Factors leading to early divorce in the Saudi society A descriptive study applied to newly-married divorced Saudi women in the city of Riyadh

Abstract

     The present study aimed to search for the factors leading to early divorce in the Saudi society by identifying the subjective, social, economic and psychological factors that lead to early divorce from the point of view of newly married divorced Saudi women.

     The descriptive analytical method was used for its relevance to the nature of the study. The questionnaire was designed as a tool for data collection. It was distributed to a group of specialized arbitrators and to a purposeful random sample of 300 newly married divorced women in the city of Riyadh. The appropriate statistical methods were used via SPSS program.

     The study reached a set of findings, including the approval of factors leading to early divorce of Saudi women from the point of view of newly married divorced Saudi women. Social factors came first in the order of those factors, followed by psychological factors and then subjective factors, all of which were approved factors. Economic factors came last in the order among those factors as approved to some extent, which can be explained that income levels and economic factors are not the main issue for divorce within the Saudi society but social and psychological factors are the most influential in divorce cases.

     The study concluded with a set of recommendations, the most important of which are working with newlyweds to make them aware of their roles through periodic seminars about family issues and how to address such problems, developing extension programs about the appropriate age for marriage, setting new standards by the judicial authorities. In addition, introducing the requirement of obtaining courses in marital rehabilitation within marriage contract, obligating those who are about to get married to take rehabilitation and educational courses provided by specialized institutions, having access to everything young people who are about to marry need, facilitating the procedures of premarital examinations, and increasing the number of specialized centers.