime of decree: Totelreporting States andsAected States, 1977

[Based on sample data. Duration of separation was reported by 20 Statesin 1977. States where reporting was less than 75 percent

complete are not shown separately ]

State

Total reporting States ..........

Alaska ...............................................

California ..........................................

Connecticut .......................................

Hawaii ...............................................

ldaho .................................................

lllinois ...............................................

lowa ..................................................

Kansas...............................................

Missouri.............................................

Nebraska ...........................................

Naw York ..........................................

Tennessee ..........................................

Vermont ............................................

Virginia .............................................

Wisconsin ..........................................

All

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Less than

6 months

20.3

45.7

1.2

15.8

42.4

62.2

38.1

37.7

58.5

47.6

44.7

14.3

51.0

1.1

1.0

13.5

Duration of separation at time of decree

6-11

months

26.3

23.9

32.2

34.6

22.4

19.1

22.4

33.6

23.6

24.3

30.7

14.6

22.1

21.3

1.1

42.4

1

year

29.2

17.1

35.7

27.7

17.7

12.3

19.2

18.9

11.1

15.3

14.9

31.6

15.6

50.4

66.1

28.2

2

years

10.1

6.3

13.2

9.8

8.1

3.1

7.2

5.1

2.8

5.2

4.4

14.5

4.0

17.7

14.8

7.8

3

years

4.8

2.8

6.4

4.1

3.7

1.4

3.7

1.9

1.4

2.4

1.7

7.5

2.4

5.0

6.4

2.9

4

years

2.6

1.6

3.3

2.0

1.7

0.4

2.3

0.9

0.5

1.6

0.9

4.8

1.3

1.8

3.2

1.6

5-9

years

4.7

2.1

5.8

4.1

2.9

1.0

4.7

1.3

1.5

2.5

1.8

8.7

2.3

2.1

5.3

1.6

10-14

years

1.2

0.3

1.4

1.1

0.5

0.2

1.3

0.3

0.5

0.6

0.5

2.3

0.6

0.5

1.2

0.3

15

years

or more

0.9

0.3

0.8

0.7

0.5

0.2

1.1

0.3

0.1

0.6

0.4

1.9

0.8

0.1

0.9

0.6

23
Table 7. Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of this marriage of husband and of wife: Divorce-registratiorl area

and selectad States, 1977

[Based on sample data. Duration of marriage by marriage order was reported by 28 States in 1977. States where reporting was less than

75 percent complete are not shown separately]

State

Husband–numbar of Wife–number of

All

this marriage this marriage

. ...

divorces

First Second

Third

First Second Third

or more or more

II I I I I I

Median duration (in years)

6.6 7.5

5.0 5.7

7.0 7.9

8.3 8.8

5.3 6.5

5.7 6.3

5.0 5.8

6.2 7.0

5.8 6.5

5.2 6.0

5.6 6.4

8.4 8.9

5.5 6.5

5.1 6.8

8.1 8.6

6.0 7.0

7.7 8.1

8.2 8.5

6.8 7.5

5.3 6.5

4.8 5.7

7.8 8.4

7.8 8.4

7.0 7.4

4.8

3.9

5.6

6.3

3.5

4.2

4.0

4.4

4.6

4.0

3.9

6.5

4.2

4.1

5.9

4.7

6.0

6.3

4.6

3.6

3.6

5.5

6.0

5.5

3.5

3.5

4.3

4.6

2.5

4.3

3.1

3.2

3.9

2.5

3.8

5.6

2.9

2.5

5.1

3.7

4.4

4.9

3.2

2.8

2.5

4.7

4.7

4.0

7.4

5.7

7.8

8.8

6.5

6.2

5.8

6.9

6.4

6.0

6.4

8.7

6.4

5.7

8.6

6.8

8.1

8.4

7.5

6.5

5.8

8.4

8.3

7.4

4.9

4.1

5.7

6.2

3.7

4.4

4.1

4.6

4.8

3.7

4.3

7.1

4.3

4.5

5.9

5.0

6.1

6.4

5.0

3.3

3.5

5.2

6.2

5.5

3.4

3.1

4.7

4.2

2.4

2.9

2.7

2.9

3.4

2.2

2.9

5.8

2.8

2.4

4.5

3.4

3.9

5.6

3.2

2.9

2.3

4.0

4.6

4.1

24
Table 8. Percent distribution of divorces by number of this marriage of husband and wife, according to the duration of marriage at time

of decree: Divorce-registration area, 1977

[Based on sample data. Figures exclude data for Nebraska]

