Study Suggests Pre-Marital Abstinence Reduces Divorce

[cpwill]

I think, especially as we move forward across the decades looked at here, this is most likely not causal, but correlated because both are caused by actual adherence to a moral code that encourages not sleeping around prior to marriage and discourages divorce. In the 1970s, you're going to see some more effects of social pressure/expectation.

A new study has found that women with between zero and one sexual partner are the least likely to divorce later on, with women who had 10 or more partners emerging as the most likely to see their marriages end, according to the Institute for Family Studies.
Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth that was collected in 2002, 2006-2010 and 2011-2013, researchers observed these trends, with the potential ties emerging between the total number of sexual partners and matrimonial dissolutions.

“Earlier research found that having multiple sex partners prior to marriage could lead to less happy marriages, and often increased the odds of divorce,” Professor Nicholas Wolfinger wrote in a blog post that announced the analysis. “But sexual attitudes and behaviors continue to change in America, and some of the strongest predictors of divorce in years gone by no longer matter as much as they once did...



Eleven percent of virgin marriages (on the part of the woman, at least) in the 1980s dissolved within five years. This number fell to 8 percent in the 1990s, then fell again to 6 percent in the 2000s,” Wolfinger explained. “For all three decades, the women with the second lowest five-year divorce rates are those who had only one partner prior to marriage...

 

[Moot]

Goody, another right wing study blaming women. Where's the study on the divorce rate of men having sex before marriage?

 

[joG]

I think, especially as we move forward across the decades looked at here, this is most likely not causal, but correlated because both are caused by actual adherence to a moral code that encourages not sleeping around prior to marriage and discourages divorce. In the 1970s, you're going to see some more effects of social pressure/expectation.

That liberal behavior will and in our case has destabilised the traditional social structures is quite obvious. Putting numbers on it is yet a scientific endeavor for more than a generation as the process continues. The main questions will be how far it goes and how destabilising the liberalisation turns out to be.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Hmm... After having that second sexual partner it seems adding yet another one, or even three, is (statistically) a good thing.

 

[Moot]

Another study just came out says that women who had several sex partners before marriage are LESS likely to get divorced.

So are we talking about the study?

American women who abstain from sex before marriage are the most likely to remain married after five years.

But divorce is also less likely when a bride has had sex with between three and nine men before her wedding day, according to a new study from University of Utah professor Nicholas Wolfinger.

"In short, if you're going to have comparisons to your [future] husband," Wolfinger said in a prepared statement, "it's best to have more than one."

Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth, Wolfinger researched premarital sex and divorce trends for women in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

U. study: Women who've had 9 premarital sex partners have lower divorce rates than women with 2 | The Salt Lake Tribune

 

[Skeptic Bob]

I have seen every kind of study showing completely different correlations.

My advice? Do what you think is best for you personally. Don't live your life based on studies.

 

[Moot]

Correction: I meant to say..."Are we talking about the same study?"

The article I posted seems to reference the OP study and visa versa but they also seem to have opposite results.

 

[Captain Adverse]

Studies?

Let's see what John Oliver says on the subject:



"Scientists themselves know not to attach too much significance to individual studies until they are placed in the larger context of ALL the work taking place in that field."

 

[Hari Seldon]

I think, especially as we move forward across the decades looked at here, this is most likely not causal, but correlated because both are caused by actual adherence to a moral code that encourages not sleeping around prior to marriage and discourages divorce. In the 1970s, you're going to see some more effects of social pressure/expectation.

And men?

 

[CLAX1911]

I have seen every kind of study showing completely different correlations.

My advice? Do what you think is best for you personally. Don't live your life based on studies.

Yeah, that is odd. i think we have a case of p-hacking here. also known as data dredging.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_dredging

 

[Frank Apisa]

So...some study has shown that not having sex before marriage reduces divorce.

Other studies have shown that having sex before marriage...and then not getting married...reduces divorce even more.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

I think, especially as we move forward across the decades looked at here, this is most likely not causal, but correlated because both are caused by actual adherence to a moral code that encourages not sleeping around prior to marriage and discourages divorce. In the 1970s, you're going to see some more effects of social pressure/expectation.

