Developmental Idealism and a Half-Century of Family Attitude Trends in the United States

This article examines a half-century of trends in family attitudes and beliefs the United States, including toward gender, marriage, childbearing, cohabitation, sex outside divorce, same-sex relations. These are viewed through lens developmental idealism. We also describe how idealism framework applies to Western contexts generally States specifically. trace from 1960s 2018 using four data sources: Intergenerational Panel Study Parents Children, Monitoring Future, General Social Survey, International Survey Programme. find profound largely consistent changes Americans’ attitudes. argue these can be understood as expansion States. Americans increasingly endorsed attributes long modern under idealism, well more recently extensions freedom equality. At same time, sizable majorities remained committed marriage children. While supported all individuals’ choose among diversity behaviors, most continued view children favorably their own lives.