Husband–number of this marriage

Duration of

marriage at

time of decree

Al I

divorces rFirat

marriage

All divorces ............. ..

Less than 1 year ...... .... ..............

1 year .................. .....................

2 years ... ............... ....................

3 years .... .................... ..............

4 years ......................................

5 years ....................... ............ ...

6 years ......................................

7 years ....................... ........ .......

8 vears .. .. .... ..............................

9 years .............. ..... .......... .........

10-14 years .............. .................

15-19 years ...... .......... ...............

20-24 years ...... ........ .. .......... .. ...

25-28 years .................. ............ .

30-34 years ...... .... ............ .........

35 years or more .......................

I 100.011 74.9

IT100.0 44.3

100.0 57.7

100.0 67.3

100.0 70.9

100.0 73.1

100.0 74.4

100.0 75.0

100.0 77.6

100.0 78.4

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

81.2

81.6

84.7

86.9

90.0

90.2

93.8

Total 1

25.1

55.7

42.3

32.7

29.1

26.9

25.6

25.0

22.4

21.6

18.8

18.4

15.3

13.1

10.0

9.8

6.2

Remarriage

r

Second

marriage

I 19.1

L

36.1

29.7

23.8

22.3

21.0

19.8

19.9

18.0

17.6

15.5

15.0

12.1

10.6

9.0

9.1

5.5

Third

marriage

or more

5.7

19.2

12.5

8.6

6.6

5.6

5.6

4.8

4.2

3.7

3.2

3.2

2.9

2.4

0.9

0.5

0.3

Wife-number of this marriage

First

marriage

75.2

43.0

57.9

67.6

72.6

74.2

75.4

76.5

78.1

78.0

80.7

80.8

85.4

87.1

89.0

88.6

93.1

Remarriage

Total 1

I

Second

marriage

24.8 18.7

57.0 36.0

42.1 28.8

32.4 23.2

27.4 20.4

25.8 20.3

24.6 18.5

23.5 18.3

21.9 17.4

22.0 18.1

19.3 15.7

19.2 15.6

14.6 12.0

12.9 10.8

11.0 9.1

11.4 10.7

6.9 6.1

Third

marriage

or more

5.9

20.5

13.2

9.0

6.8

5.3

5.7

5.0

4.4

3.6

3.4

3.4

2.3

1.9

1.6

0.4

0.4

lInclu&s number of remarriages not stated.

25
Table9. Median duration of marriage at time of decree, by number of children under 18 years of age: Divorce-registration arf>a and

each registration State, 1977

[Medians were computed from grouped data and may differ slightly from those computed from ungrouped data]

State

Vermont .... .......... .............. ................ ................ .... ...................................... .....l .............

Virginia ................................. ..... ........................................................... ...... ....................

Wisconsin ........................................................................................................................

Wyoming ..................................................................................... ....................................

lDatame for number of children affectedly decree.

-E

Median duration (in years)

7.0

4.9

5.0

7.4

8.6

5.4

6.0

5.0

6.5

6.2

5.2

5.8

8.7

7.3

5.7

5.1

6.4

8.5

6.3

6.4

8.1

8.5

7.2

6.2

5.3

4.8

8.1

8.2

7.4

4.6

4.2

2.7

3.4

4.7

5.0

3.3

3.7

3.0

3.9

3.6

2.9

3.2

6.1

4.1

3.4

3.0

3.7

5.6

3.6

4.1

4.7

5.0

4.5

3.6

3.2

2.7

4.8

5.1

4.5

2.8

6.7

5.4

5.0

7.7

7.7

5.8

s.

