Over 70% Chinese think longer divorce procedures could help save marriages: survey

A total of 73.3 percent of respondents agreed that making divorce procedures more complex could help save more marriages, according to a survey released by the China Youth Daily on Thursday.

Over 83 percent of the 2,002 respondents agreed that people are taking divorce less seriously than in the past, and over 73 percent of the respondents said they see more divorces around them, the survey said.

Personality clashes, infidelity, and clashes of values are the top three reasons for divorce as observed by respondents. Other reasons include domestic violence, unequal family status, and bad relationships with spouses' parents.

Official data from last year indicated that the divorce rate in China has been rising for 14 years in a row since 2003.

More complex divorce procedures may give couples more time to reconsider their decision to divorce, said a 48-year-old respondent who refused to be named.

The survey also revealed that 55.4 percent of respondents suggested that the civil affairs bureaus, which are in charge of divorce procedures, hire marriage and family counselors to help couples save their marriages. Half of the respondents supported the development of professional marriage counseling services.

Of the respondents, 79.6 percent are married, 14.7 percent are unmarried, and 5.2 percent are divorced.