Because of their long work hours and extended periods of high stress, the general belief was that doctors divorce at a higher rate than other professionals. However, a study by Harvard Medical School (HMS) has found that physicians are in fact less likely to get divorced than other professionals including lawyers and others working in the medical field.
The study, published online in The BMJ, found that 24 percent of physician respondents had been divorced, whereas 25 percent of dentists, 31 percent of health care executives, and 33 percent of nurses had been divorced. Conducted from 2008 through 2013, the survey included responses from more than 40,000 physicians and 200,000 other medical professionals such as dentists, pharmacists, nurses and health care executives. More than 6 million other professionals who had reported having been married were also included. Lawyers had a 27 percent probability of being divorced, and in all non-health care professionals had a 35 percent probability.
Before the HMS study, only small samples had found higher divorce rates among physicians. The authors of the Harvard study argued that these surveys were non-representative and outdated (some were published three or more decades ago).
These findings – while good news for physicians who might have seen those previous studies – show that both medical and non-medical professionals have a relatively close divorce rate. No matter a person’s occupation, divorce is a major life disruption. If you’ve made the decision to dissolve your marriage, the coming weeks, months and years are about to change everything. But they don’t have to be stressful, tense, and overwhelming. Our firm has compiled a collection of useful articles and resources for you as you move forward. As always, feel free to contact our firm 866-465-5395 with any questions or to schedule a consultation with one of our divorce lawyers.