The Determinants of Divorce in Malaysia: The Role of ED, Ethnicity, and Religion

Abstract

The growing divorce rate is one of the main sociocultural problems in Malaysia today. The history of divorce in Malaysia is both fascinating and complex. It should be addressed individually for Malays, Chinese, and Indians as well as Muslims and non-Muslims since there have historically been significant and fundamental distinctions in rates of divorce between these communities. Apart from these demographic factors, physical factor such as a husband's erectile dysfunction is a common disorders that may make sexual activity challenging. It may result in a lack of intimacy in a marriage, impacting both partners' mental health, and perhaps marriage itself. The objective of this research is to investigate the impact of these both demographical and physical factors on marital dissolution. We applied the Probit and Logit binary models using a primary dataset of 164 divorced and non-divorced couples. Other relevant factors such as childlessness, debt, education, and income were also included. According to our findings, divorce is more frequent in Malay and Muslim communities and less frequent in chinses and non-Muslim couples. The findings also indicate that childlessness and income have no major influence on divorce. Having a debt burden, education level, and suffering fromerectile dysfunctionincreasethe probability of divorce.