A recent study found that male doctors who work 40 hours a week or more are less likely to get divorced than others in the health care field. The study analyzed survey responses from 40,000 doctors and 200,000 pharmacists, nurses and others who provide health care services. While 24 percent of doctors said that they had been divorced, the divorce rate was 33 percent for nurses and 25 percent for dentists.
Researchers had thought that doctors would have had a higher rate of divorce due to the high stress levels that they experience. They also thought that the demanding hours would also put relationships in jeopardy. One exception to the rule that researchers discovered had to do with female doctors who worked over 40 hours in a week. Research indicated that they were actually 1.5 times more likely to eventually divorce than their peers.
It is believed that this was due to different trade-offs that they needed to make to ensure a work/life balance. However, those who analyzed those figures said that there was no firm research to back up that conclusion. The lead author of the study suggested that more work needed to be done to determine if that hypothesis was accurate.
During a divorce, there are many issues that may need to be settled, including child custody and property division. Those who need help with these matters may wish to contact an attorney. A New Jersey attorney may be able to act as a mediator to get a divorce settlement negotiated outside of court, which may be better for the couple and any children that they may have. Otherwise, an attorney may be able to help an individual pursue what he or she may be entitled to at trial.