Are Children of Divorce More Likely to Succeed at Marriage?

A story at CNN Living reveals that this generation of marrieds may bring back the days of low divorce rates and marrying for life, having learned from their divorced parents that staying married takes dedication, patience and, yes, just plain work.

This unromanticized view of marriage may be what the most divorced generation has wrought, say relationship experts. They report that many children of divorce tend to approach relationships cautiously and do their homework on what makes a successful relationship before taking that trip down the aisle.

According to divorce statistics, the risk of divorce is 50 percent higher if one spouse has divorced parents and 200 percent higher if both spouses come from divorced parents. And children of divorce are also 50 percent more likely to marry another child of divorce.

However, marriage researchers say that children of divorce usually fall into two distinct camps when it comes to their own relationships: they either avoid them altogether, or become determined to make their own marriages endure.

An anthropologist who works for Match.com, a popular online dating service, says that children of divorce are more likely to avoid toxic relationships and are more resilient. She said they also take more time to decide whether or not marriage will work for them, marrying later in life than average. And studies show that those who marry later in life are at less risk for divorce.