Sociological Imagination And Personal Explanation Essay Example

of 60 are likely to divorce at the rate of 26 % and 32 % among men and women respectively (U.S. Divorce Rates and Statistics - Divorce Stats - Divorce Source, 2016). At the national level, An American Community Survey that was done on the same year indicates divorce and remarriage recur at the rate of 8.7 and 17 per 1000 women respectively. This rate translates to 51 % of the sample selected. Among men, the rates are 8.1 and 18.1 divorce and remarriage incidences respectively. As such, the rate of divorce among American women is higher per 6% when compared to male counterparts (U.S. Divorce Rates and Statistics - Divorce Stats - Divorce Source, 2016).

Divorce rates also varied according to education levels. Several studies have revealed that more educated individuals are less likely to divorce when compared to the less educated individuals. According to experts, individuals who do not pursue higher education and instead opt to marry are more probable to divorce when compared to their counterparts who are more educated.
“The lowest divorce rates are among people who marry late with more education; the highest ones are among those who marry young with less education” (Asthana & Campbell, 2009).

The same study indicated that marriage among individual with different educational status is likely to end in a divorce. People with the same educational achievements will enjoy a successful marriage with the minimum divorce rate.
Different level of education among the various races also affected divorce rate in various ethnic groups. A US study indicates that more Negroes divorce annually when compared to the whites. Taking educational status into consideration, divorce is imminent among black when compared

to white with the same educational achievement. According to Kim, an American marriage therapist:
“For white Americans, the divorce rate has remained steady since 1980, and this protective effect of education on marriage increased consistently among the recent generations” ("Higher Ed Equals Longer Marriage... Sometimes", 2013).

Sociological Imagination

Given the above arguments, is suffices to argue that some causes of divorce can be linked to various social aspects; not mistrust among couples alone. According to Conley, a majority of the problems individuals face in the community have a social root that makes several problems a universal construct. In this sense, viewing an issue as a social construct entails gaining a wholesome picture of how people in the society give a certain meaning to a particular aspect. In most cases, we view divorce as a personal problem. As such, we look for its causes from an individual perspective and at the end the whole problem is internalized. However, the various divorce incidences witnessed in the society are not entirely unique.

Divorce is accompanied by atrocious experience and in most cases, affected parties encounter an immense feeling of absolute personal failure. However, when its rate is almost reaching 50% in some states, then it can be regarded as a social problem that is caused by weaknesses or flaws prevailing in the society. When several people in the society are experiencing divorce, then it begs the question. What structural changes in the society are responsible for the rampant incidences of divorce? In contemporary society changes in lifestyle has been associated with divorce incidences (De Maio, 2013). Some men have become less responsible, and they are no longer acting as the breadwinners for

their families; a factor that has seen the rate of divorce increase among women. In other words, it suffices to argue that divorce needs to be viewed from the broader perspective. Conley asserts that we need to ‘think outside the box’ and realize that the problems facing humanity are not entirely personal but it has social causes as well (Conley, n.d.).

Changes made to divorce laws have made divorce rates increase considerably. Initially, the laws governing divorce rendered the practice very expensive in the long run. As such, individuals retracted divorcing one another because it has dire financial implications. Currently, the world has witnessed a rise in middle class. As such, individuals can procure divorce without worrying about the financial implications associated with it. Therefore, we need to view the broader picture associated with divorce so that we are able to come up with long-term solutions.
Conley argues that increasing sociological imagination awareness among individuals is subject to misinterpretation (Conley, n.d.). As such, we often witness on several occasions situations where people misuse the insight gained from social imagination to justify the occurrence of a particular problem in the society. For instance, a certain faction of adults has failed to resolve divorce issues merely because they perceive that measures to address it significantly relies on external factors that are beyond their control (De Maio, 2013). Since such issues cannot be solves by an individual, it is wise to use sociological understanding to resolve it.

Conclusions

Social imagination is a scientific approach that can be used to explain the problems facing humanity. The majority of the problems we face today as nsot different from those faced by earlier generations. It

is evident that certain social constructs are procreating these problems. Divorce rates have increased in the contemporary society. Mistrust is not the only reason causing divorce. Several studies reveal that other socio-economic and political factors fuel the incidence. For instance, changes made to divorce laws and rise of the middle class has led to rampant divorce cases. Therefore, social imagination will provide more insight into divorce and explain why the rate of divorce have increased of late.

Reference

1. Asthana, A. & Campbell, D. (2009). US study says divorce is linked to age and education. the Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/27/divorce-linked-to-age-education
2. Conley, D. You may ask yourself.
3. De Maio, F. (2013). Regression Analysis and the Sociological Imagination. TEST, 36(2), 52-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/test.12019
4. Higher Ed Equals Longer Marriage... Sometimes. (2013). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 June 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/11/divorce-rate-education- conversely-related-varies-by-race_n_2854790.html
5. U.S. Divorce Rates and Statistics - Divorce Stats - Divorce Source. (2016). Divorcesource.com. Retrieved 6 June 2016, from http://www.divorcesource.com/ds/main/u-s-divorce-rates- and-statistics-1037.shtml