But if there's one thing Sean and Jennifer share, it's a determination to avoid splitting up. For many Gen-Xers, the first teetering bridge to cross is the decision to wed at all. When Dyer decided to marry Owens that night on the park bench, it set off a torrent of self-doubt. I didn't think anyone could like me for that long. Her apprehension was typical, says Wallerstein.
Many children of divorce seem to recover over time from the trauma of the split.
Lisa Concepcion's parents split when she was 3, part of a wave of divorce that swept her family in the '70s. Turn 26, get divorced, dye your hair and hit the discos. I know what the pitfalls are, so I'm very realistic and eager to avoid those problems. That's a common approach, and traditionally, later marriage has meant a lesser chance of divorce. The problem for Gen X is that in recent years, even as the age of first marriages has risen, the divorce rate for people in their 20s and 30s has held steady.