6.0

4.6

6.0

4.8

4.7

5.9

8.2

6.7

5.5

4.6

5.3

8.0

5.5

5.8

7.3

7.3

6.9

4.7

6.0

4.3

7.5

7.9

6.4

4.4

10.1

9.4

8.8

10.8

11.4

10.6

8.6

8.4

9.5

9.2

8.7

9.2

11.8

9.8

9.4

8.6

9.3

11.5

9.3

9.9

10.6

10.7

10.4

8.9

9.5

8.1

10.0

11.6

9.5

8.4

14.2

13.9

12.5

14.6

14.4

13.5

11.4

12.4

13.9

13.2

12.4

14.3

15.0

14.2

14.3

12.8

14.2

14.7

14.1

14.0

14.6

16.7

13.9

13.7

13.4

12.4

16.0

15.7

14.9

12.4

26
APPENDIX

CONTENTS

TeAtid Notes ...................................................................................................................................... 28

LIST OF APPENDIX TABLES

I. Percent cqmpletencss of reporting of dmation of marriage: Divorce-registration area, 1960-77 ..... 28

II. Percent completeness of reporting of duration of marriage and other selected vsriables:

Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1977 ............................... ............... .......... 29

III. DNorce sampling rate, number of sample records, and estimated total: Dkorce-registntion srea

and each registration State, 1970 and 1977 ................................................................................. 30

IV. Sampling error of estimated percents: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1970

and 1977 ..................................................................................................................................... 31

27
APPENDIX

TECHNICAL NOTES

Data used in this report for 1960-77 were

taken mainly from the Vital Statistics of the

United States, Volume 111–Man-iage and

Divorce5 and from unpublished divorce worktables for these and other years. Some information was taken from earlier annual issues of the

Vital Statistics of the United States and from

official vital statistics publications for the following States: Connecticut, Florida, Illinois,

Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri,

New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, and

Vermont. International comparisons are based

on the 1958 and 1976 issues of the Denzographic Yearbook of the United Nations. 1~z

Duration of marriage at divorce is calculated

from both the date of decree and recorded on

each divorce certificate. Both dates are required

on the divorce certificates of all States that

participate in the divorce-registration area

(DRA). Criteria for participation in the DRA are

(1) a Statewide central ffle of divorce certificates; (2) a statistical report form conforming

closely to the U.S. Standard Certificate of

Divorce or Annulment, as recommended by the

U.S. Public Health Service; (3) regular reporting

to the State by all courts that grant divorces;

and (4) satisfactory tests for completeness and

accuracy of registration and reporting.

Because the date of decree is always known

from court records and the date of marriage is

often necessary in court proceedings, information on duration of marriage is now over 99

percent complete for the DRA. This figure

represents a higher level of completeness than

for information on any other routinely pubNOTE: A list of references follows the text.

fished item of divorce statistics, and the percent

of completeness has been increasing (table I).

The approximate date of separation is reported by a limited number of States. By using

this date, three variables of demo.maphic importance

marriage

husband

duration

variables

statistics

“may be calculated: (1) the ‘du~ation of

to separation, (2) the age of the

and wife at separation, and (.3) the

of separation to decree. For other

used in this report, detailed divorce

were obtained from certificates obtained from the 29 States that participated in

the DRA during 1971-77. The percent of completeness of reporting for the duration clf marTable 1. Percent completeness of raporting of duration of

marriage: Divorce-registration area, 1960-77

Year decree granted

1977 ........... .............. .. .............. ..

1976 ........... ................ .............. ..

1975 ........... ............................... .

1974 ........................................ ...

1973 ...................... ....................-

1972 ............... ............................

1971 .......... ............................. ....

1970 ....... ...... .. ...................... ......

1969 ..................................... ......

1968 ...........................................

1967 ..................... ......................

1966 ............... ............................

1965 ...... .....................................

1964 ....... ....................................

1963 ..................... .. ........ ............

1962 ............................. ..............

1961 ...........................................

1960 ...........................................

