Facts
How do adults define relationships today? Is having a relationship important for a happy and fulfilling life? Does finding a soul mate really matter? In order to answer these questions, Chemistry.com had Harris Interactive conduct a survey on relationships. Over the next several weeks, we will be revealing the surprising results to this survey.
A majority of U.S. adults feel that living together and deciding not to marry is acceptable.
Q1050: On a scale of 1 to 10 where "1" represents completely unacceptable and "10" represents completely acceptable, how acceptable do you think it is when couples in a committed relationship live together and decide they never want to get married?
Base: All respondents (n=2,549)
Base: All respondents (n=2,549)
Only a minority of adults view co-habiting couples who decide not to marry negatively, such as afraid of commitment, unconcerned about family values, or unsure of their love for one another.
Q1045: In your opinion, would you say that people who live together in a committed relationship but don't marry...? *
Base: All respondents (n=2,549)
* Multiple responses were allowed.
Base: All respondents (n=2,549)
* Multiple responses were allowed.
The key reason that marriage matters is that most adults, regardless of current relationship status, value having a partnership with another human being. Few adults want to get married in order to have children, gain tax benefits, or respond to social or career pressures.
Q1035: Why, if at all, is marriage important to you? *
Base: All respondents (n=2,549); Single adults (n= 737); Married adults (n= 1,232)
* Multiple responses were allowed.
Base: All respondents (n=2,549); Single adults (n= 737); Married adults (n= 1,232)
* Multiple responses were allowed.
Survey Methodology
Harris Interactive conducted the online survey on behalf of Chemistry.com between March 30 and April 3, 2007, among a nationally representative sample of 2,549 U.S. adults age 18 and older. Figures for region, age within gender, education, household income and race/ethnicity were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.� Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents� propensity to be online.
With a pure probability sample of 2,549, one could say with a 95% probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points. Sampling error for data based on sub-samples would be higher and would vary. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
Harris Interactive conducted the online survey on behalf of Chemistry.com between March 30 and April 3, 2007, among a nationally representative sample of 2,549 U.S. adults age 18 and older. Figures for region, age within gender, education, household income and race/ethnicity were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.� Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents� propensity to be online.
With a pure probability sample of 2,549, one could say with a 95% probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points. Sampling error for data based on sub-samples would be higher and would vary. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
