According to the latest Values and Beliefs survey by polling giant, Gallup, 72 percent of Americans believe moral values in the country as a whole are getting worse. This is essentially the same number as last year's survey, but less than the 80 percent reported by Americans between the years of 2006 and 2008.

Only 20 percent believe values are getting better and six percent think they're the same.

The latest survey found 44 percent of Americans rating the state of moral values in the U.S. as "poor."

"The net result of these two trends is that seven in 10 Americans have a negative view of moral values, which represents the percentage of Americans who think moral values are only fair or poor and either worsening or staying the same. Twelve percent have a positive view of moral values, saying they are excellent or good and improving or staying the same, and sixteen percent have mixed views."

This negative outlook is the same for people of all political parties with the majority of Republicans, Democrats and Independents reporting negative assessments of moral values.

Americans who are married, who have an upper- and middle-class income, and who attend church regularly tend to have a more negative view of morality in the U.S. than their counterparts.

To better understand what Americans mean when they say "moral values in the country are getting worse", most cite a lack of respect or tolerance for other people as the most pressing problem rather than social issues such as same-sex marriage or abortion. However, the other most frequent responses include the decline of family structure, a lack of religion and faith, and a lack of morals in general.

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