Politics across Generations: Family Transmission Reexamined
Abstract
We use longitudinal data incorporating three generations of Americans to reevaluate the character and consequences of political socialization within the family. Findings about parental influence based on youth coming of age in the 1990s strongly parallel those based on youth socialized in the 1960s. As expected on the basis of social learning theory, children are more likely to adopt their parents’ political orientations if the family is highly politicized and if the parents provide consistent cues over time. The direct transmission model is robust, as it withstands an extensive set of controls. Early acquisition of parental characteristics influences the subsequent nature of adult political development.
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“…parents and the socio‐economic status they pass on (Neundorf et al., 2013; Quintelier, 2015b; Verba et al., 2005), peers and social networks (Jennings et al., 2009; Quintelier, 2015a), civic education and what experiences young people have in schools (McDevitt & Chaffee, 2000; Neundorf et…”
- Authors
- Jennings, M. K., Stoker, L., & Bowers, J.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- Venue
- The Journal of Politics
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 2009-07
- Volume
- 71
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 782-799
- ISSN
- 0022-3816 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-2508
- OpenAlex
- W1988686891
- Cited by
- 1,139
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 89 · 2025: 124 · 2024: 78 · 2023: 120 · 2022: 78 · 2021: 79 · 2020: 100 · 2019: 57 · 2018: 90 · 2017: 53 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 56 · 2014: 51 · 2013: 32 · 2012: 33
- FWCI
- 148.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Politics (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Science Research and Education
- Keywords
- political socialization, family transmission, parental influence, social learning theory, political development, generational differences
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