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Mr J Smith

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they were more likely than others to also report financial problems and/or domestic violence as reasons they became divorced.

Views on Policies and Programs:

• Sixty-six percent (66%) of Oklahomans say they would consider using relationship education to strengthen their relationship or marriage, with a higher percentage of younger respondents saying they would (77%), and an equally high percentage of those receiving government financial assistance (72%) saying they would consider such services. • Eighty-five percent (85%) say that a statewide initiative to promote marriage and reduce divorce is a good or very good idea. (Forty-three percent (43%) of Oklahomans said it is a very good idea, and another 42% said it is a good idea.) • Sixty-nine percent (69%) believe society would be better off if divorces were harder to get, though those who are younger or who have been through divorce were less likely to believe this. • Sixty-one percent (61%) believe it is very important (and another 27% believe it is somewhat important) for couples to prepare for marriage through educational classes, workshops, or counseling designed to help them get off to a good start. • Oklahomans are relatively likely, compared to national figures, to have participated in some form of premarital preparation, with 43% of those more recently married reporting doing so.

Marriage in Oklahoma Baseline Statewide Survey on Marriage and Divorce

Introduction

Why Oklahoma? Why now?

Oklahoma has launched a groundbreaking effort to strengthen marriage. Specifically, the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative (OMI) is a large-scale attempt in public and private sectors to increase access to a healthy marriage for more people—that is, for those who choose marriage for themselves. The Initiative in Oklahoma has received considerable national attention because of its unprecedented scope. This report describes research that impacts practices and policies in Oklahoma as well as the nation.

The leadership of the OMI concluded early on that it would be difficult to rely solely on government recorded vital statistics as a way to know both the current conditions in the state as well as changes that may occur on a broad scale over time. Not only are there inherent difficulties in government systems for collecting vital statistics, the types of data most often collected with regard to marriage and family are not ideally suited to the needs of the Initiative. Information on relationship quality is rarely collected, nor is it common to gather information about attitudes and beliefs related to marriage and family. Further, leaders of the Initiative desired specific information that could inform and refine the steps that are undertaken.

This is the first statewide survey of its kind designed to collect comprehensive information about attitudes and behavior related to marriage, divorce, and marital quality. It is also noteworthy that this effort includes a strong attempt to have the experiences and beliefs of low-income persons well represented