Early Marriage Often Means Early Divorce

Teen brides more likely to. end up divorced

ATLANTA (AP) – Teenage brides are far more likely than older women to see their marriages break up within 10 years, a government study shows.

Nearly half of marriages in which the bride is 18 years old or younger end in separation or divorce within 10 years, the National Center for Health Statistics said Thursday. For brides age 25 and older, one­ quarter of marriages break up during that time. "We expected the age difference we found, but we were surprised at the size of it," said Matthew Bramlett, an NCHS statistician.

The study also underlined what society has long known - that marriages are much less likely to last today than they were a generation ago.

One in three marriages fails before the 10-year mark, NCHS reported. In 1973, the last time the government conducted a similar study, just one in five failed within that time.

The study found that nearly 40 percent of second marriages for women end in separation or divorce within 10 yrs. Up from 29 percent in 1973.