High Hopes, Low Success

(Excerpts from National Marriage Project: The State of Our Unions: Social Health of Marriage in America, 2001)

"A special report on young adults in their twenties, based on a national survey conducted by the Gallup Organization, finds that young single adults today are looking for a spouse who will be their soul mate for life."

• "Young adults today are searching for a deep emotional and spiritual connection with one person for life."
• "Along with their ambitions for a spouse who meets their needs for emotional closeness and intimacy, these twenty-something singles also aspire to a marriage that lasts a lifetime."
• "Less than half of young singles agree it is important to find a spouse who shares their own religious faith."
• "Marriage is gaining popularity as a Super-Relationship, while other bases, such as economic partnership or parental partnership, have receded or disappeared."
• "Young men and women define their economic lives and future in individual terms rather than as part of a marriage partnership."
• "Young women may prefer to invest in portable assets, like education and career development, rather than put all their trust in marriage."