There has long been a notion among some who watch the trends in divorce that the higher a woman's education, the lower her chances of divorce. But a new study suggests that notion may be misguided.

The data we've seen related to this study doesn't specify the form of divorce involved or whether things differ if you happen to be in Pennsylvania or some other state. We can only assume it applies equally to contested and uncontested divorce.

The research is offered by the National Center for Family and Marriage Research and is based on information gleaned from the 2010 census. Study authors found that the overall rate of divorce for women aged 18 or older stands at 17.5 per 1,000 first marriages.

Applying the theory of the connection between higher education and lower divorce, the researchers expected to see an imbalance among women based on that particular characteristic. What they found, however, was symmetry. Women with no high school diploma or GED had a first-time divorce rate of 14.4 per 1,000 and the rate for women with college degrees was 14.2 per 1,000.

At the same time, the rate of divorce ran 23 per 1,000 for women who had pursued some higher education, but who had not earned a bachelor's degree.

The study also determined that ethnicity had little impact on the results. African-American, Asian and Hispanic women who had not finished high school experienced a rate of divorce similar to college graduates. In fact, the study showed that the rate of first-time divorce was lowest among African-American and Hispanic women who had less than a high school diploma.

Source: UPI.com, "Education, divorce rate link inconclusive," Nov. 8, 2011