University of Utah Study Uncovers a New Trend in Divorce Rates by Age

In recent years, the older a woman got married, the less likely she was to end up divorced. But new research conducted at the University of Utah finds that this is no longer the case once women reach their early 30s.

Researchers examined data between 2006 and 2010 from the National Survey of Family Growth. They found that those that married as teenagers still have the highest rates of divorce. But now women who married in their 30s are more likely to get divorced than women who married in their late 20s. From teenage years to about age 32, each additional year of age at marriage reduces the probability of divorce by about 11 percent. But after age 32, the odds of getting divorced increase by a about 5 percent a year.

Author of the study Nicholas Wolfinger, a professor of consumer and family studies at the University of Utah, says that “this is a big change. It’s only recently that 30-something marriages started to incur a higher divorce rate.”

The study, “Want to Avoid Divorce? Wait to Get Married, But Not Too Long,” was published on the website of the Institute for Family Studies of Charlottesville, Virginia. It can be found here.