Divorce rates shift as every generation comes and passes. People are getting divorced whether they drop, spike, or plateau. And as of 2022, the era with the highest divorce rate, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the baby boomer group (those born between 1946 – 1965).
According to recent divorce surveys, between 1990 and 2012, the divorce rate amongst boomers had more than doubled compared to the previous twelve years.
Even today, the boomer generation – now 65 years or over – divorce rate has gone on to triple. We look at eight reasons why.
They are the Largest Demographic
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The critical reason boomers are the generation getting the most divorces is the sheer size of the demographic. As of 2020, the global rate of boomers is 77 million.
Boomers are the largest Demographic
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As baby boomers make up one of the largest single groups in recorded history, mathematically and statistically, it stands to reason why the divorce rate is so high among them.
They Challenged Social Standards & Norms
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Post-WW2 babies, or baby boomers, were in their prime when one of history’s most prominent social and cultural shifts occurred.
They Challenged Social Standards & Norms
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During the 1960s, young people were revolutionized by a series of factors (most prominently, the invention of the birth control pill), which changed how the generation viewed many traditions (including marriage and divorce) and enabled them to live a more autonomous, unconventional life.
The Attitude Towards Marital Values Shifted
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Simply put, boomers did not want what their parents had and didn’t want to conform.
The Attitude Towards Marital Values Shifted
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Often referred to as the “Me Generation,” boomers revolted against expected traditions in favor of what they wanted to do.
Women Began Earning Their Own Income
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Before the 1960s, women having careers was virtually unheard of. So much so it was even illegal for a woman to have a bank account before the sixties. They also weren’t able to attain financial credit until the creation of the Equal Credit Act was passed in 1974.
Women Began Earning Their Own Income
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This shift predominantly affected the boomer generation, seeing women “in droves” entering the workplace to have their own income and no longer needing a man to earn her keep.
Child-Rearing & Reproduction
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Until the 1960s, it was expected that any pregnant woman should be married to – or should quickly wed – the man who fathered the child.
Child-Rearing & Reproduction
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Owing to the invention of the contraceptive pill, women could then enjoy autonomy with sexual pleasure. In addition, they could control when and if they wanted to bring children.
Less Stigma
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It wasn’t until the latter half of the twentieth century that the word “divorce” finally shed its stigma of shame, sin, and failure.
Less Stigma
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Due to religious reasons, divorce was widely considered unacceptable – even for unhappy or abusive marriages – and wasn’t as easy to attain as post-1960s. Words like “irreconcilable differences” were unheard of.
Behavior Tolerance
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Women’s rights and feminist movements were in full effect when boomer women were in their prime years and becoming less tolerant of marital affairs and abuse.
These movements saw more liberty for women than ever before, meaning they were no longer suffering in awful marriages for the sake of finances, religion, or societal pressure.
Changes in the Law
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Boomers rode the first wave of the “no-fault divorce” age, which meant those wanting out of marriage no longer had to provide substantial evidence and reason as to why.
Changes in the Law
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Instead, they could bail out of marriage simply because they wanted to – making divorce more accessible.
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