Well, the US divorce rate is high, period, with estimates ranging from over 40% to over 60%. Split the difference, and you've got the oft quoted 50%. Interestingly, the modal (most typical) prediction of likelihood of divorce for both marrieds and singles seems to be around 0%, and the same for the once divorced! We're hopefully beasts, thankfully! (see Fowers, B. J., Lyons, E., Montel, K. H., and Shaked, N. 2001. Positive Illusions About Marriage Among Married and Single Individuals. Journal of Family Psychology 15: 95-109)
My guess is that we know very little about risk factors, save some pretty obvious ones, like extreme youth in a couple. In the particular case of audiophiles, obsessing on a (n often non-decor friendly) hobby might cause marital strain. On the other hand, audiophiles as a group may be more secure than average financially, which may in some instances be helpful. On the idea that there is an "audiophile personality," I'm a bit skeptical: seems a pretty diverse group on this site anyway, though I'd expect there are some trends having to do with age, gender, income, and race. In the end, I'm skeptical about the notion that "personality traits" have as much to do with the course of ourlives as people seem to think (I've gone on at length about this elsewhere: http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521608902
So all you guys can taske satisfaction in both your marriages and your hobby, without a shred of guilt! Congratulations on your successful unions!
jmd
My guess is that we know very little about risk factors, save some pretty obvious ones, like extreme youth in a couple. In the particular case of audiophiles, obsessing on a (n often non-decor friendly) hobby might cause marital strain. On the other hand, audiophiles as a group may be more secure than average financially, which may in some instances be helpful. On the idea that there is an "audiophile personality," I'm a bit skeptical: seems a pretty diverse group on this site anyway, though I'd expect there are some trends having to do with age, gender, income, and race. In the end, I'm skeptical about the notion that "personality traits" have as much to do with the course of ourlives as people seem to think (I've gone on at length about this elsewhere: http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521608902
So all you guys can taske satisfaction in both your marriages and your hobby, without a shred of guilt! Congratulations on your successful unions!
jmd