ABSTRACT
Studies based on existing survey data offer a solid understanding of the demographic factors that predict marital dissolution. For example, one's own parents' divorce, early age at marriage, low socioeconomic status, and various forms of marital heterogamy (i.e., marriages between spouses who differ in terms of race, religion, education, or other important characteristics) are consistent predictors of divorce (Bramlett & Mosher, 2001; Bumpass, Martin, & Sweet, 1991). Attitudinal variables also are related to marital disruption. For example, religious individuals and individuals who voice strong support for the norm of lifelong marriage tend to have relatively low rates of divorce (Amato, 1996; Heaton & Pratt, 1990). Despite these advances, existing data sets have been less useful in describing the internal dynamics of marriage and individuals' subjective views of their marriages.
