It used to be that the longer a couple waits to get married, the less likely they are to get divorced; but a new study suggests that it's not always the case.
Nicolas Wolfinger, a sociologist at University of Utah, studied data running from 2006 to 2010 and found that people who get married in the late 20s were less likely to end their marriage compared to those who wait until their 30s to get hitched.
"My data analysis shows that prior to age 32 or so, each additional year of age at marriage reduces the odds of divorce by 11 percent," Wolfinger wrote in a blog post in the Institute for Family Studies.
He also added that past the said age, the likelihood of divorce increases by five percent every year.
It's no surprise that teens who marry early are at high risk for divorce since they don't have the maturity to handle a married life, Wolfinger wrote. But, why does waiting until the late 30s increase the odds of divorce, when people in that age tend to have a more stable life and are matured enough to handle marriage?
It's not clear as to why that is so, but Wolfinger has some theories. The sociologist said that he is betting on the "selection effect."
Those who wait to reach 30s before getting married may be people who are not inclined to do well in a married life.
"Consequently they delay marriage, often because they can't find anyone willing to marry them," the blog post stated.
"It's also possible that some of the modern alternatives to marriage are too successful at siphoning people out of the marriage pool," Wolfinger said, describing another theory.
He added that those who are in their thirty-something and would have made good candidates for a married life now feel that they are simply comfortable living a single life or moving in with their partners.