Yay, more slut shaming! Because dontcha know that the responsibility for good marriages rests entirely on women respecting man's right to own their vaginas, whereas men can behave however they want without being surveilled and browbeaten for their every choice? But anyway...

Ok. Let's assume this study is valid (it probably isn't, both because this organization is a wasteland of dishonest hacks and also because you have a history of posting horrible sources -- but we'll go with it).

Why are they divorcing less, and does this mean they are happy, faithful, and have functional homes?

It would not surprise me if people who most likely are following some sort of social or religious dogma are also not divorcing mostly due to the same dogma. That's how it was in days of yore, and some people still do it that way.

Ya know. Back when domestic abuse of all types was so common that it wasn't even thought of as a crime. Back when women's home lives were so miserable that they ultimately started an entire movement to free themselves from it.

Just because people are not divorcing does not mean they are happy or functional. In fact, divorce is often a way to prevent bad situations from turning into much worse situations.

Even if I'm going to assume for the sake of argument that this study is true, you still have a lot of work to do proving to me that it's actually better that way.

 

[HonestJoe]

This is the concluding paragraph from the source article;

It won’t be surprising to most readers that people with more premarital sex partners have higher divorce rates, broadly speaking. That said, this research brief paints a fairly complicated picture of the association between sex and marital stability that ultimately raises more questions than it answers.

The statistics extracted from the wider survey data suggests some general correlations though even they are inconsistent. The article speculates about various possible direct and indirect connections but doesn’t establish any clear conclusions. One thing I think was overlooked is whether there had been any previous marriages among those with multiple previous sexual partners.

Ultimately though, divorce (and wider disruptions, difficulties and relationship break-ups) happen because of unique combinations of the two people involved and the circumstances at the time. I’m not convinced that it’s possible to predict who might have difficulties in their relationship, when they might occur and how they will deal with them. I find the idea that choosing not to have pre-marital sex magically acts as some kind of controlling factor in a later (often much later) marriage as unrealistic.

 

[Dragonfly]

oh jesus christ....is this some kinda "conservative" puritan moral bullcrap piece????

Hardly anybody anywhere in history had one one sex partner in their life. Nor did they abstain before marriage.

Many said that's how they lived, but many lie.

Just like there were no gay people 50 years ago.
Just like nobody used to masturbate.
Just like nobody ever cheated on their partner decades ago.
Just like people who beat their partner never admit to that.

If anyone thinks that humans don't lie about sex they are just f'n stupid.
If anyone thinks people were more moral in the past than they are today they are just f'n stupid.
The only thing that's changed is that people are lying less about it now than they were back then. That's all.

What the Sex Lives of the Founding Fathers Reveal About Us - The Daily Beast

 

[cpwill]

Yay, more slut shaming! Because dontcha know that the responsibility for good marriages rests entirely on women respecting man's right to own their vaginas, whereas men can behave however they want without being surveilled and browbeaten for their every choice?

Oh hey, look!



A Strawman!

Literally no one argued that. :roll:

 

[cpwill]

oh jesus christ....is this some kinda "conservative" puritan moral bullcrap piece????

Hardly anybody anywhere in history had one one sex partner in their life. Nor did they abstain before marriage.

Actually, if you'll bother to read the math linked in the OP, it was a minority, but it was a larger minority.

I, for example, have only ever slept with my wife, and that's precisely what I intend to teach my children.

 

[cpwill]

And men?

I wish they'd focused on both - the data would be better if we could break it down, and also show what happens in couples when one partner has multiple partners and the other doesn't, or what happens when both don't, etc.

 

[Dragonfly]

Actually, if you'll bother to read the math linked in the OP, it was a minority, but it was a larger minority.

I, for example, have only ever slept with my wife, and that's precisely what I intend to teach my children.

Oh boy...a sample size of one. :roll:

Look, the rise in divorce rates has nothing to do with number of sex partners, or pre-marital sex. That's just idiotic.
More rapes happen when more ice cream is eaten. Does eating ice cream cause people to rape others?

