One’s chances of divorce may be tied more to nature than nurture

On Behalf of | Mar 29, 2018 | Divorce, Firm News |

A recent university study indicated that a person’s chances of getting divorced in New York or elsewhere may not be tied solely to his or her environment during childhood. Rather, genetics may have a lot to do with his or her inclination to get a divorce. The results of the study were published in a psychological journal in January of this year.

The study involved investigating about 20,000 adopted children as well as their biological parents. Researchers compared the marital breakup rates of these children with those of their parents, focusing only on children who were adopted before 10 years old. The researcher estimated that the children of biological parents who had split up had about a 20 percent higher chance of getting divorced as well. Meanwhile, having adoptive parents who were divorced did not have any impact on the children.

In addition, the researchers compared adopted children’s likelihood of divorcing with that of biological sisters and brothers with whom the adopted children did not grow up, as well as that of the adoptive siblings with whom they did grow up. Again, the researchers found biology to be a factor. In other words, nature may have more of a bearing on people’s chances of getting divorced than nurture does.

Whether divorce happens due to nature or nurture, one thing is for certain: It is generally not a pleasant experience. However, if two divorcing spouses can see eye to eye on how to handle divorce matters such as property division or alimony, they may be able to achieve a mutually satisfactory agreement without further court intrusion. An attorney in New York can help a divorcing spouse through this process, ensuring that his or her rights are protected every step of the way.

Source: qz.com, “New study finds genes are more important than environment for predicting divorce“, Dan Kopf March, March 23, 2018

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