American opinions on different types of unions, such as gay marriages and childbearing practices, have generally moved toward a more liberal viewpoint, a new federal report found.
Data taken from the National Survey of Family Growth by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that more Americans accept same-sex marriage and unmarried couples who live together today than they did before. The survey reached more than 45,000 people aged 15 to 44 in 2002, 2006 to 2010 and 2011 to 2013.
For same-sex relationships, the researchers found that acceptance rates increased from 42 to 60 percent in women and 40 to 49 percent in men most likely due to increased awareness and acceptance of homosexual people. Americans were also more accepting of cohabitation before marriage.
From 2002 to 2011-2013, the percentage of Americans who disapproved of couples living together before marriage fell from 35 percent to 28 percent in women and 32 percent to 25 percent in men. The data suggested that more people in general accepted cohabitation because they believed that it can reduce the risk of divorce. Sixty percent of women and 67 percent of men said that if couples live together before getting married, their chances of getting a divorce down the line will decline.
Wendy Manning, a professor of sociology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who was not involved with the report, said that these findings were not very surprising. Manning explained that since people are choosing to get married at a much later age than before, they are more likely going to test out the strength and longevity of their relationships by cohabiting first. Manning added that since people are testing out their relationships before marriage as a means of preventing divorce, they most likely are viewing marriage as a permanent part of their lives. This reasoning could explain why more Americans are not so keen on divorce.
The researchers found that Americans were less likely to agree with the statement, "Divorce is usually the best solution when a couple can't seem to work out their marriage problems." Thirty-eight percent of the women surveyed in 2011-2013, which is down from 47 percent in 2002, agreed with the statement. In men, 39 percent of them agreed in the most recent survey, as opposed to the 44 percent recorded in 2002.
Other findings from the report included an increase in the acceptance rates of couples who have children out of wedlock, single women who raise children, same-sex couples who want to adopt children, and young unmarried couples who want to have sexual intercourse "if they have strong affection for each other."
The report was released by the National Center for Health Statistics.
