Baby boomer marriages are having a best of times/worst of times moment.
Despite the overall divorce rate in the United States dropping during the past two decades, the rate of couples divorcing after age 50 has doubled.
In 1990, fewer than 10 percent of divorces included spouses age 50 or older, according to a National Center for Family and Marriage Research study out of Bowling Green State University. Today, boomers account for more than 25 percent of divorces. Bad news, right?
Researchers and sociologists cite a handful of arguably positive factors for the statistics: longer life spans, more financial stability for women, a higher standard for happy coupling.
Still, ideally, marriage experts say, more couples will find a way to capitalize on the evolution of marital roles and norms without feeling like they’ve got to throw in the towel.
See Wednesday’s Family section of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more about the state of baby boomer marriages.