COAL COUNTRY'S UNIQUE DIVORCE MINDSET.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Rural coal-mining families show resilience against divorce when faced with the economic downturns common in the industry, suggests a study in the Journal of Rural Studies. Researchers found that rural counties with higher levels of coal jobs had lower divorce rates compared with similar counties with fewer coal jobs during the 1990s, when the coal industry was losing jobs.

The results indicate that rural coal families may do better than others in dealing with the stress of an economic downturn. "Coal families in rural areas have significant experience with the boom-bust cycle," says lead author Michael Betz. "People go about their lives when times get tough, knowing things will get better. They are less likely than others to resort to divorce when there's a downturn."

The study found that, while people in rural coal counties are more likely to marry in boom periods compared to bust periods, the rate of...