We used national panel data collect

We used national panel data collected between 1980 and 1997 to classify 208 people's open- ended responses to a question on why their marriages ended in divorce. Infidelity was the most commonly reported cause, followed by incompatibility, drinking or drug use, and growing apart. People's specific reasons for divorcing varied with gender, social class, and life course variables. Former husbands and wives were more likely to blame their ex-spouses than themselves for the problems that led to the divorce. Former husbands and wives claimed, however, that women were more likely to have initiated the divorce. People who at- tributed the cause of the divorce to the relationship itself, rather than to internal (self) or ex- ternal factors, tended to have the best postdivorce adjustment.

We used national panel data collected between 1980 and 1997 to classify 208 people's open- ended responses to a question on why their marriages ended in divorce. Infidelity was the most commonly reported cause, followed by incompatibility, drinking or drug use, and growing apart. People's specific reasons for divorcing varied with gender, social class, and life course variables. Former husbands and wives were more likely to blame their ex-spouses than themselves for the problems that led to the divorce. Former husbands and wives claimed, however, that women were more likely to have initiated the divorce. People who at- tributed the cause of the divorce to the relationship itself, rather than to internal (self) or ex- ternal factors, tended to have the best postdivorce adjustment.

We used national panel data collected between 1980 and 1997 to classify 208 people 's open - ended responses to a question. On why their marriages ended in divorce. Infidelity was the most commonly reported cause followed by incompatibility drinking,,, Or drug use and growing, apart. People 's specific reasons for divorcing varied with gender social class and life course,,, Variables.Former husbands and wives were more likely to blame their ex-spouses than themselves for the problems that led to the, divorce. Former husbands and, wives claimed however that women, were more likely to have initiated the divorce. People who at - tributed. The cause of the divorce to the relationship itself rather than, to internal (self) or ex - ternal, factorsTended to have the best postdivorce adjustment.