本篇文章檢視臺灣自1980年代末期以來離婚與分居母親增加的貢獻性因素，我們特別針對經濟獨立假設進行檢定。我們使用“家庭收支調查＂，並以女性潛在的薪資來測量經濟獨立的程度。 Probit模型被用來檢視經濟獨立對婦女離婚與分居的影響。研究發現，女性教育程度的快速上升明顯地提升她們的經濟獨立程度，而經濟獨立的提升與小孩數目的減少是離婚與分居母親增加的重要因素。經濟獨立不但使婦女較不會因經濟安全而依賴婚姻，也使她們更能承擔離婚與分居後的經濟支出。

This paper examines the contributing factors to the increase in the numbers of divorced and separated mothers in Taiwan since the end of 1980s. In particular, it tests the hypothesis of women's economic independence. Data from the Survey of Family Income and Expenditures is used; women's potential earnings are used as the measure of their economic independence. A probit model is employed to examine the effect of predicted earnings (economic independence) on the probability of being a divorced or separated mother. The findings indicate that the rapid increase in women's education substantially raises their economic independence, and the increase in women's economic independence and the decrease in the number of children contribute greatly to the increase in the numbers of divorced and separated mothers. These results suggest that economic independence not only enables women to be less dependent on marriage for economic security but also makes divorce and separation more affordable.