Finding and Interpreting the Reasons
Finding the Reasons for Divorce
Individual questions can be found in the Divorced Data Packet, in the Reasons for Divorce section.
Interpreting the Reasons for Divorce
In our divorced subsample, the most common reasons for divorce were that the couple grew apart, that the wife lost interest, that one or both spouses were involved in other things, and that one or both spouses were difficult to live with. All partners answered most similarly to "thought everything was fine" and "couple grew apart"; thus, your couple's responses to these two responses are probably not particularly informative. The items that seemed to differentiate most clearly were fault-based, focusing on whether a spouse had an affair or became too interested in other things; respondents also seemed differentiated in terms of whether or not they labeled the marriage as "wrong from the beginning."
In your analysis, discuss any of the items you find interesting or informative. Also answer the following questions: Did your couple tend to place blame? Did they perceive the marriage as wrong from the beginning? Why do you think they had those perceptions? How closely related were your couple's reasons? Why do you think the reasons they cite are similar or different?