E-Paper
Divorce a surprise to men!
Marriage break-ups come as a surprise to most men, who still rate their wives very highly in the year before their divorce.
Marriage break-ups come as a surprise to most men, who still rate their wives very highly in the year before their divorce, a new study has found.
Research from the Melbourne Institute has found that while 55 per cent of men say their satisfaction with their relationship rated an eight out of ten or higher in the 12 months leading up to their divorce, only 38 per cent of women felt the same way.
"Presumably, for many of these individuals, the marriage break-up was a shock," the report said.
Those surveyed were part of a group of 15,000 people who have taken part in a rolling nationwide study since 2001. Researchers were able to assess the responses given in 2002 of those who later separated or divorced.
Deputy director of the institute Bruce Headey said the findings also showed that women were more likely to instigate divorce.
"In those cases where it isn't a joint decision... in about two-thirds of cases it's the woman that takes the initiative," he said.
The good news was that most couples were happy in their relationships, with 85 per cent of men and 80 per cent of women reporting their satisfaction levels at the top end of the scale.
