Majority of Filipinos prefer to receive rather than give love.
Still wondering whom you’d grow old with?
A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey found out that seven out of 10 adult Filipinos would choose a lifetime partner who loves him or her more.
In the SWS survey conducted on December 5 to 10, 2009 with 2,100 respondents, 71 percent of Filipinos would choose to be wi t h a person who will love him or her more, while 28 percent would choose to have a lifetime partner whom he or she loves more.
The survey specifically asked the respondents “Kung maaari po kayong pumili ng isa lang sa mga sumusunod para makasama sa habangbuhay, alin po ang inyong pipiliin? Taong mahal ako ngunit mas mahal ko, o taong mahal ko ngunit mas mahal ako?” (If you could choose only one among the following as your lifetime partner, which would you pick? The person who loves me but I love more, or the person I love but who loves me more?)
As shown in the survey results, the Filipinos’ preference for receiving over giving love was dominant in all geographic areas and socio-economic classes.
Preference for receiving love was highest in the Visayas with 73 percent, followed by 71 percent in both the rest of Luzon and Mindanao.
Filipinos belonging to socio-economic class D or the “masa” had the highest preference for receiving love with 73 percent, followed by those belonging to classes ABC (rich to middle classes) with 70 percent, and 67 percent in class E (poorest class).
Latest figures also showed that the preference for receiving love was stronger among women than among men, with 77 percent among women and 65 percent among men.
The perception of accepting love was also stronger among younger respondents with 75 percent among both 18-24 and 25-34 age groups, 73 percent among 45-54 year-old Filipinos, and 72 percent among 35-44 year-old individuals, compared to 63 percent of Filipinos 55 years old and above.
SWS said the survey sample used had 24 percent without a spouse or partner consisting of 16 percent never married, 7 percent widowed, and 2 percent separated/divorced.
It also includes 68 percent married consisting of 66 percent first marriage, 1 percent formerly widowed, and 1 percent formerly separated/divorced.
The sample, likewise, includes 8 percent with live-in partner consisting of 7 percent with first live-in partner, 1 percent formerly separated/divorced, and 0.2 percent formerly widowed.
Regardless of marital status, the survey showed that majority prefer receiving over giving love was 76 percent among those with partner, 72 percent among those without spouse or partner, and 71 percent among those who are married.
Preference for receiving love over giving it was strongest among those who are separated/divorced (89 percent), followed by those who were formerly widowed and now re-married (81 percent), those who were formerly separated/divorced and now with a live-in partner (78 percent), and those who have a live-in partner for the first time (76 percent).
Those who were formerly widowed and now with a live-in partner were divided between those who place more value on receiving love (51 percent) and those who place more value giving it (49 percent).
The fourth quarter SWS survey used face-to-face interviews of 2,100 adults divided into random samples of 300 in Metro Manila and 600 each in Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
It has sampling margins of error of ±2.2 percent for national percentages, ±6 percent for Metro Manila, and ±4 percent for Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao
lBy ELLALYN B. DE VERA
mb.com.ph | Manila Bulletin
