While it is established that about half of all marriages end in divorce, it is commonly assumed that the breakups are initiated by both genders equally. In fact, it is surprising to most people that women are actually more likely to end their marriages than men.
Whether accepted or not, there is one fact that cannot be disputed. And that is that women initiate divorce more often than men on average. Numerous studies have shown this. In fact, nearly 70 percent of divorces are initiated by women.
According to a psychologist, the sense of loss and identity conflict that men and women feel is the same. However, we assume it's different simply because we handle breakups so differently. Men prefer action, like working out and rebounding, while women prefer connecting-verbally explaining or showing what they feel.
The study, which surveyed 5,705 people in 96 countries, found that women may feel more immediate heartbreak at the end of a relationship, but men experience greater emotional trauma over time. Many male respondents seemed to have never gotten over certain breakups, even decades later.
Jordan Peterson: The Number One Reason Why Women Always Ruin Most Relationships
Who finds breakups harder?
Do men, particularly heterosexual men, experience something similar when they go through a breakup? Several studies—both large and small—suggest they have a tougher time than women do when a romantic relationship ends.
Lack of Commitment Is the Most Common Reason for Divorce
In fact, 75% of individuals and couples cited lack of commitment as the reason for their divorce. This was the most common cause of a marriage ending, exceeding even infidelity.
Both ex-spouses take a loss, but typically, men suffer a larger hit to their standard of living than women — between 10 and 40% — due to alimony and child support responsibilities, the need for a separate place to live, an extra set of household furniture and other expenses.
Women get divorced at a significantly higher rate compared to men. In particular, they get divorced at a rate of 7.7 per 1,000 citizens in the United States, according to the CDC.gov report. At the same time, the current national divorce rate is 2.3 per 1,000 people.
Current scientific data supports the idea that, in many cases, men may fall in love more quickly. A survey of more than 170 college students suggested that male respondents reported both feeling love and saying “I love you” at earlier stages in their relationships than females.
Both men and women have emotions but differ in expressing them. Men are more likely to feel the loss later and, therefore, need more time to recover from heartbreak fully and seek closure. After a breakup, women's behavior and actions tend to favor faster healing, but men's decisions make them flee from their emotions.
Why do guys hook up with girls right after a breakup?
People choose to have rebound sex for different reasons. Perhaps you need a distraction, and a new partner creates a sense of excitement and makes you feel better. Others report using rebound sex to ease feelings of stress or depression after a breakup.
The hardest years of marriage are the first, third, fifth, and seventh or eighth. As mentioned earlier, the lack of communication and unrealistic expectations are the ultimate relationship killers. However, finding solutions and sticking through the ups and downs will strengthen the relationship.
Vietnam possesses the lowest divorce rate in the world, at 0.2 per 1,000 people. This is an impressive feat for a country with a population of over 97 million, as it indicates that couples in the region are more likely to stay together than those living elsewhere in the world.
Only about half of U.S. adults (51%) are currently married. The share is highest among Asians (61%) and lowest among African Americans (31%), with whites (55%) and Hispanics (48%) in between. The overall upward trend of intermarriage has masked some group differences in the past few years.
Of the 254 divorced women surveyed, only 27% said they regretted their divorce. However, as for men, 39% of the 206 ex-husbands report they regret leaving their wives.
Usually, it seems as though the woman is the one who gets the better end of the deal. While many men are quick to say that their ex-wives took everything, including the dog—or that is what many country songs lead you to believe, anyway—the truth is that women often fare worse in a divorce.
Though men can feel financially stressed after the divorce because they may have to pay alimony, child support, move out to another home, and generally spend more every month, many studies suggest that the economic impact of divorce adversely impacts women more than men.
Infidelity, arguing, infertility, and lack of commitment are some of the top reasons for divorce in the world. There's usually more than one cause of divorce, though. Most divorce reasons are preventable, though, when both partners are in love and willing to spend time and energy in solving the differences.
While there are numerous divorce studies with conflicting statistics, the data points to two periods during a marriage when divorces are most common: years 1 – 2 and years 5 – 8. During those two high-risk timeframes, two years in particular that stand out as the most common years for divorce — years 7 and 8.
Research has found the most common reasons people give for their divorce are lack of commitment, too much arguing, infidelity, marrying too young, unrealistic expectations, lack of equality in the relationship, lack of preparation for marriage, and abuse.
They may go to work, visit friends, or run errands to keep their minds and bodies busy. However, during the night, when there are long hours of alone time, the brain refocuses on the emotions and thoughts of grief. Thus, one of the reasons why grief gets worse at night is because there are no distractions.
“There are likely several reasons for this,” she says. “Men are not reinforced or socialized for emotional communication the same way as women, relationships may often have a different functionality for men, and men at a certain younger age may not feel the same pressure about family planning and marriage.”
Several studies show that men experience more depression, distress, and anxiety after breakups than women do. Men might like to come across as being tougher than overcooked steak after a breakup, but the truth is that they're actually more the consistency of jelly.
The seven-year itch or 7-year itch refers to the notion that divorce rates reach their height around the seven-year mark of commitment. While this concept has been widely disputed, it is a concern that plagues many if they start experiencing marital issues seven years into their relationship.