WASHINGTON -- Unsure what to get your sweetheart this Valentine's Day? Nothing is the wrong answer.

An Associated Press-WE tv survey found only 17 per cent of adults in committed relationships say they don't want a gift this Friday or are skipping the holiday.

Flowers and candy top the list of preferred gifts. But there are those who want something pricey like a car, jewelry or a vacation, and others who'd be fine with a teddy bear.

About a third say they'd most like to have intangibles such as time together, health or happiness.

Overall, the survey found that Cupid's arrow hits the target for most Americans.

Two-thirds of paired-off adults feel their relationships are perfect or nearly so. A scant 3 per cent think their partnerships have serious problems.

All told, 68 per cent of Americans are in committed relationships of some kind, and 11 per cent aren't currently coupled but would like to be. Seventeen per cent say they aren't seeking a relationship.

In this love-struck society, Valentine's Day holds strong appeal. About 6 in 10 say they're excited about Feb. 14, while a third say they feel more dread about the approaching onslaught of candy, flowers and dimly lit restaurants. Apprehension isn't limited to the lonely: Even 11 per cent of those who say they are in a great relationship dread Valentine's Day.

Contrary to stereotypes, men are just as excited as women about Valentine's Day. In a more expected finding, men are more likely than women to say they're hoping for sex as a gift Friday (10 per cent among men, 1 per cent among women). Women are more apt to wish for flowers (19 per cent vs. 1 per cent among men). The survey found no significant gender differences on jewelry, chocolate or teddy bears.

A notable generational divide emerged on the gift front: Americans age 65 or older are more likely to say they'd like a card or note this Valentine's Day (17 per cent of seniors want a card; just 1 per cent under age 30 say that's their gift of choice). Perhaps there's a lesson for the young: Seniors are also most apt to say their relationships are perfect and to see time spent with their partner as a key benefit of their relationship.

The poll, conducted by GfK Public Affairs and Corporate Communications, also explored how Americans find partners and how they prioritize pairing off vs. other life goals.

For the 11 per cent of Americans currently trying to find a committed relationship, there are all kinds of tools available to help. But traditional methods -- asking out someone you know or having friends set you up on a date -- outpace technological ones. Forty-one per cent have used an online dating service, while 19 per cent have tried an app that connects them to people nearby.

Overall, about half of adults say getting married or finding a romantic partner are important life goals, while more than two-thirds consider saving for retirement, owning a home or success in a career their most important or a very important goal.

For those who've found love and feel their relationship could use a little work, 75 per cent are willing to make a great deal of effort or more to fix those problems. Three per cent say they're unwilling to work on their issues. Most of those, 72 per cent, who see any kind of problem in their relationship attribute it to both partners equally. One in 6 says blame lies mostly with his or her partner. The bigger the problem, the more apt one is to blame a partner. Among those who say their relationships have only minor problems, 9 per cent blame their partner, compared with 26 per cent who report bigger issues.

One in 8 accepts the blame for any relationship problems. That peaks among married men, 21 per cent of whom say their relationship flaws are their own fault, compared with just 5 per cent among married women who see trouble in their relationships.

And what vexes Americans' relationships most? More than 4 in 10 of those who say there are problems in their current relationship cite issues with their sex lives, communication, romance or finances. Those in unmarried couples were generally more apt to see problems than married people, except for two areas: sex life and romance.

The poll was conducted in conjunction with WE tv ahead of the launch of the show "Marriage Boot Camp," from Jan. 17-21 using KnowledgePanel, GfK's probability-based online panel designed to be representative of the U.S. population. It involved online interviews with 1,060 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points for the full sample.

Respondents were first selected randomly using phone or mail survey methods and were later interviewed online. People selected for KnowledgePanel who didn't otherwise have access to the Internet were provided with the ability to access the Internet at no cost to them.

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The Associated Press-WE tv poll on relationships and Valentine's Day was conducted by GfK Public Affairs and Corporate Communications Jan. 17-21. It is based on online interviews of 1,060 adults who are members of GfK's nationally representative KnowledgePanel.

The original sample was drawn from a panel of respondents recruited via phone or mail survey methods. GfK provides Internet access to panel recruits who don't already have it. With a probability basis and coverage of people who otherwise couldn't access the Internet, online surveys using KnowledgePanel are nationally representative.

Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish.

As is done routinely in surveys, results were weighted, or adjusted, to ensure that responses accurately reflect the population's makeup by factors such as age, sex, race, education and phone usage.

No more than 1 time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause the results to vary by more than plus or minus 3.9 percentage points from the answers that would be obtained if all adults in the U.S. were polled. The poll's co-operation rate, which represents the percentage of panelists invited to take the survey who completed it, is 48 per cent.

There are other sources of potential error in polls, including the wording and order of questions.

 

AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.