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This research project was conducted as part of the evaluation for the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative. In 1999 Governor Frank Keating announced the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative, with the objective of reducing the divorce rate in Oklahoma by 1/3 by the year 2010. One aim of the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative is to change the culture of support for marriage in Oklahoma. Consequently, a component in evaluating the effectiveness of the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative is to assess the ?culture of marriage? and ?culture of divorce? in Oklahoma. One objective of the survey was to assess the long-term impact of the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative on a broad range of indicators related to marital, cohabitation, and family relationships in Oklahoma. A second objective was to gather demographic data on patterns of cohabitation, intent to marry, marriage, divorce, and remarriage among Oklahomans. To ensure that the data were representative of low-income families in Oklahoma, additional interviews were completed with Oklahoma Medicaid clients. To form a comparison group, residents of neighboring states (Texas, Kansas, and Arkansas) were also surveyed. (Author abstract)

See also the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Research Brief: The Oklahoma Marriage Initiative: Using Research to Guide the Development of an Evolving Statewide Initiative (July 2008)