Marital stability in Germany: Historical trends and divorce risks

Abstract

The article describes the extent of divorces in Germany, deals with the risks of divorce from a sociological point of view, and addresses the question of whether high divorce rates are a social problem. Although divorce rates have declined in recent years, one third of all marriages are still annulled. High divorce rates are a social problem especially as children of divorced parents can be disadvantaged because of their family background, i.e. by birth. Important social divorce risks include a lack of material and immaterial investment in the marriage, low embedding of the marriage in a religious or traditional context and attractive alternatives to an existing marriage. In addition, people who have already experienced divorce (be it parental or personal marriage) tend to have unstable marriages. In this respect, the risk of divorce is not only transferred between the generations but second or third marriages are more susceptible to divorce than first marriages. Finally, there are indications that chronic routine daily burdens, for example due to the employment situation, can lead to alienation of the partners and thus to separation.