Texas residents may be interested in learning more about a study that suggests physicians are less likely to divorce than the average American. The recent study refutes the conventional notion that doctors are more likely to divorce due to how demanding the hours and stress can be. This is the first large-scale case study to investigate whether the assumption was based more on fact or fabrication. Researchers discovered that doctors actually had divorce rates that were lower than several other healthcare professions examined in the study.
The study involved surveying over 40,000 doctors as well 200,000 dentists, healthcare executives, pharmacists and nurses from 2008 to 2013. The highest divorce rate observed was among the nurses, accounting for 33 percent of those interviewed. Only 24 percent of the doctors were divorced, representing the lowest rate in the study, aside from pharmacists reporting 23 percent. Outside of the healthcare sector, researchers found that the average divorce rate among other workers was 35 percent.
Female doctors in the study were 1.5 times more likely to be divorced than their male counterparts of the same age. Male doctors who worked more than 40 hours a week were less likely be divorced than those who worked fewer hours. In contrast, the female doctors who were less than 40 hours a week had a lower divorce rate than those who worked more hours. Researchers attributed the phenomena to the greater sacrifices women must make in order to balance their career aspirations with their personal lives.
When a separation or divorce is imminent, legal counsel is often the most helpful resource available. Divorce lawyers may be able to review specific state laws that could affect a spouse’s particular circumstances post-divorce. A divorce lawyer may also be able help negotiate different aspects of the divorce, such as property division, alimony or the terms of a parenting plan.