Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth<\/a> that was collected in 2002, 2006-2010 and 2011-2013, researchers observed these trends, with the potential ties emerging between the total number of sexual partners and matrimonial dissolutions.<\/p>\n \u201cEarlier research found that having multiple sex partners prior to marriage could lead to less happy marriages, and often increased the odds of divorce,\u201d Professor Nicholas Wolfinger\u00a0wrote in a blog post<\/a> that announced the analysis. \u201cBut sexual attitudes and behaviors continue to change in America, and some of the strongest predictors of divorce in years gone by no longer matter as much as they once did.\u201d<\/p>\n Institute for Family Studies<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Wolfinger, professor of family and consumer studies and sociology at the University of Utah,\u00a0noted that 43 percent of women had only one sexual partner before marriage in the 1970s, but said that this figure later plummeted.<\/p>\n \u201cEven in the 1980s, slightly over half of women had a maximum of one sex partner before walking down the aisle,\u201d he wrote<\/a>. \u201cThings looked very different at the start of the new millennium.\u00a0By the 2010s, only 5 percent of new brides were virgins.\u201d<\/p>\n Wolfinger continued, \u201cAt the other end of the distribution, the number of future wives who had ten or more sex partners increased from 2 percent in the 1970s to 14 percent in the 2000s, and then to 18 percent in the 2010s.\u201d<\/p>\n In the end, after analyzing the data, the professor concluded that those with fewer partners are less likely to see their marriages end in divorce. Thus, marrying as a virgin left women in a better situation when it came to their chances for future divorce.<\/p>\n \u201cEleven percent of virgin marriages (on the part of the woman, at least) in the 1980s dissolved within five years. This number fell to 8 percent in the 1990s, then fell again to 6 percent in the 2000s,\u201d Wolfingerexplained<\/a>. \u201cFor all three decades, the women with the second lowest five-year divorce rates are those who had only one partner prior to marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There has been a change over the years, though. In the 2000s, for the first time, the highest five-year divorce rates were for women with 10 or more sex partners before marriage; previously, women with two partners before marriage had the highest rates.<\/p>\n Wolfinger said that the proportions lead to one solid conclusion: \u201cThe odds of divorce are lowest with zero or one premarital partners.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, the professor did note that the 33 percent five-year rate for 10 or more partners isn\u2019t statistically more significant than the 30 percent for two partners, leading to additional questions about what social constructs might be at play. Wilfinger also concluded that the research \u201cultimately raises more questions than it answers.\u201d<\/p>\n Read his entire analysis here<\/a>.<\/p>\n (H\/T: Christian Post<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"Institute](\"http:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-07-at-10.47.26-AM-620x353.jpg\")
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