The gray divorce revolution: rising divorce among middle-aged and older adults, 1990-2010.
OBJECTIVE
Our study documents how the divorce rate among persons aged 50 and older has changed between 1990 and 2010 and identifies the sociodemographic correlates of divorce among today's middle-aged and older adults.


METHODS
We used data from the 1990 U.S. Vital Statistics Report and the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) to examine the change in the divorce rate over time. ACS data were analyzed to determine the sociodemographic correlates of divorce.


RESULTS
The divorce rate among adults aged 50 and older doubled between 1990 and 2010. Roughly 1 in 4 divorces in 2010 occurred to persons aged 50 and older. Demographic characteristics, economic resources, and the marital biography were associated with the risk of divorce in 2010. The rate of divorce was 2.5 times higher for those in remarriages versus first marriages, whereas the divorce rate declined as marital duration rose.


CONCLUSIONS
The traditional focus of gerontological research on widowhood must be expanded to include divorce as another form of marital dissolution. Over 600,000 people aged 50 and older got divorced in 2010 but little is known about the predictors and consequences of divorces that occur during middle and later life.
Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403-0222, USA. brownsl@bgsu.edu
Susan L
SL
Brown
I-Fen
IF
Lin
D000368:Aged; D004243:Divorce / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014798:Vital Statistics