Local divorces high; rate falls

BY TERRY FLORES tflores@kenoshanews.com 

    Fewer people are divorcing, but despite national reports the recession is keeping couples together, it’s more likely due to fewer marriages, local experts say.

    Kenosha County ranks ninth among 72 counties in Wisconsin with 505 divorces granted in 2008, according to the most recent data provided by the state Department of Human Services this week. That same year, 727 couples married. Although the current divorce figure is considered high, it also represents the fewest number over the last decade. In 2005, the county topped out at 633 divorces, compared with 782 marriages.

    Gary Brown, executive director of Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services said one major reason there have been fewer divorces has to do with fewer people marrying.

    “Going way back to the state’s data several decades ago you saw that ratio at 9-to-1, that’s nine marriages for every one divorce,” Brown said.

    Last year, the ratio of marriages to divorces in Kenosha County was 1.44-to-1. In 1992, that ratio was 2.16 marriagesto-1. It’s not a surprising trend, however, Brown said.

    According to 1990 Census data, out of the 47,029 total number of households in Kenosha County, 26,925, or 57.3 percent, were married couples. Fast-forward to a decade later, and the percentage of married households drops to 52.7 percent, or 29,561 compared to 56,057 total households. Census data shows that three-year average points to a downward trend in married households once again.

Marriage the minority

    “My guess is that this will drop probably in the next three to four years, or sooner, to where the percentage of married couple households will be below 50 percent,” he said.

    In the future, the decline of married couple households will also be affected by Baby Boomers whose spouses have died or the couples themselves will divorce. Kenosha County also reflects nationwide trends with the growing number of single-parent head of households, primarily led by women, and more couples will be living together, unmarried.

    While many counties nationwide have also reported more couples staying married for financial reasons in the current recession, local family agencies and counseling services said the reasons for staying married vary.

    Kathryn Aalto, a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist, said she is finding that more couples she counsels are dropping out of therapy because they cannot afford it.

    “What all of us are seeing is that maybe a couple is in counseling, but then the husband loses his job and then they have no health insurance. That concerns me because if they were having problems and working to get their marriage repaired then, if they can’t afford counseling would they stay together because they don’t have a choice? And would that be good or bad?” she said. “Or will they somehow figure it out on their own?”

    Aalto said economics has always been a issue for most married couples.

    “That’s because a lot of couples will stay together because they can’t afford to divorce,” she said.

Three major factors

    Among the top three issues that arise in couples experiencing marital problems include money, not enough positive attention from one or both spouses, and housework. Unique to Kenosha County, she said, is the commuter environment that can add to stress in a relationship and leave little time to be a couple.

    “Before the marriage many are focusing on making the other happy — the relationship is a priority,” she said. “Then after you get married, it seems that all the responsibilities of work and family life, money and how to spend it and then eventually the TV, the computer, video games become more important (than the relationship).”

    Brown said children in unmarried households face a higher risk of abuse and neglect.

    “For the adults, choosing not to marry is probably best just for the adults. But the growing body of research shows it is not necessarily the best choice for a child. The ideal situation is having parents who dedicate themselves to their children,” he said.

    Brown also believes the bad economy isn’t necessarily responsible for keeping couples together, either.

    “If the husband loses his job and the woman has to be more of the sole provider, then that can be factor that can lead to divorce,” he said. “It can go either way.”

Source: Bureau of Health Information and Policy, Division of KENOSHA NEWS Public Health, Department of Health and Family Services.