, or modernization, can be positively linked to increasing rates of divorce. They verify previous studies done by Hareven (1976), Lee (1982), and Nimkoff (1965) which concluded, "the evidence from around the world, with few exceptions, points to an increase in family disruption with increasing industrialization and urbanization" (Trent & South, 1989, p. 392). There is a very practical reason for the findings verified by Trent and South. As Riche (1991) points out, "People who can support themselves, and their children, have less need to depend on one another. As economic evolution replaces communal values with individual ones, the family life span shortens" (p. 45). This socioeconomic correlate of the divorce rate is most pronounced in the United States, because the U.S. has the highest marriage rate in the world, and consequently the highest divorce rate in the world (Margolis, 1989, p. 386-387).
With regard to women's labor force participation, Trent and South (1989) found, "Empirical res
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