In Alone Together, four Pennsylvania State University researchers use two identical national surveys, one conducted in 1980 and the other in 2000, to quantitatively track how the experience of marriage has changed over a 20-year period. The bad news is that husbands and wives today are spending less time with each other and participate in fewer community activities. But the good news is that they are far more equal than they were in the past, which has led to rising family incomes, less violence, and more empathy and cooperation between spouses. The book provides welcome relief from political rhetoric and refutes extreme views of the family, instead painting a complex picture of marriage in transition.
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