When you track divorce trends, you can find all sorts of interesting statistics. One that you may have heard is that those with a lower level of education tend to get divorced more often — or, put another way, a higher level of education reduces the odds of divorce.
However, divorce seems to have nothing to do with education. Why does it matter if you have a four-year college degree or a GED or a doctorate? If you’re getting divorced because you and your spouse have drifted apart over the years — or because they had an affair, because they struggle with addiction or for almost any other reason — it doesn’t seem like education would play a role.
The education itself does not. However, the factors that it brings with it may. For instance, the more education someone has, the longer they were likely in school. That means they’re probably getting married later in life than someone with less education, and we do know that waiting to get married often makes the marriage more stable.
Another issue is financial security. A doctor may be less likely to get divorced, not because he or she went to school for so long, but because being a doctor brings in a very nice salary in the United States. That financial security makes the marriage more stable than may be true for someone with less education and a lower-paying job — or no job at all.
What is clear is that there are a lot of details to consider with every divorce. No matter what your situation, make sure you are well aware of your legal rights. There are different routes you can take toward divorce, and it’s important to understand all of the factors that may affect your future.