A major new study that has shaken the foundations of anthropology, psychology and economics, also provides this insight on the "social rootedness" variable, which I think is a major factor in explaining regional differences in divorce rates in the U.S.:
"Recent research has shown that people in “tight” cultures, those with strong norms and low tolerance for deviant behavior (think India, Malaysia, and Pakistan), develop higher impulse control and more self-monitoring abilities than those from other places. Men raised in the honor culture of the American South have been shown to experience much larger surges of testosterone after insults than do Northerners. Research published late last year suggested psychological differences at the city level too. Compared to San Franciscans, Bostonians’ internal sense of self-worth is more dependent on community status and financial and educational achievement."
"We Aren’t the World" [also titled "Why Americans are the Weirdest People in the World"], Pacific Standard February 25, 2013 • By Ethan Watters