Study Finds Surprisingly Low Divorce Rates Among Doctors

Colorado residents may be interested in the findings of a new study that says doctors are surprisingly less likely to get divorced than many other types of health care professionals. It is the first large-scale study of its kind, and it trumps the long-standing belief that doctors were more prone to divorce due to their chaotic and stressful work schedules. This may be good news for those who were considering the profession but holding off due to concerns over work-life balance.

The study analyzed surveys from 40,000 doctors and 200,000 other health care professionals that included nurses, pharmacists, executives, and dentists. Nurses had the highest rates of divorce at 33 percent, followed by health care executives at 31 percent. Doctors reported a 24 percent divorce rate, and this was beaten only by pharmacists who had a 23 percent divorce rate. Even more surprising may be that all of the health care professionals' divorce rates were lower than those outside the field. The divorce rate among the non-healthcare related workers was 35 percent.

Gender differences were also apparent in the study. Women seemed to have more issues with divorce than men, being 1.5 times more likely to divorce. Another surprise with gender was the finding that male doctors were actually less likely to get divorced when they worked more than 40 hours, but women were more likely to get divorced under the same circumstances.

When a divorce happens, it can be a stressful situation regardless of a person's chosen profession. Those employed as doctors tend to have higher-value assets than the average couple, and this may complicate their divorce. Asset division tends to be one of the most complicated and time-consuming aspects of any divorce. An attorney could assist a client with the asset division process, and inform them of the many aspects of personal and marital property that must be considered.

Tags: Divorce