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The State of Washington's Unions
Families Northwest's 2004 Washington Marriage Survey
The 2004 Marriage survey was conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide among 402 Washington state adults, October 6-9th. Results have been analyzed by Wilson Research Consulting. Significance is reported with a margin of error of +/- 4.9% in 95 out of 100 cases.
- Washingtonians remain overwhelmingly supportive of marriage as an institution and disagree with the notion that marriage is "old fashioned" or outmoded.
- 88% of those surveyed in 2004 said marriage is not old-fashioned, while 11% said it is. Those results are virtually identical to respondents in the Family Northwest survey conducted in 1997.
- 87% said if they had to do it over again, they would marry the same person. Only 10% said they would not. In the 1997 survey, the figures were 83% yes and 16% no.
- 92% of those surveyed expect to be married for life while just 8% do not expect to be married for life. That represents very little change from 1997 when the answers were 94% yes and just 3% no.
- Washingtonians overwhelming cited several factors as being most important to having a strong marriage - making a lifelong commitment to their spouses, fidelity, and sexual satisfaction showed the most dramatic upsides.
- On a scale of 1-10 with 1 meaning "not important at all" and 10 meaning it is extremely important, respondents mean rating for making a lifelong commitment was 9.8, up from 9.3 in the 1997 survey.
- On a scale of 1-10, the mean rating for fidelity was 10.0, up from 9.0 in 1997.
- On a scale of 1-10, the mean rating for sexual satisfaction was 8.0, up from 7.5 in 1997.
- Other very important factors to respondents, but little changed from 1997, are good communication (9.4), ability to resolve conflict (9.0) and close friendship (9.0).
- But while Washington adults have strong commitments and beliefs about the importance of marriage, attitudes have become more accepting of divorce, pre-marital sex and single parenthood.
- In 1997, 69% of Washington adults thought people just traded one set of problems for another when they got divorced. 21% thought divorce was a springboard to a better life. In 2004, 56% thought divorce was trading one set of problems for another, but 34% thought it was springboard to a better life
- In 2004, 53% of respondents said a couple with children but is unhappy with its marriage should get a divorce, a statistically significant jump from 47% in 1997.
- In 1997, respondents said people should wait to get married before having sex by a 63-28% margin. In 2004, only 52% thought waiting was a good idea while 40% thought having sex is acceptable.
- In 1997, 86% of respondents agreed with the statement, "all things being equal, it is better for children to be raised in a household that has a married mother and father." By 2004, support for that statement slumped 10 points to 76% while disagreement with the statement doubled for 12% to 24%.
- Loosening of attitudes was particularly pronounced among women and in King County.
- In 1997, by an 85-13% margin, respondents thought it was best for children to be raised in a home with the child's mother and father. Support for that position among women deteriorated to a 68-31% margin in 2004. Support of that position by residents of King County stood at 85-11% in 1997, but dropped to 66-33% in 2004.
- While both males and females were more tolerant of pre-marital sex in the 2004 survey than they were in 1997, the number of women who think it is alright to have sex before marriage increased 16 percentage points while the percentage of men increased just 10%. In 1997, 71% of women thought it was best to wait, but only 55% thought so in 2004.
- More than half (52%) of King County respondents think pre-marital sex is alright, more than double the total of the results from southwest and eastern Washington (25%)
- Women and respondents from King County also showed a greater willingness to divorce if they are in an unhappy marriage, even if they have children. Support for the divorce option increased among women from 48% to 58% in 2004 while fewer than half the men surveyed agreed. In King County, support for the divorce option skyrocketed from 47% to 64%. Support in the rest of the state was 53%.
- Women who see divorce as a springboard to a better life in 2004 nearly doubled the 1997 figure (18% to 35%) while all respondents from King County who feel that way moved up 19 points from 25% to 44%, substantially higher than the rest of the state (30%)
- As a whole, moderation of men's views on various subjects was far less pronounced than moderation in women's views, and men's attitudes on the things important to them in a marriage show some interesting trends.
- Males, for example, show a marked increase in their belief that churches can do the most to promote healthy marriages. In 1997, only 25% of men thought churches were important, but by 2004 the figure had increased to 40%.
- 94% of males think making a lifelong commitment to their spouse is important to having a strong marriage - up from 87% in 1997.
- Fidelity also took a statistically significant jump among males as a condition for strong marriages, rising from 79% in 1997 to 85% in 2004.
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