Marriage duration and divorce: the seven-year itch or a lifelong itch?

Demography. 2014 Jun;51(3):881-93. doi: 10.1007/s13524-013-0278-1.

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that the risk of divorce is low during the first months of marriage; it then increases, reaches a maximum, and thereafter begins to decline. Some researchers consider this pattern consistent with the notion of a "seven-year itch," while others argue that the rising-falling pattern of divorce risk is a consequence of misspecification of longitudinal models because of omitted covariates or unobserved heterogeneity. The aim of this study is to investigate the causes of the rising-falling pattern of divorce risk. Using register data from Finland and applying multilevel hazard models, the analysis supports the rising-falling pattern of divorce by marriage duration: the risk of marital dissolution increases, reaches its peak, and then gradually declines. This pattern persists when I control for the sociodemographic characteristics of women and their partners. The inclusion of unobserved heterogeneity in the model leads to some changes in the shape of the baseline risk; however, the rising-falling pattern of the divorce risk persists.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Divorce / statistics & numerical data*
  • Family Characteristics
  • Female
  • Finland
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Marriage / statistics & numerical data*
  • Risk Factors
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Time Factors