What is the Reason for Increase in Divorce Cases in Southwest China ?

Experts have blamed the earthquake for causing a surge in the number of divorces in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

The China Daily quoted Ministry of Civil Affairs sources, as saying that some 1.3 million couples got divorced nationwide in the first nine months of this year, and Sichuan topped the list of divorcees with 102,596 couples untying the knot.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Causes, Symptoms, Risk Factors, Complications, Dignosis, Treatment
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is a mental condition triggered by a traumatic event. PTSD treatment includes pyschotherapy, behavior therapy and medications.

Last year, Sichuan ranked seventh nationwide in terms of the number of divorcees.

In Chengdu, the provincial capital, the number of divorced couples rose for seven consecutive years from 2003, when the revised Regulation on Marriage Registration came into effect.

The number has increased from 13,525 in 2003 to 39,020 last year.

Divorce: Pros and Cons
Divorce can be traumatic for children and create a sense of insecurity amongst them. Couples should realize that joined parenting is important even after divorce.

The revised regulation has to some extent facilitated divorces, according to Xu Anqi, standing director of the Chinese Association of Marriage and Family Studies.

Before 2003, couples had to first produce letters of introduction from their work units or neighborhood committees if they decided to part ways. Now, they only have to show their identification cards, marriage certificates and divorce agreements to get their hands on certificates of divorce.

How to Save Your Marriage
You can save your marriage - even when your partner insists on a divorce.

Social mobility has played a role in the jump in the province's divorce rate, according to Chen Kefu, deputy chief of the Sichuan provincial department of civil affairs.

Guang Wei, a sociology expert with the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, blamed the earthquake in the province's Wenchuan County on May 12, 2008, for the rise in the divorce rate.

After experiencing the 8-magnitude earthquake, which killed more than 69,000 and left 18,000 missing, many Sichuan residents began thinking life was short and unpredictable, and decided to live each day to the fullest, Guang said.

If they do not get along with their spouses, they decide to part ways, he said.

Source-ANI