Most Americans Feel Children Do Better With a Mother at Home, Says Pew Study
More than half of respondents surveyed for the Pew Research Centers on female breadwinners showed that the current public perception remains that children do better with a mother at home.
Under the title of "Breadwinner Moms," the Pew Research Center revealed data, compiled in part from U.S. Census data, for the first time that 40 percent of households are financially supported by a female.
The study highlights two distinct groups under the category of breadwinner moms. The first group is made up of about 5.1 million married mothers who earn more than their husbands. This group makes up 37 percent of the total breadwinner category, while the second group is made up of 8.6 million single mothers who comprise the remaining 63 percent.
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"The income gap between the two groups is quite large. The median total family income of married mothers who earn more than their husbands was nearly $80,000 in 2011, well above the national median of $57,100 for all families with children, and nearly four times the $23,000 median for families led by a single mother," according to the report.
Within the report, 79 percent of Americans disagreed with the notion that women should return to their traditional social and family roles. However, the study showed that when distinctions were focused on both the roles of a mother and a father within a relationship the majority of the public felt that the understood "traditional" roles within a household were best when dealing with matters concerned with raising children.
51 percent of respondents stated that children are better off if a mother is home and does not have a job, while just 8 percent feel that same should the father stay home.
Respondents were also divided along generational lines when posed with the question of the seriousness of single mothers in contemporary society.
64 percent stated that they saw this as a "big problem." And while the percentage of those who shared this belief was down from 71 percent 2007, the division remains largely divided along generational lines.
About 4 in 10 adults under age 30-- roughly 42 percent-- viewed the prevalence of single mothers as a big problem when compared to 65 percent of respondents in their 30s and 40s. 74 percent adults 50 and older felt this way also.
