Everyone wants the love of their life, but practice shows that this type of scenario is a rare exception to a harsh reality. In Europe, people have started to divorce 2.5 more often and marry 2 times less in the last 50 years. The good news is that predicting divorce is possible and backed by scientific research.
We hope that there are happier and stronger families in the world. That’s why we studied a lot of research and chose the 6 most distinct divorce forerunners that scientists have identified.
6. The Number Of Smiles In Their Childhood Photos
Psychologists conducted a series of tests to try to understand whether it is possible to predict childhood divorce and youthful photos.
In one study, scientists looked at images from a college yearbook and rated the intensity of smiles on a scale of 1 to 10.
The evaluation was based on stretching 2 muscles: one clenched the mouth and the other created wrinkles around the eyes
None of those whose smiles were rated “10” are divorced. At the same time, one in four people divorced among the people with a frown.
Overall, the results show that people who look gloomy in photos are divorced 5 times more than those who smile.
5. The Emotional Tone Of Their Voice
A computer algorithm can predict the success of a marriage, with 79% accuracy, using only the tone of voice of the spouses when communicating.
The scientists analyzed the conversations of more than 100 couples who were seeing a psychologist and then observed their marital status for 5 years.
It turns out that intensity, tone, “jitter” and “glow” can all indicate strong emotions. “What you say is not the only thing that matters, how you say it is also very important. Our study confirms that this is also true for the couple relationship ”, say the scientists.
4. Colleagues Of The Opposite Sex
According to Danish researchers, people who work mainly surrounded by members of the opposite sex divorce 15% more often.
The study of this topic was carried out on a larger scale when they studied all the couples who were married between 1981 and 2002 in Denmark. They found out that 100,000 of them had already been divorced.
3. Mother’s Upbringing
It is women who divorce most frequently. In addition, there are studies that show that most couples copy the behavior of their fathers, especially their mothers.
Sociologists studied the behavior of 7,000 people and found that if a mother entered a new relationship, quite frequently (be it marriage or simply cohabitation), their adult children would behave in the same way.
2. Ignoring Conflicts
John Gottman named 4 harbingers of imminent divorce: disdain, the position of a victim, critics, and ignoring conflicts.
The “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” seem innocent at first, but it is actually a very dangerous behavioral strategy in practice.
Imagine that you feel like you’re ready for a heated debate on a topic that has been bothering you for a long time, and your partner suddenly stops supporting the conversation.
It may seem like spouses can keep the peace by doing this, but it’s wrong. Although debates and fights are not the best part of communication in general, they still help to dot all the i’s.
They are necessary to discover unresolved problems. If someone continues to ignore these situations, more and more frustrations will not be resolved.
1. A Husband’s Negative Attitude Toward His Wife’s Friends
The scientists analyzed the relationship of 373 couples over 16 years of marriage. It was found that 46% of couples divorced around the 16th year of marriage and often the husband’s criticism of his wife’s friends in the first year of marriage predicted this breakdown in the future.
According to scientists, this is because relationships between women and their friends, which are characterized by closeness and emotional support, last longer, while male friendship is more often dependent on joint activities.
Therefore, it is easier for men to change the circle of their communication and more difficult to come to terms with the friends of their wives, whom they find unpleasant.
What other things do you think can predict or help prevent an upcoming divorce?
