The Sociodemographic Correlates of the Timing of Divorce in Ghana

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2994963
AutoresAcheampong Yaw Amoateng (0000-0003-3320-116X, Brigham Young University), T B Heaton (0000-0001-7729-1641, Brigham Young University)
Año1989
Volumen20
Número1
Páginas79-96
Fecha de publicación1989-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Comparative Family Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0047-2328 • E-ISSN: 1929-9850
EditorialUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/jcfs.20.1.79
OpenAlexW2109672430
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas12

Using the 1979/1980 World Fertility Survey data from Ghana the authors examine the social and demographic correlates of the timing of divorce. On the whole they found that marriages are quite unstable in the country. Within 10 years of marriage 23% of the women have dissolved their marriages. Of couples married in the 1970s 32% are expected to divorce within 10 years after marriage. Even though the traditional extended family has been undergoing rapid changes in the face of modernization there is no evidence that the various aspects of modernization have uniform effects in increasing divorce rates in Ghana. While aspects of modernization such as education age at marriage and smaller family size decrease the chances of a woman dissolving her marriage other trends such as rising female employment and urbanization increase the chances of divorce. The divorce problem in Ghana is thus seen as a mechanism for adjustment to conflicting influences rather than a problem of cultural crisis. (authors modified)

Demographic economics · Developing country · Economic growth · Economics · Face (sociological concept) · Family planning · Fertility · Modernization theory · Population · Remarriage · Research methodology · Social science · Sociology · Total fertility rate · Urbanization · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics