Abstract
The paper focus on two questions: (i) Who initiated divorce and what are the socio-demographic and life cycle characteristics that determine whether man or women file a divorce petition? And (ii) what are the individual reasons leading to break-up of marriages and unmarried cohabitations and what socio-demographic characteristics influence people's perception of these reasons? The analysis is based on the database of divorces for the year 2008 (Czech Statistical Office) and quantitative survey data from the research "Partnership 2009". I conclude that the fact of who initiated the divorce is closely related to the potential chances or risks for the individual associated with divorce.
Regarding the subjective reasons for partnership break-up, data showed a clear tendency for younger people, childless couples and unmarried cohabitation to mention reasons closely related to the quality of relationship and emotional satisfaction arising from the relationship.