THE EFFECT OF NO-FAULT DIVORCE-LAW ON THE DIVORCE RATE ACROSS THE 50 STATES AND ITS RELATION TO INCOME, EDUCATION, AND RELIGIOSITY

Using a quasiexperimental pre-post treatment design and archival data from the National Center for Health Statistics, we examined the effect of no-fault divorce law on the divorce rate across the 50 states. Also, education and income data from the United States Bureau of the Census and religiosity data from the Glenmary Research Center were used to assess the relation of education, median family income, and religiosity to the post-no-fault divorce rate. Results revealed that no-fault divorce law had a significant positive effect on the divorce rate across the 50 states. Of the moderators that we considered, median family income was the only significant predictor of the change in divorce rate; the adjusted post-no-fault divorce rate increased as median family income increased.