A novel research has unveiled that millennials have more acceptance towards the idea of premarital sex and same-sex relationships.

The research was carried out to know the changing views of Americans on sex, relationships and behavior. Study’s lead researcher Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, said that after conducting the poll they have noticed a significant change in sex attitudes and behavior.

“In the 1970s, it was much more common to say that sex before marriage was wrong or sometimes wrong. And it was by far the majority view to say sex between two adults of the same sex was wrong”, affirmed Jean. But now, this thinking has changed a lot.

The researchers studied results of a national survey conducted between 1972 and 2012. In the survey, around 57,000 people took part. The researchers said that they have adjusted the statistics to reflect American population as whole.

Sexual revolution of the 1960s had a significant impact on Americans’ views. HIV and other sexually transmitted disease could play a role in bringing decline in number of sex partners. It could be possible then there will a rise in ‘friends with benefits’ trend.

The percentage of those who said that ‘premarital sex is not wrong at all’ has increased over the years from 29% in the early 1970s to 58% by 2012. Acceptance of same-sex relations has increased from 13% to 1990 to 44% in 2012.

Talking about a gender divide, women were found to be more accepting of homosexuality. “Perhaps they see it as less threatening than men do. But they're more conservative about premarital sex”, said the researchers.