why does spread not show up on separation studio 4

From this perspective, externally imposed stressors, such as financial strain, for example, might potentiate the risk of divorce ( Conger et al., 1990 Sayer & Bianchi, 2000). Some of this work posits marriage as a form of social exchange, whereby internal benefits (sex) and costs (time) are calculated and weighed relative to external costs (money) and benefits (social approval) ( Becker, 1991).

But does such a process play out more generally?Ī great deal of work in sociological theory addresses the determinants of marriage and the bases of divorce. But they also raise questions about whether there is an “epidemic” of divorce and, if so, whether there is a role of social contagion in this “epidemic.” Anecdotal examples of miniature “epidemics” among celebrity networks abound, including the announced divorces of Al Gore and his daughter around the same time. These numbers matter because the individual health and welfare consequences for those who get divorced and the influence of divorce on subsequent child development can be significant. Moreover, remarriage, while common, tends to be even less successful than first marriage, resulting in higher rates of divorce with each successive trip down the aisle (Krieder & Fields 2002). Overall, the results suggest that attending to the health of one’s friends’ marriages may serve to support and enhance the durability of one’s own relationship, and that, from a policy perspective, divorce should be understood as a collective phenomenon that extends beyond those directly affected.Īccording to the National Center for Health Statistics ( Bramlett & Mosher, 2001), about 43% of marriages will end in divorce within the first 15 years of marriage, and, as of 2007, the annual incidence of divorce stands at 36 per 1,000 people (National Vital Statistics Reports, 2007). Interestingly, the presence of children does not influence the likelihood of divorce, but each child reduces the susceptibility to being influenced by peers who get divorced. Popular people are less likely to get divorced, divorcees have denser social networks, and they are much more likely to remarry other divorcees. Clusters of divorces extend to two degrees of separation in the network. The results suggest that divorce can spread between friends.

To explore how social networks influence divorce and vice versa, we exploit a longitudinal data set from the long-running Framingham Heart Study. Divorce represents the dissolution of a social tie, but it is also possible that attitudes about divorce flow across social ties.

Why does spread not show up on separation studio 4