The divorce rate in England and Wales increased nearly four-fold between 1950 and 1976; in the five years following the implementation of the 1969 Divorce Reform Act in January 1971, it more than doubled. Despite the plethora of public comment about the rising divorce rates, there was at the time very little objective data in our society about either those who chose to resolve their marital unhappiness by divorce, or the possible causes and consequences...