On behalf of The Marks Law Firm, L.L.C posted in Divorce on Friday, July 15, 2011
A recent survey reveals unemployment is connected to marriage woes, and residents in St. Louis, Missouri are not exempt from the results.
A study at Ohio State University found 75 percent of women don’t want to marry an unemployed man. It also found that a man’s unemployment has a negative effect on whether a couple goes through divorce.
The study followed more than 3,600 couples from 1986 through 2003, using data that assessed the relationship between marriage and employment. It asked how people felt about their marriage, employment histories, earnings and what was important to them in their marriage.
Results showed a woman’s employment status has no impact on whether she chooses to divorce, but an unemployed man faces a greater increase his wife will file. In addition, researchers found that an unemployed man is also more likely to leave a marriage.
A professor of sociology at Ohio State University who led the researchers said she believes the findings stem from institutionalized, traditional gender roles. Despite changes in society over recent years, men are often still considered to be breadwinners, while women are looked at as caregivers.
In cases in which both spouses work, with the woman making more money than her husband, results were the same: divorce was more likely, said the professor.
She said the findings show how marriage is changing and what people today value in marital partners.
As people consider the possibility of divorce, one of the most important factors they ponder will be how a divorce would change not only their emotional health, but their financial health as well.
Source: Huffington Post: “Unemployment-Divorce Study: Behind The Ohio State University Paper Linking Male Joblessness With Marital Strife”: July 1, 2011