Three decades of gender and education differentials in attitudes toward divorce in Taiwan, 1985–2015

Abstract

Rising rates of divorce in Taiwan prompted debates over changes in the meaning of family, which must be understood alongside changes in attitudes toward divorce. The diffusion and lagged diffusion theories offer competing hypotheses regarding divorce attitude change by education and gender over time. Using the Taiwanese Social Change Survey, this study examines the trends in attitudes toward divorce in Taiwan over three decades (1985–2015). We test the diffusion and lagged diffusion theories by examining the relationships between higher educational attainment, gender, and attitudes towards divorce. We find that Taiwanese men and women became more open toward divorce in general along with higher education expansion. Increased acceptance toward divorce is more substantial for the college educated than those without, and college-educated women are more open to divorce than are college-educated men. The results support the diffusion theory and highlight the importance of education and gender in shaping attitude shift.