As reported in the Washington Post on September 19, 2010, an April, 2010 study in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, debunks the apparent myth that the divorce rate for police officers is higher than the general population. Using data from the 2000 U.S. Census, the study concludes that 16.35% of previously-married Americans reported themselves as divorced or separated.

Dancers and choreographers registered the highest divorce rates (43.1%), followed by bartenders (38.4%), massage therapists (38.2%), casino workers, telephone operators, nurses and home health aides.

Agricultural, sales, and nuclear engineers were among the 10 occupations with the lowest divorce rates. That group also included optometrists (4%), clergy (5.6%) and podiatrists (6.8%).

Only 14.5% of previously-married police officers listed themselves as divorced or separated.

The Post article noted that remarried Americans would have been excluded from the divorced or separated category.

The study authors conceded that the study raised more questions than it answered, beginning with “Why?”