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Doctors and surprising divorce rate findings

On Behalf of | Mar 10, 2015 | Divorce

While doctors in Virginia and around the country no doubt have stressful lives, it seems that they actually divorce less than others. A group lead by an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School took what was described as the first in-depth look at divorce rates of doctors and other medical professionals. The only exception comes when looking at female doctors who work over 40 hours a week. That group is 1.5 times more likely to get divorced than a male doctor who works 40 hours a week.

Researchers are unsure why that is, but they believe it have something to do with their work/life balance. The study, which was conducted between 2008 and 2013, followed 200,000 nurses and other health care professionals. It also followed 40,000 doctors and compared the divorce rates between the two groups. According to the results of the study, doctors reported a divorce rate of 24 percent. This is lower than the rates reported by health care executives, nurses and dentists.

In addition to taking a look at divorce rates within the health care field, the study also took a look at people in other occupations. On average, these non-health care workers had a divorce rate of 35 percent. This was higher than both the doctors surveyed as well as the other groups surveyed within the health care field.

A person who is going through the end of a marriage may wish to consult with a family law attorney at the outset to see if the negotiation of a comprehensive settlement agreement is possible. This may be in the best interest of any children that the couple may have.

Source: U.S. News & World Report, “Doctors Less Likely to Divorce, Study Finds”, Robert Preidt, Feb. 19, 2015

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