ABSTRACT
When asked to write a chapter about demographic trends in divorce and relationship dissolution, we envisioned a chapter that would focus heavily on historical trends, as well as major socioeconomic differentials that might supply information about the predictors of divorce and dissolution. The task seemed straightforward, and we looked at it as an opportunity to consolidate our thinking about recent research on the topic. As the task evolved, however, we came to be responsible for writing a chapter in which we discuss the future of demographic trends in divorce and dissolution. This turn of events caused us a few moments of panic because social scientists are notorious in their inability to predict the future (for discussions about the difficulty of the task, see Goode, 1993; Lipset, 1979; and Stinchcombe, 1982). The malleability of human behavior when combined with the uncertainty of social, economic, and political context makes prognostication a poor career choice, at least if one needs to be correct.
