Timing, Initiators, and Causes of Divorce in a Mayangna/Miskito Community in Nicaragua
There exists a paucity of evolution-oriented research focusing on why relationships end, particularly in comparison to the substantial literature centered around individual preferences that define the beginning of relationships. In contrast, there is a long tradition in the fields of sociology and f...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/6/212 |
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| author | Jeffrey Winking Jeremy Koster |
| author_facet | Jeffrey Winking Jeremy Koster |
| author_sort | Jeffrey Winking |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There exists a paucity of evolution-oriented research focusing on why relationships end, particularly in comparison to the substantial literature centered around individual preferences that define the beginning of relationships. In contrast, there is a long tradition in the fields of sociology and family studies of exploring divorce; however, this body of research is largely limited to studies of Western populations. We address these gaps in the literature with an examination of patterns of divorce among a small-scale horticultural population in Nicaragua. We test a number of hypotheses derived from behavioral ecology perspective regarding the timing and causes of divorce. Results lend support to all but one of the hypotheses. Overall divorce rates are comparable to U.S. rates; however, they tend to occur earlier in marriages. Children appear to provide a slight buffering effect against divorce, although age in marriage does not. Gender differences in the reported causes of divorce fall along the lines that would be expected due to differences in partner preferences reported in previous research. Finally, this population also exhibits a similar peculiar pattern exhibited by Western populations, in which divorce is more costly for women, and yet women are slightly more likely to initiate divorces than husbands. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:39:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-16befb65cc4d4bbfbc3d94c149c67684 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:39:41Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-16befb65cc4d4bbfbc3d94c149c676842023-11-21T23:01:44ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602021-06-0110621210.3390/socsci10060212Timing, Initiators, and Causes of Divorce in a Mayangna/Miskito Community in NicaraguaJeffrey Winking0Jeremy Koster1Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840, USAMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Pl. 6, 04103 Leipzig, GermanyThere exists a paucity of evolution-oriented research focusing on why relationships end, particularly in comparison to the substantial literature centered around individual preferences that define the beginning of relationships. In contrast, there is a long tradition in the fields of sociology and family studies of exploring divorce; however, this body of research is largely limited to studies of Western populations. We address these gaps in the literature with an examination of patterns of divorce among a small-scale horticultural population in Nicaragua. We test a number of hypotheses derived from behavioral ecology perspective regarding the timing and causes of divorce. Results lend support to all but one of the hypotheses. Overall divorce rates are comparable to U.S. rates; however, they tend to occur earlier in marriages. Children appear to provide a slight buffering effect against divorce, although age in marriage does not. Gender differences in the reported causes of divorce fall along the lines that would be expected due to differences in partner preferences reported in previous research. Finally, this population also exhibits a similar peculiar pattern exhibited by Western populations, in which divorce is more costly for women, and yet women are slightly more likely to initiate divorces than husbands.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/6/212divorcemarriagesmall-scalebehavioral ecology |
| spellingShingle | Jeffrey Winking Jeremy Koster Timing, Initiators, and Causes of Divorce in a Mayangna/Miskito Community in Nicaragua Social Sciences divorce marriage small-scale behavioral ecology |
| title | Timing, Initiators, and Causes of Divorce in a Mayangna/Miskito Community in Nicaragua |
| title_full | Timing, Initiators, and Causes of Divorce in a Mayangna/Miskito Community in Nicaragua |
| title_fullStr | Timing, Initiators, and Causes of Divorce in a Mayangna/Miskito Community in Nicaragua |
| title_full_unstemmed | Timing, Initiators, and Causes of Divorce in a Mayangna/Miskito Community in Nicaragua |
| title_short | Timing, Initiators, and Causes of Divorce in a Mayangna/Miskito Community in Nicaragua |
| title_sort | timing initiators and causes of divorce in a mayangna miskito community in nicaragua |
| topic | divorce marriage small-scale behavioral ecology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/6/212 |
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