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In 2003, two economists at the UCLA and the University of Rochester identified a gap between divorce rates among parents of girls, versus parents of boys. They found that parents of daughters were 5% more likely to divorce. What's more, the likelihood of divorce increased with the number of daughters in the family. Parents with three or more daughters were 10% more likely to get divorced, compared to those who had three sons. Unmarried couples who expected a son were also much more likely to walk up the aisle, than those expecting a daughter.
Sociologists earlier believed that parents were much more likely to stay in a marriage if they had sons, because these children are considered assets. It was believed that fathers of sons would be more invested in making a marriage work. However, since then, there has been a change in the explanation for this disturbing gap. In fact, it may have much to do with the mothers of these daughters and sons.
It appears that mothers of daughters are much more likely to be confident about getting a divorce, compared to mothers of sons. Sons typically add to your house work, while a daughter, as she gets older, is more likely to share in the house workload. Besides, a daughter offers emotional support to her mother, and this could possibly encourage women in a bad marriage to opt for a divorce.
As New Jersey divorce lawyers, we can't really say we have seen a major difference in the number of parents of sons who come to us, versus parents of daughters.
