EN
The paper focus on two main 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 and motives leading to break-up of marriages and unmarried cohabitations and what socio-demographic characteristics (e.g. education, number of children, age etc.) influence people’s perception of these reasons? The analysis is based on two data sources: the database of divorces for the year 2008 registered by the Czech Statistical Office and quantitative survey "Partnership" conducted in 2009, which included a representative sample of 1086 respondents. 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 of partnership breakup, 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. In contrast, long-term partnerships, marriages or partnerships with children break up much often because of infidelity, alcoholism or violence.