The lack of time spent between married couples is a leading cause of

Question

The lack of time spent between married couples is a leading cause of divorce. Divorce lawyers report that over the past five years the proportion of couples citing limited time spent together as the sole reason for their divorce has gone up. Therefore, either married couples are spending even less time together than they used to five years ago, or they have become more sensitive to this issue.

Which of the following, if true, weakens the argument above?

A. Divorce rates haven’t shot up considerably in the last five years.
B. The number of lawyers handling divorce has not decreased significantly over the past five years.
C. Factors other than the lack of time spent are responsible for divorce in many cases.
D. Five years ago, it was relatively less easy to prove subjective issues such as compatibility, lack of time spent, etc. in court to obtain a divorce.
E. The time spent by people in their occupation related tasks has increased in the last five years

TaN1213 · Answer

D for me.
Five years ago, lack of time spent was not considered a legitimate reason to obtain divorce. Over the years, the laws might have started considering the same reason as an important factor, which allowed people to cite this as the main issue.
The proportion of couples citing limited time spent together as the sole reason for their divorce has thus gone up, not because married couples are spending even less time together than they used to five years ago, or they have become more sensitive to this issue, but because of the increased acceptability of this as a reason to obtain divorce.

gmatexam439 · Answer

The lack of time spent between married couples is a leading cause of divorce. Divorce lawyers report that over the past five years the proportion of couples citing limited time spent together as the sole reason for their divorce has gone up. Therefore, either married couples are spending even less time together than they used to five years ago, or they have become more sensitive to this issue.

Which of the following, if true, weakens the argument above?

A. Divorce rates haven’t shot up considerably in the last five years. - Out of scope. The argument talks about the reason for divorce and not the percentage of cases 
B. The number of lawyers handling divorce has not decreased significantly over the past five years. - The number of lawyers is simple out of scope. 
C. Factors other than the lack of time spent are responsible for divorce in many cases. - We don't deny the possibility of any other factors. The argument conclusion itself states that lack of time is the LEADING cause and NOT the ONLY cause. 
D. Five years ago, it was relatively less easy to prove subjective issues such as compatibility, lack of time spent, etc. in court to obtain a divorce. - Correct.If it is easier to prove the subjective issues in court now, then this gives an alternate explanation for the 2 reasons cited in the argument at the last 
E. The time spent by people in their occupation related tasks has increased in the last five years - Same reason for discarding as that in option C

The lack of time spent between married couples is a leading cause of

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

The lack of time spent between married couples is a leading cause of

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards