The divorce bug: Viral or bacterial?
Jul 20th, 2010 by Adrienne Keith
This story on ABCNews.com’s site is about how the “idea” of divorce can spread
. The title: “Is Divorce Contagious?”
The piece is interesting, although I have to admit that I don’t find it that surprising. Humans are social animals, and psychological research (such as these conformity studies) shows just how influenced folks are by what’s happening to the people around them. The idea of ideas spreading has, in the last couple of years, even made it into popular culture in Malcolm Gladwell’s imminently readable “The Tipping Point“. (A scary section in there is not the idea of divorce being contagious, but the idea of suicide!)
It is sad to hear that the marriage primarily featured in the ABC piece ended as it did. But, the reason that the wife in that story decided to divorce was because she saw that her recently-divorced daughter move into a happier relationship. I can’t fault someone for deciding they want to be happier.
There are some tips at the end of the story that are good little tidbits for thought.