There are two main organizations in the United States, who are held responsible for compiling and regularly updating statistics on things like marriage, divorce, birth, death and health conditions. From these records other organizations can extract details of any trends that may be starting, or even plateauing from year to year. This is what is used to gain information on what may be causing people to get divorces, and even what can be done to prevent them on a national scale. All of these records are available to the public, so you or I could take a look and make up our own report on statistics, yet there are so many censuses, reports and national surveys that are used to compile the rates that this is often difficult to do.
The NCHS and the United States Census Bureau
The US has two main organizations (government officials) who extract and compile information on divorce rates in America: the NCHS (National Center for Health and Statistics) and the United States Census Bureau.
At first it may seem odd that a center for health is responsible for reporting divorce rates, but it’s because of the NCHS’ algorithms for compiling the data that it is so very reliable. The NCHS uses National Health Interview Surveys, which have been running annually since 1956, as well as the National Survey for Family Growth (NSFG) and the statistics from almost every state in America (apart from those which are unable to compile their own). Using more than once source to compile data means that what is found is more evenly represented and unbiased. The NCHS releases a highly valid and useful report each year known as the ‘Vital Statistics’ report, which is widely believed to be the best report from which to study divorce rates in America. If you’re looking for more specific trends in US society, such as the increase in family size, then it’s best to take a look at the NCHS’ ‘Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the United States’ report.
The United States Census Bureau, on the other hand, is a subdivision of the Department of Commerce (the US Government’s cabinet dept. which deals with economic growth) and ‘serves as the leading source of quality data about the nation’s people and economy’. The NCHS actually uses some of the United States Census Bureau’s data to compile its own reports on the nation’s divorce rates, and this may be because the Unites States Census Bureau does not explicitly release its own reports on divorce or marriage. If you are going to study the United States Census Bureau’s data for information on divorce rates in America then it’s best to look at the Statistical Abstract of the United States.
The United States Census Bureau uses two main sources of information to compile its statistics, namely the Current Population surveys and the Federal State Cooperative Program for Population Estimates (FSCPE). Current Population surveys are taken every month of the year, on 50,000 people aged 16 and above, and they ask these individuals a huge range of questions, from where they grew up and how old they were when they were married to how long they’ve been driving and what car they own.
Starting a Report
If you are considering starting your own research into the divorce rates in America then it’s best to explore both of these main sources and use all of their data together. The United States Census Bureau release detailed reports on their compiled data every decade, so if you’re in the right year you could be using very ‘fresh’ and relevant information in your report. These reports usually come at the turn on the decade, so the most recent, or upcoming is called ‘Census 2010′.