There are many social problems that we are forced to deal with each day. One such problem that millions deal with is the issue of divorce. Divorce has been an issue, politically, religiously, and socially. It affects people in both personal and public spheres. Unfortunately, there are many people who are affected by the breaking apart of one marriage. Not only do the husband and wife endure the heartache but also the children are usually forced to chose a side and lose a parent. Divorce is an epidemic that started rising in the seventies and has reached more than fifty percent. Divorce constitutes social problem because it is caused by human action and can be prevented. Because divorce is such and issue for people, sociologists have been forced to not only look at individual attributes of members of society but also demographics of the population as a whole. There are many different reasons why individuals choose to separate. In Newsweek magazine the article, "The Science of a Good Marriage" talks about keys features of healthy marriages. Authors Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert discuss information given throughout Psychologist John Gottman's study on marriages. Gottman's quantitative study shows us that there are a variety of variables in a marriage that might show some early signs of possible divorce. The Newsweek article will be compared to the findings of the study entitled "Explaining Divorce in the United States" in which authors K. D. Breault and Augustine J. Kposowa discuss statistical evidence for divorce and its variables. Breault and Kposowa's findings are on a larger macro standpoint and look at various aspects of societal integration.
             In their article, Kantrowitz and Winger, discuss how the success of a marriage can be predicted through psychological examination. John Gottman is a psychologist at the University of Washington, and it is his research that the authors d...