County records: More divorces, fewer marriages so far this year

Although it’s not a significant difference, records show fewer Davison County couples are getting married in 2009 and more are getting divorced.

Twenty-eight couples were married in the Mitchell area in the first four months of this year, compared to 32 couples between January and April of last year.

According to numbers from the South Dakota Magistrate Court Office, 28 divorces were filed in Davison County in the first four months of 2009, compared to 23 divorces filed in those months in 2008.

Patsy Fox of Dakota Counseling Institute in Mitchell said that from what she sees in her clinic, economic factors definitely are influencing home lives.

“The stressors on families and on couples are just horrendous right now,” she said.

When it comes to job security, Fox said, “People are worrying even if their organization does not appear to be having any problem. … They get written up at work, and that’s really frightening, or somebody left — all that atmosphere is of concern.”

Over the past decade in Davison County, the number of marriages peaked in 2005, with 202. A low of 174 marriages was recorded in 2008.

According to the state Department of Health, South Dakota’s divorce rate peaked in 1999, with 4.3 divorces per 1,000 population. In 2007, the divorce rate measured 3.2 per 1,000.

Fox counsels couples, families, children and adolescents. Though couples therapy has been around many years, she said, the emphasis has remained on families — but she thinks America has a new model marriage that could make a positive impact on how relationships are perceived.

“The Obama marriage has done so much to say, ‘Hey folks, you can do this,’ ” Fox said. “It’s so supported, and it’s very public, which is nice. It’s really hopeful.”

Tags: news, marriage, divorce