Gen-X Respects Elder Traditions Dr. David J. Demko, Gerontologist AgeVenture News Service Contrary to popular belief, the world is not "going to hell in a hand-basket" ... or any other kind of basket for that matter. It seems skeptics proclaiming the decline in American morality are wrong, or at least premature in their opinion. Today's young people continue to express strong traditonal values such as family ties and parenthood. The moral legacy of our elders has endured the test of time, so it seems. Two studies confirm this continuing trend. Support for marriage and parenthood remains high. Since the 1960s, attitudes toward extra-marital affairs have not relaxed, say researchers at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research (UM-ISR). An even larger majority of American men and women surveyed in the late ‘90s expressed the belief that extramarital sex is always wrong (81 percent of women and 75 percent of men) than did so in the early ‘70s (77 percent of women and 68 per-cent of men). Young people today not only plan to marry, and stay married to the same person until "death they do part." The overwhelming majority of young Americans believe that a good marriage and family life is important. Young Americans were more committed to the importance of a good marriage and family life in the 1990s than they were in the mid-1970s. Most also say they’re likely to want children if they marry. While , the meaning of marriage and family remains strong, according to UM-ISR sociologist Arland Thornton, who received a Merit Award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. These data on attitudes about marriage and parenthood among high school seniors come from the ISR Monitoring the Future Study, an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults that started in 1975. Despite major changes since the 1960s in public attitudes toward divorce, premarital sex, and nonmarital cohabitation, commitment to the institutions of marriage and parenthood remains consistently strong, reports Linda Young-DeMarco, co-author with Thornton on the family and marriage study. Young-DeMarco analyzed data from a variety of sources including the UM-ISR Intergenerational Panel Study of Parents and Children to show how patterns and values about marriage emerge. The second study documenting the persistence of morality focused on college freshman, sometimes called "Generation 2001". The national survey data, generated by Louis Harris & Associates for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, suggest that "parents", "family", "religion", and "generosity" are central to America's next generation. When it comes to people they most respect and admire, moms and dads come out on top. Honesty and integrity are the attributes cited most often as the ones that make a difference to Generation 2001. Here's a brief run-down on this almost too-good-to-be-true generation. 89% believe in God, and nearly 70% attend religious services. 75% believe in life after death, and most say religion's a big part of life. 90% agree that helping others is more important than helping oneself. Many say if they won the lottery they'd help family pay debts. 73% report having volunteered services to schools, charities, and church. 96% plan to marry at an average age of 26 years. 91% hope to have children, with an average of three children desired. America's horizon looks bright. Perhaps, when it comes to protecting endangered things, it's a good idea to focus on preservation of traditional notions of family and marriage. Those traditions have been the strength that our elders have relied on. And they've survived a lot of life's catastropies like wars and economic depressions. See related articles in AgeVenture archives. GenX Attachment Styles vs Relationships GenX Cynicism Rivals That Of Boomers Elder, Boomer, & GenX Views on God BACK TO TOP