Which word best describes the lawyers’ prediction of the change in divorce rate?

Questions 17—20 are based on an interview with Herbert A. Glieberman, a domestic-relations lawyer.
W: Mr. Glieberman, do you see any change in the high rate of broken marriages?
M: The divorce rate is beginning to level off and probably will begin to drop in the next year or two, though not significantly. The tight economy has made it more difficult for troubled couples to handle all the costs associated with setting up separate households. Also, I believe there’s a comeback of thought—after the turbulent ’60s and 70s—that the family does have value. In the midst of change and family disintegration, people seem to have a greater desire now to create stability in their lives.
W: What is the divorce rate now?
M: About 1 in 3 marriages ends in divorce, a ratio far higher than it was 20 years ago when the philosophy was "We’ll tough it out no matter what. Society demands that, for appearances’ sake, we stay together."
W: Divorce no longer carries much disgrace. There’s no way, for example, that Ronald Reagan, a divorced man, could have been elected President in 1960. And there are countless other divorced politicians who years ago would have been voted out of office if they had even considered a divorce, let alone gotten one.
M: The same was true in the corporate structure, where divorced people rarely moved up the executive ladder. Now corporations welcome a divorced man, because they can shift him around the country without worrying about relocating his family or making certain that they are happy.