MARRIAGE DISSOLUTION IN AUSTRALIA - MODELS AND EXPLANATIONS

Interest in rising rates of marriage dissolution has been accompanied by curiosity concerning structural as well as temporal predictors of d issolution' Many factors may play a part: characteristics of the bride and groom; the circumstances surrounding the marriage, such as the le ngth of periods of previous cohabitation; and situational factors with in the marriage, such as the births of children and wives' employment. We examine the association between these factors and marriage dissolu tion, and use event-history data from a nationally representative samp le survey of Australian women. The risk of marriage dissolution increa sed dramatically over the lives of our respondents. Year of birth, and age at marriage provide the most parsimonious characterization of the temporal correlates of marriage dissolution. Characteristics that wer e fixed by the time of marriage provide additional explanatory leverag e. However, the most potent predictors of marriage dissolution are rel ated to characteristics of the unfolding marriage itself; namely, patt erns of employment, home-ownership, and region of residence.