7 common reasons why people say they got divorced

• A number of scientific papers explore the reasons why people say they got divorced.
• We took a look at some of those papers and pulled out recurring themes.
• Seven common reasons are listed below: They include infidelity, growing apart, and getting married too young.

When it comes to studying divorce, social scientists have two options. They can observe different couples and try to figure out on their own what predicts the end of a marriage ... or they can simply ask people why their marriage ended.

A growing body of scientific research falls into that second category. Researchers either ask participants to choose from a list of potential reasons for divorce, or they ask participants to answer an open-ended question about why they divorced. A recent blog post on Psychology Today, by psychologist Scott M. Stanley, for example, highlights several papers on people's reasons for divorce.

We took a look at some of that research and pulled out seven common reasons participants gave to explain their divorce. Those reasons are listed below (but they're not ranked in any particular order).

SEE ALSO: 7 things science says predict divorce

Infidelity

Infidelity is a common explanation for divorce.

In one small study, published 2013 in the journal Couple and Family Psychology, one participant described the infidelity that led to the divorce this way:

"He cheated on me ... Then I met somebody else and did the same thing. ... And when he found out about it we both essentially agreed that it wasn't worth trying to make it work anymore because it just hurt too bad."

Still, it's worth noting that infidelity doesn't always have to doom a relationship. Couples therapist Esther Perel previously told Business Insider that the discovery of an affair — while potentially devastating — can sometimes allow a couple to reestablish the kind of intimacy and honesty that they haven't had in years.

Substance abuse

Drinking and/or drug use is a commonly cited marital problem.

One participant in the 2013 study told the researchers: "I said 'absolutely no more bars' and as soon as I found out he was back in them, I asked for [a divorce]."

That same study found substance abuse was also a relatively common "final straw" in the decision to end a marriage.

Lack of commitment

This turns up as a reason for divorce in at least two studies, both of which asked people to choose from a list of potential factors.

In the 2013 study, one participant said:

"It became insurmountable. It got to a point where it seemed like he was no longer really willing to work [on the relationship]. All of the stresses together and then what seemed to be to be an unwillingness to work through it any longer was the last straw for me."