Home Wreckers and Who's Fault Is It?
However, half (51%) indicate that men are more likely than women to initiate an affair, while slightly less (45%) disagree with this proposition.
Canadians do not express surprise when a marriage breaks up due to infidelity. In fact, eight in ten (79%) say that when they read or hear about a women leaving her husband for another man they are not surprised in the same way they would have been years ago. Slightly less (76%), express the same view regarding the situation of a man leaving his wife for another women.
Canadians also appear to view that the state of a politician's marriage as a private matter. Eight in ten (81%) agree that when a leading politician leaves his or her spouse for another, it's nobody's business and we should respect their privacy.
These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of Homemakers Magazine between October 8th and October 10th, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.
Just under half (45%) of Canadians say that women who have affairs with married men with families are home wreckers who should get no sympathy, even if the man initiates the affair. This compares to 51% who disagree with this view.
- Women (49%) are more likely than men (41%) to express agreement with this view.
- Regionally, residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (53%) are the most likely to express this view, followed by those in British Columbia (48%), Ontario (48%), Alberta (46%), and Atlantic Canada (44%), while those in Quebec (37%) are least likely.
- Older (50%) Canadians are more likely than middle aged (42%) Canadians to believe this to be the case.
- Canadians with high school or less education (53%) are more likely than those with a university degree (34%) to agree with this view.
However, half (51%) indicate that men are more likely than women to initiate an affair, while slightly less (45%) disagree with this proposition.
- Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (57%), followed by British Columbia (54%) and Ontario (53%) agree that men are more likely to initiate an affair than are women, while those in Quebec (49%), Alberta (45%) and Atlantic Canada (43%) are less likely to agree with this view.
- Men (50%) are as likely as women (52%) to agree with this view.
Canadians do not express surprise when a marriage breaks up due to infidelity. In fact, eight in ten (79%) say that when they read or hear about a women leaving her husband for another man they are not surprised in the say way they would have been years ago.
- Older (83%) Canadians are more likely to agree with this view than are younger (76%) Canadians.
- There is no statistical difference across region, gender or household income groups.
Slightly less (76%), express the same view regarding the situation of a man leaving his wife for another women.
- Older (80%) Canadians are also more likely to say they aren't as surprised as they would have been years ago if they heard about a man leaving his wife for another women, than are younger (73%) Canadians.
- Women (78%) are more likely to express this view than are men (73%).
Canadians also appear to hold the view that the state of a politician's marriage is a private matter. Eight in ten (81%) agree that when a leading politician leaves his or her spouse for another, it's nobody's business and we should respect their privacy.
- Residents of Quebec (88%) and British Columbia (86%) are more likely than those in other regions to agree that the state of a politician's marriage is nobody's business and that their privacy should be respected, followed by residents of Atlantic Canada (79%), Ontario (78%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (78%), while residents of Alberta (67%) are the least likely to agree with this view.
- Younger (87%) and middle aged (81%) Canadians are more likely than their older (73%) counterparts to agree with this proposition.
To view the factum and tables, please open the attached PDF files.
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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
