Table 3.
Distribution of Attitude Variables
| By importance of religion: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| very | somewhat | not | All women | ||
| Percent agreeing | |||||
| Conservative attitudes | |||||
| It is better for a person to get married than to go through life being single. | 60 | 46 | 41 | 51 | |
| The rewards of being a parent are worth it, despite the cost and the work it takes. | 96 | 95 | 91 | 94 | |
| A young couple should not live together unless they are married. | 46 | 19 | 14 | 30 | |
| It is much better for everyone if the man earns the main living and the woman takes care of the home and family. | 39 | 24 | 17 | 29 | |
| It is more important for a man to spend a lot of time with his family than to be successful at his career. | 73 | 65 | 68 | 69 | |
| Progressive attitudes | |||||
| Divorce is usually the best solution when a couple can’t seem to work out their marriage problems. | 33 | 44 | 49 | 40 | |
| Sexual relations between two adults of the same sex are all right. | 29 | 57 | 74 | 49 | |
| Any sexual act between two consenting adults is all right. | 64 | 87 | 87 | 77 | |
| It is all right for unmarried 18 year olds to have sexual intercourse if they have strong affection for each other. | 46 | 70 | 79 | 62 | |
| It is all right for unmarried 16 year olds to have sexual intercourse if they have strong affection for each other. | 17 | 20 | 26 | 18 | |
| It is okay for an unmarried female to have a child. | 63 | 84 | 89 | 76 | |
| Gay or lesbian adults should have the right to adopt children. | 43 | 70 | 75 | 60 | |
| A working mother can establish just as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work. | 77 | 85 | 83 | 81 | |
| Mean value | |||||
| Conservative attitude index | 7.2 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 5.9 | |
Notes: Authors’ calculations, 2002 NSFG. Analytic sample: women age 20–24 with no missing values on attitude questions or importance of religion, N=1354. Unweighted percents and means.