Family life: Attitudes to non-traditional family behaviours

Family life: Attitudes to non-traditional family behaviours
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Table 5 % disapproving of life-course behaviours, by birth cohorts, 2006/07 and 2018/19
1901-
1927
1928-
1945
1946-
1964
1965-
1980
1981-
1996
1997-
2012
Childless
2006/07 %
16
9
4
8
10
n/a
2018/19
%
-
7
5
6
5
6
Cohabiting
2006/07 %
43
21
10
10
13
n/a
2018/19
%
-
21
7
10
5
6
Child while 
cohabiting
2006/07 %
50
33
18
14
13
n/a
2018/19
%
-
30
10
10
8
7
Full-time work 
with child under 3
2006/07 %
39
34
16
16
16
n/a
2018/19
%
-
21
13
9
7
9
Divorce with 
children under 12
2006/07 %
53
41
20
23
24
n/a
2018/19
%
-
30
18
16
11
17
Unweighted base 2006/07
184
555
732
628
288
n/a
2018/19
-
334
749
541
475
89
Source: European Social Survey rounds 3 (2006/07) and 9 (2018/19), respondents aged 15+ in
the UK
n/a = not eligible in that round
Those born between 1928 and 1945 (the ‘Silent Generation’) are 
represented in both samples. Aged between 61 and 78 in 2006/07 
and in the later survey between 73 and 90, this cohort did not move 
significantly in its attitudes to childlessness, cohabiting or children 
born outside marriage. However, there was a drop of around 10 
percentage points in those disapproving of working and divorcing 
parents, although they remained the most disapproving generation in 
the survey. The most well-known of generations, the ‘baby boomers’ 
(born 1946-64) did not significantly change their attitudes to family 
norms over the period 2006/07-18/19 with the exception of children 
born outside marriage, where there was an 8 percentage-point 
decline in those disapproving. 
The following generation born between 1965 and 1980 (‘Generation 
X’) changed little in their disapproval of remaining childless or 
cohabiting (where levels were already low). However, the proportion 
disapproving of having children outside marriage fell by 4 percentage 
points, working parents by 7 points, and divorcing with young 
children 7 points. The Millennial generation (sometimes called 
‘Generation Y’) plays an important part in the overall pattern of 
societal attitudes. Born between 1981 and 1996, they are given that 
name because they all became adults after 2000. During the first data 
collection point in 2006/07, only those born before 1992 would have 
been eligible for inclusion in the sample, with the remainder of the 
cohort being included in the 2018/19 round. This may partially explain 
the quite dramatic falls in disapproval between the two surveys; the 

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The National Centre for Social Research
British Social Attitudes 37 |