California Students' Family Plans Research Paper

The Baby Boomer generation, those born between 1946 and 1965, in terms of numbers alone, have dominated society since the end of World War II. Millennials, born 1981 through 1996, equal their numbers now though, and Generation Z, those born 1997 and later outnumber both groups by 20 million according to Statistia. Because society has changed a great deal since the Baby Boomers were young, the potential for great generational gaps exist. This study was done to examine the differences between generational attitudes among those young people reaching adulthood now, which includes both Millennials and Generation Z. The 12 respondents to a questionnaire used for this study fall into population segments. Like their parents and grandparents of the Baby Boomer generation segment, they are changing society’s perspective on many issues including sexuality, marriage, divorce and religion. Despite the fact that respondents bridge the Millennial generation and Generation Z, they reflect the differences in attitudes toward these issues as the current literature demonstrates. Generational differences can be seen in the responses to the questionnaire and these generational differences while leading to a more progressive society also reveal that the divide in politics and society that exists should not be a surprise to those who study how culture and society change over the span of generations.

Literature Review

Millennials born toward the end of the twentieth century and Generation Z born since 1997 have changed American society. Kathleen Gerson who wrote The Unfinished Revolution cites “revolutionary shifts in the ways new generations grow to adulthood” (Gerson 4). Specifically, Gerson points out the fact that most mothers were in the workplace when Millennials and Generation Zers were children, more marriages ended in divorce and sexual relationships became much more flexible than they once were even during the 1970s when free love was popular. While this may not forecast a positive outlook for marriage for millennials and Generation Zers, Gerson says nine out of 10 young people hope to have children and have them in the context of a lifelong partnership (Gerson 10-11). Still, women no longer look for work in order to contribute to the family finances; they do contribute to their family’s finances, but they mainly go to college in order to be able to get a good job and support themselves rather than rely on a husband to support them (Gerson 11). This reflects the concept of gender equality becoming more mainstream, but also speaks to the reality that marriages often are not lifelong commitments anymore. Women want to be able to support themselves and their children as single mothers. On the other hand, as Gerson points out, those young people whose parents divorced are not afraid of marriage and want to find a person to whom they can be committed to for life (Gerson 108). These attitudes toward marriage, divorce, and work are reflected in polling numbers also.

Kim Parker, Nikki Graf and Ruth Igielnik of Pew Research say Generation Z is the most diverse and will be the most educated generation group ever. They also have the most liberal attitudes toward the emerging social trends such as greater acceptance of gender neutrality, same-sex relationships and marriage, and sexual flexibility (Parker, Graf and Igielnik). However, Dan Knopf of Quartz points out, “Generation Z’s views on gender non-conformity . . . make it most distinct from millennials” (Knopf). In other words, surveys of millennials and Generation Z show that they have similar views on many things, but gender non-conformity is where there is the most variance between the attitudes of the two groups.

There is no question that attitudes toward sex and gender issues have changed dramatically since the 1960s and 1970s when the Baby Boomers were reaching adulthood. That population segment started the loosening of attitudes toward sex, and the Millennials and Generation Zers have extended that flexibility to include lesbian, gay and bisexual relationships as well as transgendered people and other iterations of sexuality that now exist. Jean Twenge, Ryne Sherman and Brooke Wells of Archives of Sexual Behavior say that the study of the change in attitudes towards sexuality is interesting, but what is equally as interesting is what lies behind the change. These authors say that populations change in three ways: time period or cultural change that affects all people, generational or birth cohort changes or cultural changes that primarily affect young people, and age or developmental effects that cause change (Twenge, Sherman and Wells 1). Thinking about societal changes in these three ways can help to determine if the change is associated with a generation gap, not difference in the attitudes among generations or whether t