On Thu, 27 Jan 2005, Doug Henwood wrote:
> MARRIAGES & DIVORCES PER 1,000 PEOPLE, 2001
>
> marriages divorces div/mar
>
> Massachusetts 6.4 2.4 37.5%
> New York 7.9 3.0 38.0%
>
> Alabama 9.6 5.3 55.2%
> Mississippi 6.7 5.4 80.6%
> Texas 9.4 4.1 43.6%
>
> Mass has a marriage rate almost equal to Miss's, but a divorce rate less than
> half as high. New York has a higher marriage rate and a much lower divorce
> rate. They like to get married in Ala & Tex, but the divorce rates are also
> much higher.
I'm not sure this disproves the artifact theory. In Ala & Tex, it seems to fit perfectly. And in Massachusetts and Mississippi, I'm willing to bet the average age of marriage in the former is considerably older -- and that on average people have had one practice marriage and uncounted divorce before they hooked up. (And let's not even get into having to marry the first person you get pregnant with.)
But if the average age of marriage is the same, then I'm willing to concede that we're just better :o)
Michael