Good news for the educated women of the world — that so-called "marriage gap" has finally closed. If you're scratching your head at this, allow me to explain...
You'd probably think that a couple who divorces after being married for 20-30 years has a harder time getting past a divorce. But a recent study found that divorce is actually harder on younger people, who have been married for less time.
Uh-oh, someone alert the Traditional Values Coalition, because marriage is on the decline. The percentage of married individuals in the U.S. is at a record low, with only 51% of adults 18 and over currently being hitched, according to a Pew Research Center study that came out today. This percentage is not only a drastic decline from the 72% of married adults in 1960, but it has also dropped a significant 5% between 2009 and 2010.
New research from Sweden claims that a long commute hikes up your risk of divorce. According to the study, 11 percent of Swedes embark on a daily commute that is 45 minutes or longer. While 45 minutes doesn't seem like a lot (especially for New Yorkers accustomed to driving between Long Island and Manhattan twice a day) long commutes are a fairly new addition to the Swedish lifestyle. Alas, it looks like married couples are having a hard time dealing with the change, which ironically creates marital tension by reinforcing traditional (read: outdated) gender stereotypes.
While you can glean advice from studies about relationships, it’s not one-size-fits-all, says Sherry Amatenstein, a marriage therapist and author of The Complete Marriage Counselor: Relationship-Saving Advice from America's Top 50+ Couples Therapists. However, if a bit of research resonates with you, there are commonsense ways you can apply the message.
The latest research on happiness isn't so jolly: Great Britain's Understanding Society finds that happiness in marriage declines with age. Older couples are less content than their younger counterparts, while young, childless couples are the happiest of them all.
