The Key To Not Getting Divorced Might Be Marrying Between 25 And 32

As you probably guessed, waiting to tie the knot could potentially prevent your marriage from resulting in divorce.

However, the answer to a successful marriage is a little more complicated than just prolonging the commitment as long as possible.

Researchers used to think how old you are when you marry and your risk of divorce had a nearly linear relationship, but it turns out, that hypothesis is no longer completely true.

In a new study published for the Institute for Family Studies, Nicholas H. Wolfinger found, as previously suspected, people who married in their teens and early 20s were at higher risk for divorce.

More surprisingly, Wolfinger also found people who married in their late 20s were less likely to get divorced than those who married in their early 30s.

The study reaffirmed couples in their teens and early 20s do not have the emotional maturity to face the challenges associated with such complex relationships -- they are still changing at such a rapid rate.

In fact, according to Wolfinger,

Someone who marries at 25 is over 50 percent less likely to get divorced than is someone who weds at age 20.

And aside from immaturity, youth is also associated with a lower level of education -- another common factor in divorce.

As you approach your 30s, your coping mechanisms, maturity and economic stability are more likely to be high enough to maintain a happy marriage.

For this study, Wolfinger collected data from 2006 to 2010 from the National Survey of Family Growth, and the data analysis showed before the age of about 32, "each additional year of age at marriage reduces the odds of divorce by 11 percent."

In previous studies, the divorce rate for people entering their 30s fell flat or declined, but Wolfinger's new study shows that relationship changed: The divorce rate now increases by five percent for every year after the age of 32 that someone decides to get married.

While there isn't a clear-cut answer as to why the divorce rate of those in their 30s rose, Wolfinger believes -- aside from education, religion, race, sexual history and family history -- the easiest way to associate the higher rate of divorce may actually be based on the personality traits of those who choose to wait.

In his findings, he stated,

The kinds of people who wait till their [30s] to get married may be the kinds of people who aren't predisposed toward doing well in their marriages. For instance, some people seem to be congenitally cantankerous. Such people naturally have trouble with interpersonal relationships. Consequently they delay marriage, often because they can't find anyone willing to marry them.

Wolfinger admits this may not be the most ideal and verified explanation, but he plans to focus his future research on that hypothesis to find out.

It looks like people may finally have to take accountability for being assh*les!

Citations: Want to Avoid Divorce Wait to Get Married But Not Too Long (Family Studies)