Parents, Children and the Distance between Them: Long Term Socialization Effects in the Netherlands

Abstract

Social i zatioti as the source of continuity hetween generations and a buffer for social change has received tnuch attentioti over more than a century (Beck, Bruner, and Dobson, 1975;Giddings, 1897;Jennings and Niemi, 1981 ). Every socialization theory gives importance to the transmission of values, beliefs, traditions and attitudes from parents to their children, both through deliberate actions and reactions, and through non-verbal communication and examples. Such influences from parents to their children are considered important factors in the formation of attitudes (Dalhouse andFrideres, 1996;Jennings and Niemi, 1981). The parental influence on attitudes toward three issues that have been causing controversy in the Netherlands are subject to the present research; these attitudes involve homosexuality, euthanasia and the presence of ethnic minorities. We investigate the influence of the parents on their children's attitudes toward these issues and study to what extent successes in transmi.ssion are dependent on family characteristics. In doing so, we are able to address the influence of socialization dependent on family relations and family composition. The central research question of our contribution reads: to wliat extent do parents affect attitudes of their children and to what extent does the influence vary with family characteristics?Research on attitude similarity between generations is not new. We will however improve on existing research on the intergenerational transmission of attitudes in two ways. First, by studying the facilitating or hatnpering characteristics of the fatnily for the transmission of attitudes. We take family relations, as well as family composition into account in our research. In this way, we are able to define conditions under which parents are more or less successful in influencing their children's attitudes. Second, we will study the similarities between parents and children in three different attitudes, to test the generalizability of socialization effects. We chose attitudes toward homosexuality, toward euthanasia and toward ethnic minorities. All of these are topics of debate in the Netherlands, and have been so for the last decades. We deliberately chose to investigate subjects more and less influenced by religious beliefs, in order to control for religious pressures. Furthermore, these issues have seen conflicting trends in public support in the Netherlands, which could lead to

What is ‘needed’ to keep remembering? War‐specific communication, parental exemplar behaviour and participation in national commemorations

“…Citizens who more vividly remember their parents participating in commemorative activities when they were young also participate more frequently in national commemorations and celebrations themselves. These findings support previous research on socialization of a wide range of attitudes and behaviours, arguing that parents serve as important role models (Hooghe and Boonen 2015;Jaspers et al 2008). Moreover, our results suggest that parental exemplar behaviour plays an especially important role for commemorative behaviour amongst those less frequently communicating about past war experiences of relatives or non-relatives.…”

“…Most socialization theories have highlighted the family, and in particular the primary caregivers, as the main agents of socialization (Glass, Bengtson, and Dunham 1986;Parsons and Bales 1956). Abundant empirical research has provided support for the influence of parents on their children's attitudes and behaviours throughout the life course, in particular during the period ranging from childhood to early adulthood (Hooghe and Boonen 2015;Jaspers, Lubbers, and De Vries 2008).…”

Family Influences on Intermarriage Attitudes: A Sibling Analysis in the Netherlands

“…More specifically, the more frequently family members interact, the stronger the association between parents' and children's attitudes. This result suggests that the family context not only conditions the relation between parents' and children's attitudes during childhood and adolescence (Jaspers, Lubbers, & De Vries, 2008;Roest, Dubas, & Gerris, 2009;Whitbeck & Gecas, 1988), but also during adulthood. We did not find a moderating influence of family warmth, which suggests that the congruence of attitudes does not depend on the affective climate in which this transmission takes place.…”

“…The transmission of attitudes is known to be selective; an extensive list of moderators has been examined. In addition to individual characteristics, such as gender and age (Bandura, 1986;Jaspers, Lubbers, & De Vries, 2008;Rohan & Zanna, 1996), the strength and warmth of family relationships have been identified as transmission facilitators (Jaspers, Lubbers, & De Vries, 2008;Whitbeck & Gecas, 1988;White, 1996). Hence, family warmth and the strength of family relationships may not only relate directly to intermarriage attitudes, but also act as moderators of the transmission of intermarriage attitudes.…”

“…Parental warmth is related to the extent to which children are motivated to accept the parental message and makes children more eager to be similar to the agents of socialization. Moreover, a lack of (perceived) emotional warmth may cause children to react against their parents' attitudes throughout adult life (Jaspers, Lubbers, & De Vries, 2008). Hence, it is likely that the transmission of attitudes will be more effective in loving circumstances.…”