Women More Likely Than Men to Say They've Been Divorced

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Mar. 10-12, 2006, finds that 30% of adult Americans say they have been divorced at some point in their lifetimes. Gallup asked the same question in 1985, at which time 23% said they had been divorced.

Among those who say they have been divorced in their lifetimes, 46% are currently married, 36% are single, 8% are living together with a partner, 8% are widowed, and 3% say they are currently separated.

The results of this question show interesting differences by demographic subgroups. Americans who are most likely to say they have been divorced include women, adults between the ages of 50 and 64, and those without a college degree. Political attitudes, ideology, and partisanship have no significant relationship to divorce as measured in this survey.

Gender and Age

Women (35%) are more likely than men (24%) to say they have divorced at some point in their lifetimes. There are slightly more women than men in the adult population, but this does not, in and of itself, help explain why women would be more likely to have been divorced. The gender difference could mean a greater prevalence of multiple divorces among men, or the fact that women tend to live longer than men and therefore have more time in which to get divorced. (The poll did not ask people for the number of times they have been divorced.)

Americans aged 50 to 64 are most likely to report having been divorced, with 44% saying they have been divorced at some point in their life. This compares with 11% of 18- to 34-year-olds, 34% of 35- to 49-year-olds, and 30% of adults aged 65 and older. The poll does not reveal any direct explanation for the drop in divorces among those aged 65 and older, but it may be due to the fact that divorces were less commonplace many years ago.

Among younger Americans (18- to 49-years-old), women are twice as likely as men to report being divorced (31% vs. 15%, respectively). In the older age group (50 and older), there are only minor differences in reports of divorce between men (35%) and women (40%).

Education

College graduates are less likely than those without a college degree to report having been divorced in their lifetimes. Nearly one in four college graduates (24%) say they have been divorced, while more than one-third of those who have not finished college say they've been divorced, an increase of 12 percentage points.

Political Attitudes

Despite the fact that conservatives and Republicans are more closely aligned with the "sanctity of marriage" positions, the divorce incidence among both of these groups is basically the same as those with other political orientations.

Income

Americans residing in lower income households appear slightly more likely to report having been divorced than those in higher income households. But, due to the smaller samples sizes of these income groups, the results fall within the poll's margin of sampling error.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,001 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Mar. 10-12, 2006. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.