Women's Changing Attitudes Toward Divorce, 1974–2002: Evidence for an Educational Crossover

Abstract

This article examines trends in divorce attitudes of young adult women in the United States by educational attainment from 1974 to 2002. Women with 4‐year college degrees, who previously had the most permissive attitudes toward divorce, have become more restrictive in their attitudes toward divorce than high school graduates and women with some college education, whereas women with no high school diplomas have increasingly permissive attitudes toward divorce. We examine this educational crossover in divorce attitudes in the context of variables correlated with women's educational attainment, including family attitudes and religion, income and occupational prestige, and family structure. We conclude that the educational crossover in divorce attitudes is associated most strongly with work and family structure variables.

European views of divorce among parents of young children

“…First, a compositional effect may be operative, with countries with higher proportions of religious people having-on average-a more negative view on divorce in the presence of young children. Several studies have shown that religious beliefs and behaviour are associated with lower degrees of support for divorce (Thornton 1985(Thornton , 1989Larson and Goltz 1989;Krishnan 1994;Schovanec and Lee 2001;Martin and Parashar 2006). Second, there could be a contextual effect; in countries with a large proportion of religious people the Church may be more effective in propagating its teaching throughout society as a whole than in countries where a small minority of the people is religious.…”

“…Thornton (1985) and Krishnan (1994) studied only women and also found a positive association between education and liberal views towards divorce. Yet, a trend study of divorce attitudes of young adult women in the United States between 1974 and 2002 gives evidence for an educational crossover: Women with 4-year college degrees, who previously had the most permissive attitudes towards divorce, have become more restrictive in their attitudes towards divorce than high school graduates and women with some college education, whereas women with no high school diplomas have increasingly permissive attitudes towards divorce (Martin and Parashar 2006).…”

“…Both American and European studies have examined trends in divorce attitudes (Thornton 1985; Van den Akker, Halman, and De Moor 1994;Thornton and Young-DeMarco 2001;Liefbroer and Fokkema 2008). In addition, studies have examined individual determinants of divorce attitudes (e.g., Thornton 1985;Trent and South 1992;Martin and Parashar 2006), and to a lesser extent also cross-national determinants (Gelissen 2003;Toth and Kemmelmeier 2009). Such research is relevant, not only because attitudes influence behaviour (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975;Fishbein 1977, 1980), but also because widespread negative attitudes may lead to stigmatization of divorcees (Kalmijn and Uunk 2007;Kalmijn 2010).…”

The Influence of Educational Expansion on Partnership Stability: A Cohort Study of First Partnerships in Switzerland

“…Alongside the sheer numerical increase of higher educated groups, that is, there has been a change in the attitudinal composition of these groups. In the US, for instance, the reported attitudes in favor of divorce decreased among highly educated and increased among lowly educated young adult women between 1970 and 2000 (Martin and Parashar 2006). Whether the economic status of educational groups has converged over the same time, however, is a more controversial question.…”

The Responsiveness of Married Women's Labor Force Participation to Income and Wages: Recent Changes and Possible Explanations

“…However, Martin and Parashar (2006) note an "education crossover" in attitudes of younger women, ages 25 to 39, toward divorce. Between 1974 and 2002, women with bachelor's degrees, who previously had the most permissive attitude toward divorce, adopted a more restrictive attitude towards divorce than women with only some college did, while young women with no high school diploma adopted an increasingly permissive attitude.…”