The Study of Social Factors Influencing Divorce Tendency in Shiraz

Divorce as one of the most serious social problems in recent years has affected Iranian society and created many challenges for the family as one of the main pillars of  the society. In one hand, divorce rates across the country, and on the other hand, in metropolitan areas such as Shiraz, have led us to look for social factors that affect it in Shiraz. The present study was carried out with a sociological approach among married citizens aged 15-59 years in Shiraz. The sample was 380 people that were selected using cluster sampling. Using social exchange theory, homogamy theory, roles theory, gender stratification, and social network theory, the research hypotheses were developed and tested.  The results indicated that independent variables could explain 62% of variations in tendency to divorce. From among all independent variables, the positive perception of divorce (B=0.404), sexual and emotional satisfaction (B=-0.184), surrounding people’s interference (B=0.160) and being female (B=0.115), respectively have had the greatest impact on divorce tendency. The positive perception of divorce as the most important factor indicates that people's mentality (attitude) has a great influence on the divorce tendency. Moreover, multiple regressions showed that homogamy, unmet expectations, duration of marriage, age, couple's education, number of children and spouse income did not have any significant effect on divorce tendency.