Marriage and Divorce Studies
Early GIA Core contributions to this project involved simple mapping of divorce rates at both the state and county level across the U.S. Divorce rates were mapped using a quintile classification for both 1980 and 1990 census data. The first animation below flashes divorce rates at the state level in 1980 and 1990. The second does the same at the county level. Note that a state divorce rate of 8.0% falls in the middle quintile in 1980, but is in the lowest quintile in 1990.
In the next animation the increase in divorce rate between 1980 and
1990 is mapped using a quintile classification. The first map shows
the increase at the state level, while the second shows the increase at
the county level.
Another way to look at this divorce rate dataset is through the use
of a 2-variable choropleth map. In the example below, 1990 divorce
rates are plotted simultaneously with divorce rate increase between 1980
and 1990. The dark colors correspond to counties with high 1990 divorce
rates, while the light colors correspond to those with low rates.
The reddish hues match up to counties with large increases in divorce rate
between 1980 and 1990, while the blueish hues match up to those with small
increases. As one might expect, the most dominant colors on the map
are the dark red color (high 1990 rate & large increase) and the light
blue color (low 1990 rate & small increase). Less common are
the dark blue color (high 1990 rate & small increase) and the beige
color (low 1990 rate & large increase).
Researchers were also interested in seeing maps of unemployment and
poverty rates to see if those variables are linked spatially with divorce
rate. The map below shows counties with extreme values in all three
rates. The counties in blue rank in the lower quintile in all three
variables, while the counties in pink rank in the upper quintile in all
three variables.
Last modified: 03/01/06 | Contact Webmaster
