More than ever before, people in the US are coming to believe that wedding bells aren’t necessary for a happy family.

With US census figures revealing that marriages for adults eighteen and over were at an all-time low of 52 per cent, an increasing number of children are growing up out of wedlock.

The Pew Research Centre poll, carried out with Time magazine, showed that nearly one in three American children are now living with a parent who is divorced, separated or never married.

That’s a five-fold increase from 1960. Broken down further, about 15 per cent have parents who are divorced or separated and 14 per cent who were never married.

Within those two groups, a sizable chunk – 6 per cent – have parents who are live-in couples who opted to raise kids together without getting hitched.

The 39 per cent of Americans who now think marriage is on the way out is a significant increase from 1978, when just 28 per cent felt that way.

When asked what constitutes a family, the vast majority of Americans agree that a married couple, with or without children, fits that description.

But four of five surveyed pointed also to an unmarried, opposite-sex couple with children or a single parent. Three of five people said a same-sex couple with children was a family.

‘Marriage is still very important in this country, but it doesn't dominate family life like it used to,’ said Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins University.

The changing views of family are being driven largely by young adults 18-29, who are more likely than older generations to have an unmarried or divorced parent or have friends who do.

But economic factors, too, are playing a role.

It was a sharp one-year increase that analysts largely attributed to people unwilling to make long-term marriage commitments in the face of persistent unemployment.

Still, the study indicates that marriage isn't going to disappear anytime soon.

Despite a growing view that marriage may not be necessary, 67 per cent of Americans were upbeat about the future of marriage and family.

根据昨天发布的一项新调查，如今近四成美国情侣认为结婚正在变得过时。

越来越多的美国人开始认为结婚并不是保证家庭幸福的必要条件，持这一观点的人数之多前所未有。

美国人口普查统计数据显示，美国成人（18岁及以上）的结婚率达到历史新低，仅为52%。越来越多的孩子是在父母没有结婚的环境中成长的。

由皮尤研究中心与《时代》杂志共同开展的这项调查显示，近三分之一的美国儿童目前同离异、分居或从未结过婚的单亲父母生活在一起。

这一比例自1960以来增长了5倍。经过进一步分类发现，大约15%的孩子的父母已经离婚或分居，14%的孩子的父母从未结过婚。

在这两组人中，还有6%的孩子的父母选择同居并一起抚养孩子但不结婚，这种情况的孩子也占据了不小的比例。

现在有39%的美国人认为结婚正在变得过时，持这一观点的人相比1978年是显著增多了，那时候只有28%的人这么想。

当被问及组成家庭的要素时，大多数美国人都认为，不管有没有孩子，结了婚就算组建了家庭。

但也有五分之四的被调查者认为，没有结婚但有孩子的异性伴侣或单亲父母也组成了家庭。五分之三的人称，有孩子的同性伴侣也算作家庭。

约翰?霍普金斯大学社会学与公共政策系教授安德鲁?彻林说，“婚姻在这个国家依然非常重要，但它不像过去那样主导家庭生活。”

家庭观念的变化主要是由18岁到29岁的年轻人带动的。相比往代人，这些人父母未婚或离婚的更多，处于这种情况的朋友也更多。

另外，经济因素也产生了影响。

分析人士认为，之所以在一年之内会有这么急剧的变化，很大一部分原因在于持续高失业的局面让人们不愿意做出长期的婚姻承诺。

尽管如此，研究表明，婚姻这种形式绝不会很快消失。

虽然越来越多的人认为不一定要结婚，但仍然有67%的美国人对婚姻和家庭的未来持乐观态度。