Number of

States in

the DRA

29

29

29

29

29

29

29

28

28

26

22

22

22

22

22

21

20

18

Percent with

duration of

marriage

repclrted

——

99.2

99.2

99.1

99.0

99.0

98.9

98.6

98.2

97.3

96.0

97.4

97.6

97.4

96.1

97.1

97.6

96.8

95.6

28
riage at decree and for other variables is given in

table II for the entire DRA and for each

participating State in 1977.

Each State that participates in the DRA

sends microfilms of all divorce certificates for

decrees granted during a calendar year to NCHS.

The term “divorce” as used here covers decrees

of absolute divorce, of annulment, and of

mamiage dissolution; the last type of decree

replaced absolute divorce in many States in

recent years. Microfilms of divorce certificates

are sampled and divorce statistics are estimated

from this sample. An exception to this procedure occurs for those States that provide

preceded data for all divorces granted. In 1977

there were 8 such States: Illinois, Missouri,

Nebraska, New York, Rhode Island, South

Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia. For the remaining States in the DIU%, the microfilms are

sampled at rates of one-half, one-fifth, one-tenth,

or one-twentieth, depending on the number of

divorces granted. States with small numbers of

divorces have all of their divorces included in the

sample. Sampling rates for all States participating in the DRA in 1970 and 1977 are shown

in table III.

All detailed divorce statistics are estimated

from sample data both for the DRA and for

Table II. Percent comple;eness%of reporting of duration of marria~ and other selected variables: Divorce-registration area and each registration State, 1977

.

State

Divorce-registration area .... ..

Total reporting States ..........

Hawaii ...... .. ... ... ............. ..... ..... ..... .......

[The divorce-registration area included 29 StiMes in 1977 I

)uration of Duration of Duration of

Aga at Numb-w of Age at

separation this marrtage Children marriag3

marriag2 marriage separation under 18

to divorce to separation to dwwce

Husband Wife Husband Wife Husband Wife

years

Percent

99.2

99.2

99.1

99.4

99.2

99.3

98,5

99.9

98.8

99.4

99.1

99.5

98.7

99.5

99.3

99.4

99.5

99.8

99.0

99,5

99.5

99.4

99.6

99.2

99.3

97.9

97.9

99.8

99.6

99.6

99.5

60.3

89.4

(1)

87.9

96.5

89.8

(1)

97.4

84.8

90.6

85.6

93.9

(1 I

(1)

69.8

96.1

(1)

97.7

90.1

(1)

(1)

(1 I

57.1

(1 I

24,8

60.9

70.7

98,0

98.0

94.9

62.6

60.5

89.8

(1 I

88.1

96.9

90.0

(1)

97.5

82.6

91.0

86.1

94.3

(1)

(Ii

70.2

96.4

(1)

97.6

90.6

{1)

(1)

(1)

57.3

[1)

25.1

81.9

70.8

98.1

98.2

95.0

62.7

52.0

80.3

(1)

85.4

95.1

88.6

(1)

96.7

. . .

86.2

(1 I

93.4

(1}

[1)

17.4

93.1

11)

5.1

61.9

(1)

(1)

(11

56.8

(11

11.1

80.4

67.1

97.7

95.7

94.0

58.2

51.8

79.2

(1)

84.8

93.9

88.0

(1)

96.4

. . .

85.4

(1)

93.1

(11

(11

17.7

92.7

(1 I

5.0

81.0

[1)

(1)

(1)

56.3

(1)

11.4

79.5

57.3

37.0

34.8

33.9

57.6

81.9

82.7

68.4

97.0

95.7

99.3

90.1

99.9

96.7

91.8

98.8

99.8

83.7

98.1

12.0

94.1

98.1

(1)

95.5

40.9

88.4

82.4

95.9

99.7

45.2

97.8

82.1

99.9

99.5

99.9

61.8

B2.O

82.8

68.7

97.1

95.6

98.8

90.2

99.9

96.4

91.7

98.9

99.7

83.3

98.5

12.5

94.1

97.6

(1)

