Ozarks Marriage Matters

Not long ago I attended a think tank with marketing and marriage education experts from around the country. The purpose of this event was to craft a message for a national campaign on the importance of healthy marriage and healthy relationships. In preparation for the gathering, TRU, a research company, in cooperation with the National Healthy Marriage Research Center, provided information on attitudes toward marriage from more than 3000 young adults surveyed, ages 18-35, across the country. Here’s what they found:

Five Groups

When it comes to marriage, most people want to do it. Differences do exist, however, around one’s motivation to marry, “mindset” about marriage, and acceptance of divorce. Here’s how it lays out:

True Believers (22% of those surveyed) are those who have the highest motivation to marry. They are the most optimistic about married life and have the least tolerance for divorce.

Romantics (19%) are characterized by their high motivation to marry and their belief in marriage as a magical, love story. Romantics, however, do see divorce as an option. Younger females comprised a majority of this group.

Realists (23%) have a moderate motivation to marry, see marriage as a practical partnership, and accept divorce as a necessary option. This group was comprised of males and females with higher incomes and higher levels of education.

Young Cavaliers (22%) plan to get married . . . someday. Not surprisingly, a strong majority of this category were young males. Perhaps more unexpected, however, was the finding that once they did marry, this group saw divorce only as a last resort.

Finally, the Scared Single group (14%) had a very low motivation to marry. Persons in this category expressed a pessimistic perspective regarding marriage and accepted the necessity for divorce.

Most People Marry

Regardless of whether or not you agree with these groupings, there’s little argument about the popularity of marriage. Let’s face it, The Today Show would not continue to host a wedding each year if it were not a profitable and popular thing to do. If it’s true that most Americans desire marriage and intend to marry, then the divorce and premarital divorce rate (break-up after cohabiting) would suggest they need help to accomplish the goal they’ve set for themselves. That’s what marriage and relationship education is all about. To learn more about a group near you, go to www.operationus.org.