Thai families are at greater risk than ever before of falling apart as more couples are getting divorced, according to the Department of Mental Health.
The divorce rate has jumped over the decade, from 27% of marriages failing in 2006 to 39% last year, said the department chief, Boonruang Triruangworawat, citing the Interior Ministry's latest set of figures.
The figures revealed that last year 307,746 couples registered a marriage. During the same time 118,539 couples divorced.
Dr Boonruang expressed concern about the rising divorce rate, saying broken families will inevitably have an impact on the society in which we live.
He said families were getting smaller as more couples preferred to live and raise children on their own instead of living with their parents in an extended family environment.
This self-imposed isolation sometimes resulted in couples not having anyone to turn to for support or advice when domestic problems arose.
As a result, more families were exposed to psychological "fragility", said Dr Boonruang.
The main reasons cited in divorce cases were work-related stress, as well as financial and social pressures.
He said the key to maintaining a strong bond within marriage lay in creating a framework in which both parties feel empowered to communicate honestly with one another.
Dr Boonruang said a couple should listen and talk positively to each other more.
