The Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce

Abstract The focus of this paper examines one family, which converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, almost 140 years ago. These family members are distributed across nine generations. Direct descendants are the children and children's children and number 12,387. Total family includes all of the children and those who married into the family as well. The total for all family members is 17,346. Information obtained from the collection process is essentially a complete record of all the posterity at the time of collection. This study examines the intergenerational transmission of divorce among this family across nine generations. Results indicate that children from divorced homes are significantly more likely to get divorced than children from non-divorced homes. Explanations for this finding are discussed.