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Men are more likely than women to prefer marriage over lifelong singlehood and in many ways are as interested in serious family relationships as women, according to a new study that provides the government's first comprehensive glimpse into the male psyche.
The survey, released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, involved more than 12,000 men and women ages 15-44. It asked a variety of questions about sex, living together, marriage, divorce and parenting.
This is the first time men have been included in the agency's study, which has been conducted periodically since 1973. The new report, an analysis of data collected in 2002, focuses on men and offers some comparisons with women.
To the statement "It is better to get married than go through life single," 66% of men agreed, compared with 51% of women.
"There's a lot of evidence out there in the culture -- and this is the most striking I've seen yet -- that men value what marriage is and does more than women," says Scott Stanley, co-director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver.
Responses from both sexes suggest that "the majority agree it is better to get married, and few people agree that divorce is best," says Gladys Martinez, lead author of the study. Other survey findings:
*47% of men and 58% of women have had a biological child.
*73% of men and 83% of women agreed that "a working woman can establish just as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work."
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76% of men and 72% of women agreed "it is more important for a man to spend a lot of time with his family than be successful at his career."
Neil Chethik, author of VoiceMale: What Husbands Really Think About Their Marriages, Their Wives, Sex, Housework, and Commitment, says the new data seem to mirror his research, in which 90% of married men said they would marry the same woman if given a chance to do it again. "Everything I've seen that has started to look at men more carefully shows that men are committed or dedicated."
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