Millennials Are More Supportive Of Working Moms

A recent study finds that millennials are more supportive of working moms. This reveals a significantly different approach that the current generation has on society.

It might be that millennials get their inspiration from the culture of the past generations, as their favorite music is still that of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s and their favorite films are still at least two decades old. But when it comes to the manner in which they regard society, millennials seem to embrace the changes that the world has gone though, because they have a surprisingly mature view of things.

A team of researchers from San Diego State University, lead by Psychology Professor Jean Twenge, have decided to take a closer look at how millennials are different from the past generations.

Their study was based on the extensive data collected in two national-wide surveys that were carried out from 1976 up to 2012. One of the studies was conducted on adults and the other on 12th grade students, and this offered the researchers a lot of material to work with, as they could compare the data in order to build strong conclusions. As many as 600,000 people took the survey, and this provided the team with sufficient data to make its results trustworthy.

One of the most important things that the study revealed is that the relationship between mothers who hold a job and their children have evolved considerably since the 1970’s.

For instance, back in 1976, 59% of 12th graders seemed to think that young children were suffering if their mothers chose to work. Then, in the 1990’s the amount got to 34%, and in 2010, it seems that only 22% of 12th grader sill regarded that the children of working mothers were undergoing hardships.

The same trend was observed in adults, as the study revealed that in 1976, 68% of adults believed that children of working mothers were suffering, compared to the 35% that seemed to think that in 2010.

Back in the 1970’s not even half of the 12th graders seemed to think that working mothers and their children could reach a close relationship, but in 2010 this proportion reached 72%, which points out a significant evolution in their perception.

“When you have more working mothers, you have to have more acceptance of them. (…)When people look around and see ‘this is what people do now,’ you have to have more acceptance.” said Professor Jean Twenge.

This study was published in the scientific journal Psychology of Women Quarterly and it brings out an optimistic view on how the current generation comprehends certain things that seemed to be almost unattainable a few decades back. This shift in opinions points out that that millennials are much more independent and concentrated on individuality, rather than fitting into a traditional society.
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