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Home > Research and Statistics > State and Local Research Studies
State and Local Research Studies
In an effort to understand the state of relationships, marriage and divorce in the U.S., researchers have conducted studies at the state and local level. In a few states, these studies have been done to create a "baseline", or a starting point of understanding. These are conducted so that programs which provide services to the public can be based on the facts of that public. These baseline studies are also conducted with the hope that researchers will some day be able to measure the impact of various social programs on a particular state or locality.
Marriage in Oklahoma: A Statewide Baseline Survey  on Marriage and Divorce (2001-2002)
In order to develop programs to promote and strengthen marriage for Oklahoma residents, the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative (OMI), launched by former Governor Frank Keating in 1998, commissioned a survey to understand marriage and divorce rates in the state, as well as Oklahomans' attitudes towards marriage. In partnership with Oklahoma State University's Bureau for Social Research, and a group of nationally-recognized researchers and sociologists serving as advisors, the OMI designed and completed the first comprehensive statewide survey on marriage in the United States. The survey, conducted between September 2001 and January 2002, included questions on attitudes about relationships, demographic data on marriage, divorce, remarriage, patterns of cohabitation, and intent to marry/remarry, relationship quality, and views toward marriage education.
Marriage in Utah: 2003 Utah Baseline Statewide Survey on Marriage and Divorce
Inspired by Oklahoma's 2001 Baseline Statewide Survey on Marriage and Divorce conducted in 2003, Utah launched a similar survey to help guide its state-level efforts to develop programs and policies that promote and strengthen marriage. This report provides the highlights of the 2003 Utah Baseline Statewide Survey on Marriage and Divorce prepared by researchers at Utah State University, in conjunction with Oklahoma State University's Bureau for Social Research.
The survey includes demographic data on marriage, divorce, remarriage, and patterns of cohabitation among Utah residents. It also explores Utahans' perspective on the quality of their marriages, as well as overall attitudes towards marriage and divorce, with particular attention to the thoughts of young adults and low-income residents. Information is also provided on the impact of mental health and substance abuse problems on the quality of Utahan's unions.
Family Formation in Florida: 2003 Baseline Survey of Attitudes, Beliefs, and Demographics Relating to Marriage and Family Formation.
Funded by the Florida Department of Children and Families and conducted by researchers at the University of Florida, this survey sought to describe the range of family structures in Florida, the attitudes of Floridians towards marriage, family formation, and marriage education, and the characteristics associated with healthy intimate relationships. More than 4,500 adult residents in Florida were interviewed over the phone regarding these and related topics.
Developed by the nonprofit organization First Things First in Chatanooga, this report offers demographic data and attitudes regarding marriage, divorce, and family formation for residents of Hamilton County, Tennessee.
State of the State Survey : Marriage in Michigan, Factors that Affect Satisfaction, Clifford Broman, Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, Michigan State University (2000)
This report uses data from the State of the State survey conducted by the Institute in 1999 which interviewed nearly 1,500 residents on their volunteer activities, mental health, families, and marriage. The report examines factors that contribute to happy marriages in Michigan, and the extent to which marital happiness differs across social and economic status.
Formative Research Report (PDF - 276 KB); Together We Can: Creating a Healthy Future for our Family (two-county Michigan survey) 2007
This report highlights the findings from focus groups and surveys conducted in Pontiac and Saginaw Michigan by the Michigan State University Extension Service to inform the development of a community-based healthy marriage initiative. Report includes attitudes towards marriage, parenting, co-parenting, and other relationship issues.
Researchers conducted phone interviews with 1,324 adults in Louisiana, Arizona and Minnesota to gauge public opinion about covenant marriage and divorce. The study is designed to inform policy analysts of the social climate in which these legal initiatives are taking place.
This essay discusses the role of crime in the decline of marriage in Minnesota and in the broader United States. It examines the effect of collateral sanctions (laws that prohibit ex-offenders from holding certain types of jobs) and other employment barriers faced by formerly incarcerated men on their propensity to marry.
Written by the Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department in 2006, this document describes marriage penalties in the Minnesota and federal tax codes and how the state's income tax marriage credit is designed to reduce the effect of that penalty on married couples.
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