People who wait until after their early 30s to get married are far more likely to end up getting a divorce.
The shocking news comes as a result of new research conducted by Nicholas Wolfinger, a sociologist at the University of Utah, who analyzed data from the National Survey of Family Growth in order to best determine what age people face the greatest risk of divorce.
According to him, the chances of your marriage ending divorce are greatly reduced if you marry in your mid- to late- twenties, however as soon as you hit the age of 32, the odds swing the other way, with the risk of divorce increasing by more than five per cent every year.
‘My data analysis shows that prior to age 32 or so, each additional year of age at marriage reduces the odds of divorce by 11 percent,” Mr Wolfinger explained in his report.
‘However, after that the odds of divorce increase by 5 per cent per year.’
This is, however, a new trend.
Looking back at data from the 1990s, Mr Wolfinger noted that couples who waited until they were older before committing to marriage were at a much lower risk of divorce than those who jumped the gun and decided to wed at an early age.
Indeed, back in the 1990s, the odds that someone would end up getting divorced continued declining the longer that person waited to marry – with no sign that the risks ever began increasing.
Nowadays, however, it’s a different story.
In the modern day, more people wait until they are older before marrying, be it because they want to commit to their careers, or because they are eager to save some money before splashing out on a big ceremony.
Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Kanye West – who married at in Florence, Italy, in May last year, when she was 33 and he was 36 – and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – who wed in an intimate ceremony in Correns, France, in August 2014 at the ages of 50 and 39, respectively – are therefore, according to Mr Wolfinger, more likely to end up in divorce than those who chose to marry when younger.
But as for the reasons behind the statistics, Mr Wolfinger drew a blank – but noted that he tested whether there was any change in the results based on personal characteristics and basic demographics, such as race, religion, sexual history, family background, and geography, and saw no change.
‘This is the $64,000 question,’ Mr Wolfinger told Slate about the mysterious results. ‘I honestly don’t have a great explanation. What I know for certain is it has happened.’
–
Source: Daily Mail