University of Helsinki - Research news
New research on divorce risk
Marika Jalovaara's recent doctoral dissertation deals with the impact of socio-economic status on divorce.
"International studies on divorce have pointed to women working outside the home as a major reason for marriages failing, as it makes women less financially dependent on men. Finland is an interesting research object in this respect, as it is the norm for women to work here," says Marika Jalovaara, a sociologist and demographic researcher whose recent doctoral dissertation deals with the impact of socio-economic status on divorce.
Jalovaara found that the risk of divorce is low if both spouses work outside the home or if the wife does domestic work while the husband has a salaried job. The risk is also reduced if both spouses are highly educated. The risk of divorce increases with factors such as unemployment or living in rented accommodation.
"Surprisingly, the risk of divorce also increases if the wife earns more than the husband, though the opposite is true if it is the husband who earns more," says Jalovaara. Thus, women's financial independence has some effect on the risk of divorce even in Finland. Nevertheless, few women have high incomes.
While socio-economic factors do not cause divorce as such, they are a contributing factor. As an example, if you are unemployed, that may undermine your degree of happiness with your relationship. Financial dependency may prove an obstacle to divorce, while any investments that a couple have made together, for instance in buying a home, tend to make them less prone to divorce. There are also other background factors: your childhood family has an influence over the choices you make both in education and in relationships.
Jalovaara worked with register material containing data on hundreds of thousands of marriages from the beginning of the 1990s. This provides more extensive and reliable material than the surveys conducted elsewhere. Jalovaara¿s next project will focus on common-law spouses and on how people enter into marriage.
"The new material contains the entire relationship history of individuals over a long period of time. It is almost as complex as life itself."
Text: Tiina Männistö
Photo: Niina Viitanen
Translation: Valtasana Oy
