Lauer & Lauer, 1985).
Another factor that can place marriages at risk for divorce
is age. Teenagers, for example, have higher divorce rates than couples who marry at older ages (Glenn & Kramer, 1987). Also, a marriage is less like to last if the bride is pregnant and has not had a baby before marrying, if both couples have not completed their education and if the parents of both spouses were divorced (Kimmel, 1980; Norton & Moorman, 1987).
Gottman and Krokoff (1989) have also noted that success in marriage is closely associated with the ways partners communicate, make decisions, and deal with conflict. They stated that whining, acting defensive, being stubborn, and withdrawing by walking away or not talking to the spouse are all signs of trouble. But arguing and showing anger as a form of communication) seemed to be good for marriage.
Of the one million divorces taking place each year in the United States, about 70 percent have children (Clarke-Stewart, Friedman and Koch (1990). Counselors will need to help these parents understand that divorce is accompanied by a variety of psychoemotional and social effects on all family members. For example, Furstenberg (1990) reports that the disbanding of the family opens deep emotional wounds for the marital couple, the most major of which are: (1) feelings of emotional distress and isolation; (2) difficulties sleeping and/or eating; (3) altering of perceptions of self and role identity; and (4) financial difficulties and uncertainties.
Krick (1989) conducted a literature review of the Educational Resources and Information Center (ERIC), Psychological Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts International to examine research data and observations concerning the problems faced by males during and after divorce and concluded that men face several major stressors including:
(1) legal stressors, deriving from the grounds for divorce and attorney relationship;
(2) econo...