95.1

41.2

92.7

82.4

95.8

39.8

$5.3

37.9

32.2

39.8

39.4

39.8

52.0

64.0

64.0

66.4

96.2

97.4

97.3

89.5

99.1

95.6

96.8

96.9

98.6

95.3

99.6

25.6

96.1

99.4

97.2

88.9

36.4

98.5

85.3

89.2

99.2

15.2

96.9

90.5

99.4

99.0

98.8

65.9

83.4

83.4

=

66.5

95.4

96.1

96.8

88.8

98.4

94.6

96.4

96.8

98.3

94.3

99.3

25.9

95.4

98.3

97.1

87.7

36.7

97.9

85.0

99.2

38.3

15.2

35.5

30.1

38.7

38.5

38.8

55.1

—

97.8

97.8

97.7

99.2

95.2

98.3

89.0

!39.9

99.2

98.7

97.7

100.0

96.9

97.9

94.9

99.6

99.0

100.0

98.1

99.8

98.7

97.5

97.5

99.9

99.7

99.4

96.3

991

99.7

99.9

99.3

lNOt reportable.

29
Table III. Divorce sampling rate, number of sample records, and estimated total: Divorce-registration area and each registratiorl State,

1970 and 1977

State

Divorca-registration area ................................ ........

Alabama ...................... ........... ...... .. ...... .................................

Alaska ......................................... ................................... ........

California .................................................................... ........ ...

Connecticut ................ ....................... ....................................

Georgia .............. .......... ........ ........................ ........................ ..

Hawaii ........................ ........ .............. ................ .....................

ldaho ................................................................. ....................

llIinoisl ...................................... ...........................................

Iovva ..................................................... ....... ..........................

Kansas ........................ ............. ............ ....... ....................... ....

Kentucky ........... .......... .......... ...... ...... .......... .... .... ............ .. ....

Maryland .............................. .................................................

Michigan ..... ......“.................... ............ .......... ...........................

Missouri 1 .................................... ...........................................

Montana .... ........ ................ ........ ........ .............................. ......

Nebraskal ........... .......... .............. ...........................................

New Yorkl ....... .......... .......... ...................... ...... .. ............ .. .....

Ohio ....... .................... ................................ ...........................

Oregon ........ ........................ ................ ...................................

Pennsylvania ..................................................... .................... .

Rhode lslandl .......................... .. ..... .. ............. ...................... .

South Carolina 1........ ................ .. ...........................................

South Dakota .......... .. ...................... ................ ..... ....... .... ......

Tennessea .............. .......................... ...... ........ .. .................... ..

Utah ...................... .. ................ ........ ............ ...................... ....

Vermontl ....................................... ................ .......................

Virginial .......................................... ..... ....... ........ ........ ..........

Wwonsin ........................................ ............................. ..........

Wyoming .... ............ ........ ........ ............ ........ .......... ...... ...........

Divorce

sampling

rate

0.10

1.00

0.05

0.50

0.10

0.50

0.50

1.00

0.50

0.20

0.20

0.20

0.10

1.00

0.50

1.00

1.00

0.05

0.20

0.10

1.00

1.00

1.00

0.10

0.50

1.00

1.00

0.20

0.50

1977

Number

of

sample

records

245,251

2,383

3,579

6,568

6,187

3,095

2,301

3,007

48,980

5,445

2,532

3,126

3,307

4,287

25,328

2,415

6,126

55,802

2,869

3,277

3,792

3,420

10,718

2,436

2,751

3,462

2,132

21,464

2,922

1,540

Estimated

total

656,339

23,830

3,579

131,360

12,374

30,950

4,602

6,014

48,980

10,890

12,660

15,630

16,535

42,870

25,328

4,830

6,126

55,802

57,380

16,385

37,920

3,420

10,718

2,436

27,510

6,924

2,132

21,464

14,610

3,080

1970

Divorce

sampling

rate

. . .