Freedom is what has escalated divorce. Women are no longer as trapped in a bad marriage as they once were. Divorce isn't a social stigma now.
People who are not happy in their marriage should not feel forced to stay married. Fortunately, in current times, many don't feel that way anymore.

Unhappy and married is worse for society and "the institution of marriage" than happy and divorced.

Many people get married for the wrong reasons, with the wrong expectations, and to the wrong person.
That's been true for thousands of years.

What is different now, and thankfully so, is that it's easier to get out of the bad marriage.
It's got NOTHING to do with what the crap you posted suggests.

Being a virgin when you marry somebody does not make your marriage more likely to succeed.
There's far too many other factors involved in a marriage. Good or bad.

 

[cpwill]

Oh boy...a sample size of one. :roll:

:shrug: I don't claim it's a study.

Look, the rise in divorce rates has nothing to do with number of sex partners, or pre-marital sex. That's just idiotic.

What part of "not causal but likely correlative due to common cause" in the OP skipped past you there?

Freedom is what has escalated divorce.

In a few places that's certainly likely. Generally, however, I would argue that self-focus and self-absorption is what has escalated divorce. Divorce isn't about making yourself happy - it's about serving the other individual.

Divorce isn't a social stigma now.

Yeah, and that's worked out awesome. A generation of children raised in broken homes and endless social science showing the negative effects.

Unhappy and married is worse for society and "the institution of marriage" than happy and divorced.

:shrug: this is false. Every relationship (speaking loosely) has periods where they are unhappy.

Many people get married for the wrong reasons, with the wrong expectations, and to the wrong person.

Unless the person is abusive (to themselves or others, with a variety of possible expressions), there isn't a "wrong person" to get married to.

What is different now, and thankfully so, is that it's easier to get out of the bad marriage.

And good marriages, and salvageable marriages

It's got NOTHING to do with what the crap you posted suggests.

The math indicates otherwise.

 

[maquiscat]

I think, especially as we move forward across the decades looked at here, this is most likely not causal, but correlated because both are caused by actual adherence to a moral code that encourages not sleeping around prior to marriage and discourages divorce. In the 1970s, you're going to see some more effects of social pressure/expectation.

It looks like this study only focuses on first marriages and not subsequent marriages. IIRC, there have been studies that show that more second marriages ages succeed than first marriage so, as well as those who marry later in life have more successful marriages. I would very much like to know how these factors affect the multiple partners factor in likelihood of divorce. A comparative men's rate would also be interesting. I would be laughing if it showed the opposite, i.e. that the increase of partners before marriage lowered their divorce rate.

 

[faithful_servant]

I think, especially as we move forward across the decades looked at here, this is most likely not causal, but correlated because both are caused by actual adherence to a moral code that encourages not sleeping around prior to marriage and discourages divorce. In the 1970s, you're going to see some more effects of social pressure/expectation.

There's actually strong scientific evidence that this is accurate (the study uses correlation and not causation). Your first sexual experience has a profound impact on people. It colors all of their subsequent experiences and you end up comparing them to that first one (which normally gets a huge boost in "specialness", since it was the first). People tend to sort of imprint on their "first" and that can strengthen the bonds between two people, giving them a better chance of not getting divorced.

 

[Winchester]

I think, especially as we move forward across the decades looked at here, this is most likely not causal, but correlated because both are caused by actual adherence to a moral code that encourages not sleeping around prior to marriage and discourages divorce. In the 1970s, you're going to see some more effects of social pressure/expectation.

I'd like to see the study carried out past 5 years.

 

[Dragonfly]

Divorce rates are FALLING people. Falling.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/23/144-years-of-marriage-and-divorce-in-the-united-states-in-one-chart/

And look at that spike in the "greatest generation" of the past 100 years. Post WW2 late 40's


Biggest influences on divorce are financial/economic, education, age.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Oh hey, look!

View attachment 67202422

A Strawman!

Literally no one argued that. :roll:

Right. It's not clearly implied by focusing almost solely on what women do.

So I guess you have no response to the rest of it.

 

[Dragonfly]

4 behaviors can predict divorce - Business Insider

they could predict which marriages would end in divorce 93% of the time.

Not one friggin damned mention about pre-marital sex or number of previous sex partners. Shocking.