( CNN ) -- The amount of education a person has plays a big role when it comes to deciding whether to make a long-term commitment to that special someone or to have a child outside of marriage , a new report says . The 2010 edition of `` The State of Our Unions '' -- a report on attitudes toward marriage -- indicates highly educated Americans are `` embracing a pro-marriage mindset '' even as middle Americans lose faith in the institution . That shift resembles trends normally seen in the poor , where marriage is `` fragile and weak , '' according to the report , issued Monday . The findings show moderately educated women , or those with a high school diploma and some post-secondary education but no four-year degree , are choosing the single life more often these days , especially when it comes to becoming a mother . According to the report , `` in the early '80s , 13 % of babies of moderately educated mothers and 33 % of babies of least-educated mothers were born outside of marriage , while 2 % were born to highly educated mothers . '' In recent years , the numbers soared to 44 % for moderately educated mothers and 54 % for the least educated mothers . For mothers with a four-year college degree , births outside of marriage increased to only 6 % . Highly educated women also are getting married more and staying in those relationships longer , according to the report , which suggests this is a `` striking reversal of historic trends '' The report cites an adherence to a `` marriage mindset , '' which means religious attendance and faith in marriage is now a way of life for the highly educated . The same could n't be said for Middle Americans . From the 1970s to the 1990s , the report says , divorce or separation within the first 10 years of marriage decreased for the highly educated from 15 % to 11 % and fell from 46 % to 36 % for the least educated , but was nearly steady for the moderately educated , moving from 36 % percent up to 37 % . `` The State of Our Unions , '' released by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and the Center for Marriage and Families at the Institute for American Values , was authored by sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox of the University of Virginia . `` The retreat from marriage in Middle America means that all too many Americans will not be able to realize the American Dream , '' he said . `` On average , marriage plays a key role in securing the welfare of children , '' said Wilcox , who added that studies show `` children are much more likely to thrive if they are raised in a married home with their own mother and father . '' Three national surveys were used to compile the final report . They were the General Social Survey , which conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society ; the National Survey of Family Growth , which gathers information on family life , marriage and divorce , pregnancy , infertility , use of contraception , and men 's and women 's health ; and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health , a federally funded program at the University of North Carolina . According to Wilcox , it 's the first to address the causes of the `` observed retreat from marriage in Middle America , '' and finds that shifts in marriage attitudes , increases in unemployment and declines in religious attendance are among the trends driving the retreat . `` Marriage has gotten weaker '' with the decline of churches and civic group in communities , he said , adding that more outreach is needed in areas where these connections are lacking . He also called on society to do a better job of pointing out the advantages of marriage , particularly when it comes to having children .
Middle Americans are losing faith in marriage , while highly educated adults embrace it . The 2010 edition of `` The State of Our Unions '' is released Monday . Report : http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/20100511/oig2000.pdf `` Marriage plays a key role in securing the welfare of children , '' its author says .