The Sydney Morning Herald reported recently that Australians are divorcing less than they did six years ago.

Today's divorce rate of 2.5 per 1,000 people is down slightly from 2.9 per 1,000 in 2001.

I'm not sure this is good news, as fewer divorces doesn't mean more long-term happy unions.

The slight decline in Australia — and in the U.S. — is due to several factors:

1. A decline in the number of marriages, possibly resulting in fewer divorces.
2. The practice of co-habiting has grown.
3. There is a decrease in the tendency of divorced persons to remarry.

Still, one in three Australian marriages end in divorce. The most likely divorce candidates are in marriages just over twelve years, men aged 40-44, and women 35-39.

For men it may be a mid-life crisis: they aren't achieving their life goals, and seek new adventures with younger partners. A third of all Australian divorces occur in marriages of five years or less.

While Australian divorces follow the same trend of Western countries, the U.S. still has the highest rate of divorce. Despite a slight decline, the U.S. rate is between 40-50% of marriages. Experts believe that young people marrying for the first time are at the greatest risk for divorce during the first five years of marriage.

In the U.S., marriage rates have declined almost 50% since 1970, from 76.5 per 1,000 to 39.9 per 1,000, at the end of 2006. In 2005, 51% of women were living without a spouse. Women and men are waiting longer to marry.

You may think cohabitation is the way out if you want to avoid divorce, but it's not sure-fire: co-habiting couples have twice the break up rate of married couples. (We just don't call it a divorce.)

In the end, there is only one sure-fire way to avoid divorce: Don't get married.

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First Wives World readers have already learned that divorce rates in England have declined about 7%. Could this be happening in the U.S. too?

Dr. Janet Belsky, Professor of Psychology and an expert on life span development suggests that the 50/50 divorce ratio in the U.S. is leaning more in favor of marital success than it did before. She attributes this to an aging population, since people tend to divorce when they are younger.

I'm not so sure about this: We hear of many divorces taking place after 25 years, when children have left home. Research cited in the New York Times, however, shows about 60% of all divorces occur during the first decade of marriage.

There also seems to be a correlation between divorce and education. Data shows that the divorce rate for college graduates during the first 10 years of marriage dropped to 16% for those married between 1990 and 1994.

When Dr. Belsky polled her students at Middle Tennessee State University, she found that 50% had divorced parents and grew up in single-parent homes. Students, well aware of the divorce statistics, express an unwillingness to marry at a young age, preferring to put off marriage until they're well-established in their career. Marriage comes last as an "adult transition," sometimes after the decision to have children.

Divorce rates may be affected as people postpone marriage; it's true that waiting to marry may result in lower chances of getting married. If fewer people marry, it's likely to affect divorce rates.

I'm not so sure, though, about the aging population explanation. I just don't believe that getting married in later life necessarily results in fewer divorces.

Whatever the reason, if the divorce rate is really leveling off, it's a good thing. What do you think?

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I just read a piece by a couple's financial advisor who wrote about the psychological and economic impact of divorce. After listing reasons why divorce is so expensive, emotionally and financially, he advised couples to "avoid divorce at all costs." I don't agree.

This suggestion may have merit in some splits, but not in all cases. Married people agree that marriages and relationships change, precluding the bliss of courtship days. He believes that problem marriages can survive with dedicated effort and good counseling. Perhaps some marriages can be saved but say you're married to a drug or alcohol abuser, those tendencies may never be changed. Anger management classes can improve physically abusive behavior, but in some cases women and children must escape that environment.

Couples that see divorce as their best recourse will realize that the cost of the procedure almost matches the emotional anguish. Why does divorce cost so much?

Marriage is an economic partnership which requires complicated steps to undo. Two households must be maintained along with the attendant household expenses. Attorneys fees, appraisals, if there is real estate, the splitting of investments and court costs add up. An assessment of the income and earning capacities of each party must be made. Child support, day care, health and educational expenses must be allocated to each party. Neither party walks away unscathed.

The sad thing is that divorce leaves women and their children more economically disadvantaged than men. No matter how you slice the pie, I have found that women and children usually end up with the smallest slice. Women and children can be extremely economically dependent upon men.

Saving a marriage is one route and divorce may be the ultimate step, regardless of economic consequences. What do you think?
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