Best Family Life

Most Americans long ago rejected "traditional" sex roles, defined as a husband who works outside the home and a wife who cares for the house and family. Only 32 percent of the public thought this arrangement was best in 2012, down from 66 percent who felt that way in 1977 when the General Social Survey first asked the question.

But as questions get more specific, attitudes toward sex roles get more traditional. When Americans are asked which is the best way to organize family life when a couple has a preschooler, the largest percentage (41 percent) say father should work full-time and mother should work part-time. Almost as many (40 percent) say mother should stay at home. Only 11 percent think both parents working full-time is the best solution. Women are more likely than men to think mother should work part-time, and men are more likely than women to say mother should not work at all.

Conversely, when Americans are asked which is the worst way to organize family life for a couple with a preschooler, the largest share (39 percent) say the worst way is a stay-at-home father and a mother who works full-time. Almost as many (36 percent) say both parents working full-time is the worst. Men and women are about equally likely to agree on the worst way to organize family life.