The Effects of Marriage Partners' Socio-Economic Positions on the Risk of Divorce in Finland

Finnish Yearbook of of Population Research XLIII 2007 Supplement

The high and increasing incidence of divorce, with the various consequences for adults and children, has aroused much interest in understanding the contributory factors. This study focuses on the effects of marriage partners’ socio-economic positions on the risk of divorce. The analyses are based on register-based follow-up data from Statistics Finland on first marriages in Finland that were intact at the end of 1990 and divorces in 1991–93.

The study provides important new knowledge about socio-economic divorce risk differentials in the Western world where men and women are becoming increasingly similar in their economic and domestic roles.