Research shows divorce can be predicted
Divorce rates around the world have been increasing for the past 100 years. Looking at the link between divorce and poorer health, happiness, and higher premature mortality, researchers from Hebrew University have announced that it may be possible to determine divorce rates based on culture and personal values, and thus prevent unwanted divorces.
Cultural and personal values interact to predict divorce | Communications Psychology
Divorce can be predicted by interactions between cultural and personal values, study finds
Sally Mensah and her colleagues at Hebrew University of Jerusalem hypothesized that differences in cultural and personal values between spouses may be related to divorce, and investigated how these two values interact.
Cultural values are essentially beliefs tied to societal norms and may value individual freedom, social stability and tradition, while personal values are the beliefs held by an individual, for example one person may value independence, new experiences and pleasure, while another may value tradition and social conformity.
Mensah and his colleagues analyzed data collected in three previous archival studies involving more than 100,000 participants from more than 55 countries around the world, focusing on responses from these participants regarding relationships and divorce.
The results showed that people whose cultural values prioritize autonomy (individual freedom) have a higher divorce rate, while those whose cultural values prioritize social stability and tradition have a lower divorce rate.
Similarly, people whose personal values emphasize independence, novelty, and pleasure are more likely to divorce, while those who value tradition and social harmony are less likely to divorce.
Based on these results, Mensah and his colleagues write, 'We found that divorce was more likely and justified in countries that emphasized the value of autonomy and among people who emphasized the value of hedonism. Conversely, divorce was less likely to be justified among individuals who emphasized tradition and conformity.'
The survey yielded a number of indicators, including 'self-directedness,' 'stimulation,' 'hedonism,' and 'tradition,' and Mensah and his colleagues reported that it may be possible to predict the likelihood of divorce based on how different spouses' values are.
Mensah and his colleagues said, 'The more autonomy a culture places on people's lives, the stronger the influence of personal values on divorce. This suggests that cultural and personal values interact with each other. Understanding the role of values in divorce may be helpful in choosing a spouse.'
in Science, Posted by log1p_kr