Often uncontested divorce has been associated with someone having a mid-life crisis. Yet, our society seems to have recently overlook the fallout from getting married at a young age. Some of the areas affected by an early marriage include financial hardship, limiting career choices and a high probability of divorce. Uncontested divorces can be a cheap an effective choice for some.
Lets take a look at some statistics which highlight the implications of an early marriage, whether you live in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or anywhere:
1. Couples who marry between the ages of twenty to twenty-five have a sixty percent chance of their marriage ending in divorce;
2. Women who marry under the age of eighteen have a fifty-nine percent chance of finding themselves divorced;
3. Women's brain do not fully develop until the age of twenty-five, and men's brains fully develop between the ages of twenty-five and thirty.
There are a variety of factors which can put a strain on an early marriage. Some of the marital burdens that young people can bring into a marriage include being self-centered, not possessing good communication skills and unrealistic expectations about marriage.
One of the graver concerns is an impoverished class of young divorced women. Women who fall into this category don't have much formal education, lower incomes, a lack of a solid financial foundation and may have children from per-marital pregnancies.
Some other pitfalls of an early marriage include:
1. Not fully having developed a self-identity;
2. Missing out on life experiences when moving from parents house to the matrimonial home;
3. Naive and impressionable;
4. Giving up personal goals; and
5. Not following through on personal dreams.
Kim Kardashian was reportedly nineteen years old when she first married Damon Thomas. After a quick Las Vegas marriage, which ended in divorce after only four years of marriage, divorce papers were filed. The tumultuous marriage ended with Thomas being order to pay Kardashian a one time sum of $56,000.
Sascha Rothchild, Boston College graduate, writes her memoir of her failed marriage How to Get Divorced by 30: My Misguided Attempt at a Starter Marriage. In her book the reader follows her through her memories of growing up, drug escapades and near death experience which led to her early marriage. Rothchild opens up the doors to the perils of marrying young and how it can end in divorce.
She tells the readers how she had a boyfriend who was a "jerk" and the next guy to come along was an improvement and so she believed he was the one. Her young voice may be off-putting to the reader, but she has a flair for honest introspection. As the reader progresses through the book he or she obtains a better understanding of how easy it is to be swayed into marriage without having solid life experiences of making healthier long term decisions.
Each generation has their unique challenges when it comes to uncontested divorce. Baby boomers often have found they have outgrown their spouse. Younger generations find themselves outgrowing their youth and morphing into new identities. It's important to try to understand each generation's needs and traps that they can fall into during and after marriage.
