First and Second Marital Dissolution: A Decomposition Exercise for Whites and Blacks

Observed distributions of marital dissolutions occurring over time (and thus the divorce rate or other measures of marital dissolution) are dependent on two basic factors: (1) the relative distribution across a population of characteristics influencing the probability of marital dissolution and (2) the relative degree to which each of these characteristics raise or lower the probability of marital dissolution. The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of each of these two factors on the observed distributions of marital dissolution for whites and blacks for both first and second marriages. Using an appropriate statistical methodology, the results indicate a relatively complex pattern of differences between marriage orders and race groups.