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A new study shows that divorce can be contagious in social networks. The study is based on the theory of social contagion, a phenomenon where emotion or behavior spreads through a group.
In the case of divorce, the upheaval of feelings brought about by divorce can be transferred to people who surround you and are related to you in some ways. It can be spread not just to your immediate family but also among friends. James H. Fowler, a political science professor at the University of California said in an interview with CNN that the "divorce virus" can spread to at least two degrees of separation from the divorcing couple.
This means that your decision to get a divorce can make your friends rethink their marriage and file for a divorce as well. Since they most likely pass the information along to their friends as well, your friends' friends may also be susceptible to reevaluate their marriage after hearing about your divorce.
Fowler's research did not focus on whether parents' divorce specifically causes children's marriages to break down as well, but the study did come back with numbers relating to siblings. Apparently, people with siblings who got a divorce are 22% more likely to get a divorce as well.
A comparative study shows that friends have more influence over the likelihood that a person will get divorced compared to that of siblings. Fowler's studies show that people whose friends got a divorce are 147% more likely to get a divorce themselves. People with co-workers who got a divorce are, on the other hand, 55% more likely to seek divorce.
There's also generally a particular pattern for the contagion. If a person gets a divorce and confides the details to a friend, this friend is surprisingly less susceptible to catch the "divorce virus". However, if this friend relays the information to other friends, these people are more likely to file for a divorce. The third person in the chain of contagion seems to end up more affected by the news.
The study also shows that when a person has children, they are less susceptible to the "divorce virus".
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