Are Divorces ‘Contagious’?

Are divorces “contagious”? Last week, the New York Post had an interesting story about how divorces may be increasing among groups of people, as the public sees friends seeking them out.

Buried inside the story was an interesting statistic. According to the Post, a 2014 joint study from Brown University, Yale University and the University of California, San Diego, found that people are 75 percent more likely to be divorced if one of their friends is divorced.

Does this mean that divorce is “contagious”?

It could be very possible that most American’s simply know someone who is divorced. Ask yourself—do you know someone who is divorced? It is our guess that a majority of adults reading this post do.

“Many copycatters want to get divorced but don’t have the guts to go through with the humongous, life-changing, emotional roller coaster of an event — made even more complicated if kids are involved,” the Post reported. “But seeing their friends’ do it first gives people the strength to follow suit — and the reassurance that it’s possible for everything to work out OK.”

This, in a very general sense, may be true; however, we would not define someone seeking a divorce as a “copycatter” or label the act as “contagious”.

If you are thinking about a divorce, and you have friends who are divorced, common sense would indicate that you might turn to them as an example for support and/or guidance.

Should I Get Divorced?

Many people are simply in unhappy, unbalanced or unsupportive marriages in this country. You may have heard the statistic that 50 percent of marriages end in divorce—while this number is hard to corroborate, it is true that a sizable percentage of marriages do end.

It is not our place to tell you whether you should seek a divorce; however, we can help you out with the legal process if you believe that you want one. Many delicate issues go into getting a divorce. Items including the division of marital assets, alimony and child custody can cause contention.

While these issues may be divisive, with experienced counsel, they can be resolved. Simply put, you should not stay in a marriage because of some stigma that divorce is embarrassing or contagious.

Let our attorneys help you if you are thinking about divorcing your spouse. Our family law offices in New York or New Jersey can be reached through our online contact form.

Kantrowitz, Goldhamer, Graifman, Perlmutter & Carballo, P.C. – Rockland County Divorce Attorneys

Source: http://nypost.com/2014/07/05/why-divorce-might-be-contagious/