Careful, You Might Catch Divorce

It’s cold and flu season again. Stock up on soup, orange juice, tea, and plenty of water. Colds & flus are highly contagious. But, did you ever think matters of the heart could be contagious too? According to studies at Harvard, Brown, and UC San Diego divorce is apparently contagious as well. How exactly could that be?

Studies show that 70% of couples whose friends get divorced end up getting divorced as well. It doesn’t stop there. If a friend of a friend gets divorced, that couple is 33% more likely to get divorced as well. That is somewhat of an alarming number, seeing as how nearly 50% of divorces in the United States ends in divorce. Yikes.

Contrary to popular belief, children don’t actually have an effect on these numbers, and in fact, more children actually lowered the divorce rate. There are a lot of psychological reasons behind people of the same friend group getting divorced. Misery loves company, and it’s the same for seeing someone finally released from misery as well. Divorce can often be the best thing that happens to someone, and to witness that release definitely has the possibility to be contagious. We are often influenced by the individuals we’re around.