Eight in 10 S’poreans say being a good spouse a top priority

SINGAPORE — About 81 per cent of Singaporeans have said being a good spouse is one of the top priorities in their lives, a survey by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has shown.

The survey, which was conducted last year, covered 2,000 respondents of different marital statuses, with 84 per cent of married respondents saying they were satisfied with their relationships.

The findings were revealed at the Marriage Convention yesterday, which was organised by Families for Life and MediaCorp.

Speaking at the convention, MSF Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling said: “It’s great to know that being married brings joy, and Singaporeans not only value marriages, they also wish to be good spouses.”

On its end, the MSF has been helping young couples prepare for marriage and “equip them with the sails to ride the waves”, said Ms Low. In 2012, nine out of 10 of couples indicated that marriage preparation programmes were effective. Moving forward, Ms Low said the ministry would be exploring how it could better support newly-weds through evidence-based marriage preparation and enrichment programmes.

This year’s convention, themed “Building Marriage Foundations”, sought to help couples improve communication through dialogue on fundamental questions about their relationships. CHANNEL NEWSASIA