Divorce by the numbers

• More than 25 percent of Americans between ages 18 and 44 are adult children of divorce.

• One-half of those marrying in the 1990s were getting married for the second time. In one out of seven weddings, one or both partners were marrying for the third time.

• For people between ages 28 and 43, figures show significantly higher divorce rates in people from divorced families compared with those from intact families.

• Among the adult children of divorce in Dr. Wallerstein's study, 38 percent had children. In a comparison group of adult children from intact families, 61 percent had children.

• Eighty percent of divorces occur by the ninth year of marriage.

• Boston is among the American cities with the lowest divorce rates; New York is among the highest.

• There are no formal studies of children who fly alone to satisfy custody arrangements. However, it has been estimated that one child flies alone on each of 22,000 domestic flights per day. Airlines generally accept children as young as 5 as lone passengers.

• The use of drugs and alcohol before age 14 in Dr. Wallerstein's children of divorce group stands at 25 percent. In the comparison group from intact families, the figure is 9 percent.

• Among female children of divorce, heavy drug and alcohol use during the late-teens and 20s occurred at the rate of 38 percent, slipping to 6 percent by the time these women reached their early 40s. Among male children of divorce, the comparable figures were 29 percent in the teens and early 20s, dropping to 21 percent by the early 40s.

• Over two-thirds of the adults were above average in their work competence. Only 40 percent were competent in their functioning of social relationships.

• People who were relatively young when their parents divorced looked less competent overall 25 years later. This was especially true for girls who had been preschoolers and boys who had been early school-age at the time of their parents' divorces.

• There do not appear to be any formal comparisons of rates of divorce in families with children who have exceptional needs. However, professional opinion generally supports the clinical impression that divorce is higher in such families.

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  Source: Wallerstein's study and national research compiled in her book, ``The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce.''

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