Cultural and Socioeconomic Influences on Divorce During Modernization

Southeast Asia, 1940s to 1960s

Bibliographic Data

ID4120176
AuthorsCharles Hirschman (Office of International Affairs), Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan (0000-0002-6177-3213, Anhui University of Science and Technology)
Year2003
Volume29
Issue2
Pages215-253
Publication date2003-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePopulation and Development Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0098-7921 • E-ISSN: 1728-4457
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1728-4457.2003.00215.x
OpenAlexW2133502481
LanguageEN
Citations received50
References cited30

The conventional model of a rising divorce rate during the process of modernization is a staple element of the sociological theory of the family. This generalization is challenged, however, by traditional high-divorce societies, primarily in Islamic Southeast Asia, which have experienced a decline in divorce with modernization. In this study, based on micro-level survey data, the authors explore the social roots of marital disruption in Indonesia and Malaysia and in another Southeast Asian society, Thailand, which has not been identified as a high-divorce society. Comparable survey data from the 1970s (from the World Fertility Survey) allow for an in-depth analysis of traditional patterns of divorce before the rapid modernization of recent decades. Two major findings emerge from the multivariate analysis. First, there is a common pattern across all three societies of higher levels of divorce among "traditional" women-those who live in rural areas, marry at young ages, and have lower levels of education. Second, the authors find significant sociocultural (ethnic, regional, religious) differentials in divorce within each country that cannot be explained by demographic and socioeconomic composition. They present an interpretation of how moderately high levels of divorce were accommodated in traditional Southeast Asian societies

Demographic economics · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Ethnic group · Fertility · General Social Survey · Geography · Marital status · Modernization theory · Population · Social change · Social science · Sociocultural evolution · Socioeconomic status · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Survey data collection · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving

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