0.10

1.00

0.10

0.50

0.20

1.00

0.$0

0.10

0.50

0.50

0.20

0.20

0.10

0.20

1.00

0.50

0.10

0.10

0.20

0.10

1.00

1:00

0.20

0.50

1.00

0.20

0.50

1.00

Number

of

sample

racords

80,630

1,507

1,694

11,112

2,910

3,728

2,585

1,776

3,644

3,539

4,340

2,138

1,845

2,994

3,569

3,060

1,848

2,640

3,937

1,914

2,259

1,693

1,358

3,310

1,814

1,027

2,402

4,180

1,807

Estimated

total

——

429,498

————

15,070

1,694

111,120

5,820

18,640

2,585

3,552

36,440

7,078

8,680 .

10,690

9,225

29,940

17,645

3,060

3,696

26,400

39,370

9,570

22,590

1,693

1,358

16,550

3,628

1,027

12,010

8,360

1,s07

lFor 1977 computer tapes containing Preceded data for all divorces were supplied by thk State through the Cooperative Health

Statistics System.

each State except where all certificates arein the tions divided by the square root of

sample. Estimates based on sample data are the squares of their sampling errors:

subject to sampling error, as shown in table IV

for 1970 and 1977. PI - P~

To determine if the difference between 2

percents is statistically si~ificant, the percents @=

and their corres~ondirw samrslirw errors should

the sum of

be converted in;o pro~ortio& (~e., divided by If this quotient is greater than 2 (or less than

100 ), and the difference between the propor- - 2), the probability that the difference between

30
Table IV. Sampling error of estimated percents: Oivorce-registration area and each registration State, 1970 and 1977

State

Divorce-registration area ...

Alabama ........................ ..................

Alasb ...............................................

California ..........................................

Connecticut ......................................

Georgia .............................................

Hawaii ..............................................

ldaho ................................................

lllin0is2 ............................?...............

Iowa ........................................3 .......

Kansas ..............................................

Kentucky ..........................................

Maryland ..........................................

Michigan ...........................................

Missouri2 ..........................................

Montana ...........................................

Nebraska2 .........................................

New York . .....................................

Ohio .................................................

Oregon ..............................................

Pennsylvania .....................................

Rhode lsland2 ..................................

South Carolipa2 ................................

South Dakota ...................................

Tennassea .........................................

Utah .................................................

Vermont2 .........................................

Virginia2 ...........................................

Wisconsin..........................................

Wyoming ..........................................

Estimated

total

656.339

23,830

13,579

131,360

12,374

30,950

4,602

6,014

148,980

10,890

12,660

15,630

16,535

42,870

125,328

4.830

16,126

155,802

57J80

16,385

37,920

13,420

110,718

12,436

27.510

6,924

12,132

121 ,4E4

14,610

3,080

1977

Estimated percent

1 or 99 100r90 25 Or 75 50

Sampling error

0.04

0.19

. . .

0.12

0.09

0.17

0.15

0.13

. . .

0.09

0.17

0.16

0.16

0.14

. . .

0.14

. . .

. . .

0.18

0.15

0.15

. . .

. . .

. . .

0.18

0.12

. . .

.. . .

0.16

0.16

0.11

0.58

. . .

0.36

0.27

0.51

0.43

0.38

. . .

0.28

0.53

0.48

0.47

0.44

. . .

0.41

. . .

. . .

0.55

0.47

0.46

. . .

. . .

. . .

0.54

0.36

. . .

. . .

0.50

0.55

0.15

0.84

. . .

0,52

0.39

0.74

0.63

0.57

. . .

0.41

0.77

0.69

0.68

0.63

.,.

0.60

. . .

. . .

0.79

0.68

0.67

. . .

. . .

. . .

0.78

0.52

. . .

. . .

0.72

0.78

0.18

=

0.97

. . .

0.60

0.44

0.85

0.74

0.65

. . .

0.48

0.88

0.80

0.78

0.73

. . .

0.70

. . .

. . .

0.91

0.78

0.77

. . .

. . .

. . .

0.90

0.61

. . .

. . .

