According to a study conducted by sociologist, Philip Cohen, from the University of Maryland, the economy appears to have a direct impact on divorces.
In 2008, when the economy collapsed, the U.S. divorce rate was at 20.9 divorces per 1,000 women. In 2009, the rate dropped to 19.5 divorces per 1,000 women. In 2010, as the economy began to improve, the rate rose to 19.8.
Cohen theorizes that the lack of money prevents unhappy couples from divorcing and that those couples will simply tough it out until they have the money. “History shows that fluctuations in divorce rates resulting from changing economic conditions may reflect the timing of divorce more than the odds of divorce,” said Cohen.
“This is exactly what happened in the 1930s,” said Andrew Cherlin, a sociologist from Johns Hopkins University. “The divorce rate dropped during the Great Depression not because people were happier with their marriages, but because they couldn’t afford to get divorced.”