New IFS Survey: How Young American Men View Marriage, Fatherhood, and Purpose
March 16, 2026
They haven’t checked out. They haven’t given up on marriage. They still believe in fatherhood, sacrifice, and becoming men worth respecting. But a sweeping new survey from the Institute for Family Studies reveals that America’s young men are demoralized and feel caught between legitimate aspirations and a society that has left them without the structure, the pathways, or the partners to get there.
The report, America’s Demoralized Men, Part 1: Worthy Aspirations, Trying Circumstances, is based on a nationally representative YouGov survey of 2,000 men ages 18 to 29 conducted in April 2025, the most comprehensive study of its kind. The findings challenge nearly every dominant narrative about young men in America.
