Researchers at Åbo Akademi have followed up all married couples who lived in Finland between 1975 and 1980 and examined whether their main language, Finnish or Swedish, affected the risk of divorce.
- Couples consisting of national Swedes in Sweden generally have as high a divorce risk as couples consisting of Finnish speakers in Finland.
So it is the Finnish Swedes who stand out and have a low divorce risk, says Jan Saarela, professor of demography with statistics at Åbo Akademi.
Lower risk of divorce for Swedish speakers
The study also shows that the risk of divorce varies according to the common language bilingual couples choose to speak.
- For couples who have two different mother tongues, there seems to be a higher risk of divorce if the couple chooses to speak Finnish as a common language, compared to couples who chose to speak Swedish, says Saarela.
The reason for the divorce has not been clarified
According to the researchers, socio-demographic factors such as education and place of residence have no effect on the divorce rate.
For multicultural couples, however, there are other factors besides the common language that can be decisive for the survival of the marriage.
- The risk of divorce is often higher when comparing married couples from different cultures.
If you have the same culture and values, the marriage will last longer.
It is a general rule.