THE RELATIVE STABILITY OF REMARRIAGES - A COHORT APPROACH USING VITAL-STATISTICS

Of the couples married in 1972, fewer Joint remarriages than first marriages had ended in divorce by 1988. Paradoxically, within specific age/sex groupings (e.g., men 20 to 24 years old), the findings reversed, and more remarriages than first marriages ended in divorce. The difference between the age-aggregated and age-specific findings occurred because couples entering remarriages were older than those entering first marriages and divorce rates declined with additional age at marriage. Also important was that remarriages that terminated in divorce ended more quickly than first marriages.