ABSTRACT
Marital instability is a central aspect of the American family system. The proportion of all first marriages that ended in divorce increased exponentially for more than a hundred years (Cherlin, 1992), and over the last quarter of a century about one half of all first marriages have been expected to disrupt. The consequences of this high level of marital instability for the well-being of both adults and children are well documented (Amato, 2000; Seltzer, 1994). Even during the plateau since 1980, social inequality in family life has continued to increase as a consequence of divergent trends (Raley & Bumpass, 2003). Our understanding of this important family experience is obviously dependent on how well we are able to measure marital instability. This is true for the monitoring of trends, as well as for research on the causes and consequences of disruption, and on the potential effects of social policy.
