Married spouses in Virginia might be more likely to get divorced if they work in environments with many people of the opposite sex. These were the findings of a Stockholm University study that examined demographic data from Denmark. The study examined people born since 1945 who married between 1981 and 2002.
The study found that men working in male-dominated fields had a lower risk of divorce. However, the opposite was true for men who worked around more women. The highest divorce risk fields were those with heavy social interaction, such as the restaurant and hotel industries. Farmers and librarians had the lowest risk of divorce.
The study, which appeared in the journal Biology Letters, set out to find out whether gender ratio in the workplace affected the likelihood of divorce. The study controlled for factors such as number of children and education level. Researchers found that males in female-dominated industries were more likely to divorce than the reverse, but they said it was not entirely clear why this was the case. For example, while being around other potential partners could be one risk, men working in fields primarily dominated by women might also make less money, and this could cause a divorce. Researchers said more studies were needed.
Finances are often an issue that leads to divorce, and financial matters can become an issue during the separation as well. Couples will have to divide property, and this may need to be done either through negotiation or litigation. One spouse may be required to pay alimony to the other if there is a large disparity in income. There may be different requirements for dividing different types of assets. For example, there are certain rules around dividing annuities and pension plans. In some cases, couples may find it easier for each to keep assets of equal value instead of splitting the assets.