In the US, which is the country with the highest number of divorces, its divorce rate fell by 18% from 2008 to 2016. Despite this, however, divorce uptrend remains an everyday reality. Various reasons are thought to be behind couples' separation. This article will detail the major causes of divorce.
According to the United Nations, America has the third-highest divorce rate in the world, with the Maldives having the highest rate at 10.97 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants annually. With 4.63 divorces per 1,000 people, Belarus has the second-highest divorce rate in the world after the US.
Figures show that in 2017, approximately 787,251 divorces were granted in America, meaning one-half million people divorce each year.
Although the global divorce rate decreased by 18% between 2008 and 2016, divorce still affects over 40% of marriages, and 1 million couples split each year.
As the numbers vary year after year, statistics further show a constant rise. Also, figures show that 60% of second marriages and over 70% of third marriages end up divorced.
Meanwhile, in a survey of 2 371 divorces, half of love and intimacy make it the major causes of divorce, according to feminine.com.
The Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, released in 2020, indicated the lack of passion as a sign of the troubles in marriage.
One of the major causes of divorce, according to Terry Gaspard, a licenced clinical social worker and author of The Remarriage Manual, is a lack of emotional and sexual intimacy.
According to Terry, emotional and sexual closeness go hand in hand. Without these components, relationships frequently end because the partners don't feel connected.
Furthermore, according to LawMayHelp.com, marriages survive on intimacy and sex. When a marriage loses its intimacy, it begins to suffer, and the partners may start acting like roommates. According to the lawyer's blog, "One spouse is not getting their sexual needs met, so they go for sex elsewhere, which results in adultery and divorce."
The Social Organization of Sexuality report published in 1994 (still valid) reported that up to 20% of married couples see a reduction in the frequency of sex in their relationship. Most of them report having a sexless marriage which might be triggered by health issues and mental health problems and lead to the sexless relationship in the end. Whatever the cause, you need to determine it to take the necessary step to revive intimacy.
In other ways, experts believe sex is not only a way to express intimacy, but it must go hand in hand with physical and emotional intimacy. Experts argue physical intimacy might go hand in hand with kissing, hugging, cuddling, and holding hands.
Emotional intimacy is a major cause of divorce, and according to the family attorney, Mary Quinn, a US-based family attorney, communication is the basis of the marriage. Without it, the foundation of marriage is put on trial. "Lack of effective communication can lead to nasty or snide comments, feelings of isolation and eventually the breakdown of the relationship," she writes in her blog.
Besides emotional intimacy as a major cause of divorce, she asserts there are other serious causes, including financial hurdles.
She writes in her article Why Do We Get A divorce, that financial hurdles are among the major causes of divorce if it reaches a point where couples are struck with a lack of enough money to pay the bills, which are likely to come with gambling and substance abuse and stir disputes over who could control the money.