Contemporary family relationships and life values: A comparative analysis of men and women in Israel

The study aimed to examine gender differences in attitudes toward contemporary family life and dyadic relations in Israeli society. In addition, the relationships between those attitudes and life values were examined. The research sample included 82 Israelis (36 men and 46 women) in a broad age range. Family life attitudes were examined in the following areas: gender roles, divorce, homosexuality, blended families, cohabitation, and planned orphanhood (posthumous fertilization). The women expressed more liberal attitudes than men toward gender roles, homosexuality, and planned orphanhood, but no gender differences were found in the other attitudes examined. Among men, most life values correlated with attitudes toward homosexuality; among women, most life values correlated with attitudes toward divorce.