Marital instability after midlife.

"Divorce in later life has been shown to produce dramatic declines in the economic, psychological, and physical well-being of marital partners. This study examines the prevalence and determinants of marital disruption after midlife using Becker's theory of marital instability. Using recent Canadian national data, the marital outcomes of women and men who were married as of age 40 are tracked across the remaining years of the marriage. Cox proportional hazard regression models indicate stabilizing effects of the duration of the marriage, the age at first marriage, the presence of young children, as well as of remarriage for middle-aged and older persons. Other significant risk factors include education, heterogamous marital status, premarital cohabitation, number of siblings, and region." excerpt