Much research has been done to identify the factors that contribute to marital dissolution. Identifying these predictors of divorce can help better understand marital relationships and can help prevent divorce. The causes of divorce discussed in this paper include, equity of housework and its relationship with two-income families, the Exchange theory and financial problems, Role Specialization Theory, age at marriage and premarital sexual activity and cohabitation. All these factors are very important and have been applied to varying degrees to the two case studies. One is the case of the marriage of a couple who try to balance their responsibilities while the other demonstrates how lack of a sense of duty and complete ignorance can cause deterioration of marriage despite efforts put in by one the spouses. These case studies are relevant to everyday life and demonstrate that role specialization and a stable net attraction combined with barriers can have detriment effects on the survival of marriages. .
The traditional definition of marriage is a union of love sanctioned by the partners as they take their vows of love, respect, honour and fidelity. Both partners promise to contribute to their marriage by devoting themselves to each other. However maintaining these vows and promises in today's society has becoming increasingly difficult. There is always the cases of infidelity, spousal abuse and substance abuse, and financial burdens that put great strain on marriages. Every marriage is put to the test of time and while some give in to the problems, others manage to escape divorce and somehow strengthen their marriage further more. There are many sociological theories that attempt to explain the survival or more importantly the dissolution of marriage. These theories have been developed in part as response to the relatively declining rate of divorce over the past two decades but also to identify the predictors of divorce.