0.83

0.91

Sstimatad

total

429,498

15,070

11,694

111,120

5,820

18,540

12,585

3,552

36,440

7,078

8,680

10,690

9,225

29,840

17,845

13,060

3,696

26,400

39,370

9,570

22,590

11,693

11,358

16,5!3

3,628

11,027

12,010

8,360

11,807

1970

Estimated percent

1 or 99 100r80 25 or 75 50

0.04

0.25

. . .

0.0s

0.14

0.14

. . .

0.17

0.16

0.11

0.10

0.20

0.21

0.17

0.15

. . .

0.16

0.19

0.15

0.20

0.20

. . .

..-

. . .

0.16

0.17

. . .

0.18

0.12

. . .

Sampling error

0.12

0.74

. . .

0.27

0.40

0.44

. . .

0.51

0.47

0.37

0.32

0.58

0.63

0.52

0.45

. . .

0.49

0.55

0.46

0.62

0.60

. . .

. . .

. . .

0.47

0.52

. . .

0.54

0.35

. . .

0.17

1.05

. . .

0.39

0.57

0.63

. . .

0.73

0.68

0.52

0.47

0.83

0.90

0.75

0.65

. . .

0.70

0.60

0.66

0.ss

0.86

. . .

. . .

. . .

0.68

0.77

. . .

0.78

0.50

. . .

0.20

1.22

. . .

0.45

0.65

0.73

. . .

0.s4

0.78

0.61

0.54

0.96

1.04

0.87

0.75

. . .

0.s4

0.92

0.75

1.02

1.00

. . .

.-.

. . .

0.78

0.88

. . .

0.91

0.59

. . .

lA, records were used ~ the sample for thw State in this year.

2FOr 1977 ~Omputer tapes ~Ontaifing ~recOded data fOr all divorces ware supplied by this State through the COOPmative Health statistics system.

the two proportions is due to chance is less than

1 in 20.

Percentiles, medians, quartiles, and percent

distributions, as shown in this report, are computed by omitting cases with information that

was not stated. Median duration for the DRA

and each reporting State has been published in

the Vital Statistics of the United States, Volume

111-Marriage and Divorce? The median duraNOTE: A list of references follows the text.

tions of marriage were generally computed from

ungrouped data, but most medians of duration

tabulated by other variables were computed

from grouped data. Medians computed from

ungrouped and from grouped data are not

comparable.

Population data for married women by

duration of 1970 current marriage, which were

used as denominators for duration-specific rates

(text table C), were obtained from a U.S. Bureau

of the Census publication showing the ever-married population tabulated by the number of

31
years since the first marriage.6 Statistics were

used for women (rather than for men) because

divorce rates per 1,000 married women are

computed routinely and it is desirable to compute duration-specific rates by using comparable

population bases. For persons married once,

NOTE: A fist of references folIows the text.

years since first marriage are identical with years

of current marriage. Thus for married women

who were married once, population bases could

be obtained directly from the Census publication. Numerators for the duration-speciiic rates

(national divorce data by duration) were estimated by applying the percent distribution by

duration computed for the DRA to the 1970

national divorce total.

000

32
VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS Series

Series 1. Programs and Collection Procedures. –Reports which describe the generaI programs of the National

Center for Health Statistics and its offices and divisions and data collection methods used and include

definitions and other material necessary for understanding the data.

Series 2. Data Evaluation and Methods Research. –Studies of new statistical methodology including experimental tests of new survey methods, studies of vital statistics collection methods, new analytical

techniques, objective evaluations of reliability of collected data, and contributions to statistical theory.

Series 3. Analytical Studies. –Reports presenting analytical or interpretive studies based on vital and health

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Series 4. Documents and Committee Rrports. –Final reports of major committees concerned with vital and

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hospital, medical, dental, and other services, and other health-related topics, all based on data collected

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geographic and time series analyses; studies of fertility; and statistics on characteristics of births not

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Series 23. Data From the National Survey of Family Growth. –Statistics on fertility, family formation and dissolution, family planning, and related maternal and infant health topics derived from a biennial survey

of a nationwide probability sample of ever-married women 15-44 years of age.

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