Just when I thought I'd gathered the final sample for My New Book--666 wives and 668 husbands--I discovered I hadn't. First of all, the wives came from a number of different sources--the publicity for my book, BEYOND THE MOMMY YEARS, including the radio and television interviews I did, as well as my appearances on various Websites, including iVillage and MayasMom.com. But the husbands--ah, those STUBBORN hubbies--they were much more difficult to persuade. Eventually, as I've explained, most of them came from ads I placed on Facebook for married men over the age of 21.
When I began to analyze my data, though, I discovered that the average age of the wives was about 41 years old; the husbands, on average, were 35. The discrepancy bothered me, because it was clear that they couldn't be in the same marriages. I had to figure out a way to increase the age of the husband sample, so it would be closer to the age of the wife sample.
So, here's what I did.
First, I limited the wives to those over the age of 25, getting rid of the very youngest, and I excluded all husbands under the age of 27. (The average age at first marriage in the United States is now 27.1 for men, and 25.3 for women, according to the latest Census Bureau data.) Second, I got rid of a few 18-year-old wives and husbands, who seemed legit, but somehow I didn't trust what they had to say about marriage. Or anything else, for that matter. (I deleted them.) Third, I revived my Facebook ads, which are now focused solely on husbands over the age of 38. In case you were wondering, there are just 81,000 Facebook members in that category. I just need, say, 75 or 100 of them to answer my survey. Please.
Now, here's something even odder. I went through all of the surveys, about 1,400, looking at the places where the respondents live. They're from all over the United States, as well as from the United Kingdom and Canada and Puerto Rico and the Phillipines and even Chiang Mai, Thailand. I printed out a list of all 50 states, curious to see if I had at least one husband or wife from each one--even the weirdo ones like South Dakota and West Virginia and, say, Alaska. Check, check, and check. I even have a few from Hawaii. V. cool, right? Well, guess what? I have responses from all 50 states, except one. ONE! Can you guess which? Well, it's Wyoming. Nobody. Answered. From. Wyoming.
This, I cannot allow to stand. I must have responses from all 50 states. It just sounds better, no? So
this weekend, I put another ad on Facebook, aimed at all of the over-25 husbands and wives on Facebook, offering the first one to answer a Starbucks Coffee Caddy. It will be seen by all Wyoming-ites (Wyoming-ians?) in this category. All 480 married men and 750 married women.
So far, not a one has answered. Know anybody in Wyoming?? If so, send 'em here!
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