Statistical Investigation of Early Divorce in Al-Aflaj Governorate, Saudi Arabia

In Al-Aflaj governorate, divorce and separation are perceived to be relatively rare events and available data on the subject has been described as ”quantitative gossip”. Although quantitative data are limited, there is rich multi-disciplinary literature on various aspects of marital stability in Saudi Arabia. This paper draws on this literature to first contextualize the key aspects of marriage and the socio-cultural as well as to diagnose the problem of early termination of marital status in Al-Aflaj governorate. Following this, the paper presents estimates of prevalence, trends and variations in divorce and separation using a sample of (53) cases of divorce randomly from beneficiaries of the Family Development Association in the province of Al-Aflaj because they include the representation element; and largely reflect the characteristics of cultural, social and economic reasons for divorce. It also, investigates the impact of cultural, economic and social changes on durability of marital stability in Al-Aflaj governorate. The findings revealed an upward trend and significant variations by cultural, economic and social reasons in divorce and separation in Al-Aflaj province. In addition, The results show the lack of dialogue and understanding between the spouses, addiction and the ill treatment of one spouse to the other. Moreover, there were statistically significant differences between males and females views on social and economic reasons