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Any attempt to explain the reasons why couples enter into separation agreements and/or divorce must take into account both the nature of marriage as an institution, within a given social and cultural context, and its particular meaning for the individuals involved. Remarking that the dramatic increase in the lifetime divorce probability cannot be explained only at the personal or micro level, in addition to asking why some marriages are more likely to fail than others, we also need to examine changes in the social institutions that structure individual experience.'