Timing Preferences for Women’s Family‐Life Transitions: Intergenerational Transmission Among Migrants and Dutch

Abstract

This study examines the transmission of preferences regarding the timing of family‐life transitions of women among migrant and native Dutch families. We study how and to what extent parental preferences, migrant origin, and family characteristics affect the child’s timing preferences. We use parent and child data (N= 1,290) from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (2002, 2003) and the Social Position and Provisions Ethnic Minorities Survey (2002). Regression analyses reveal that parental timing preferences regarding family‐life transitions are strongly associated with the timing preferences of their children. Analyses also show that these preferences strongly vary by migrant origin, educational level, and religious involvement. The process of intergenerational transmission, however, is found to be very similar among migrants and Dutch.

Gender differences in the impact of family background on leaving the parental home

“…Native Dutch seem to value autonomy more strongly than young adults from other ethnic backgrounds, which results in a somewhat earlier home leaving for native Dutch. Women of ethnic minority groups also tend to prefer younger ages for marriage and entry into motherhood (De Valk and Liefbroer 2007). We might thus expect that native Dutch leave home earlier and might be more likely to leave home to live without a partner, while non-Western immigrants are more likely to leave home to live with a partner.…”

Partnership dynamics across generations of immigration in France: Structural vs. cultural factors

“…A large body of research has analyzed ideas about the appropriate timing and sequencing of family formation among descendants of immigrants (de Valk and Liefbroer 2007), and it was found that these ideas differ from the native population. For instance, those of Turkish descent prefer younger ages at marriage than the native Dutch (de Valk and Liefbroer 2007).…”

“…A large body of research has analyzed ideas about the appropriate timing and sequencing of family formation among descendants of immigrants (de Valk and Liefbroer 2007), and it was found that these ideas differ from the native population. For instance, those of Turkish descent prefer younger ages at marriage than the native Dutch (de Valk and Liefbroer 2007). Studies investigating the timing of these events conclude that second-generation Turkish and Moroccan immigrants enter their first union relatively early in comparison to the respective young native adults (Bernardt et al 2007 in Sweden;de Valk 2006 in the Netherlands; Lievens 1999 in Belgium; Milewski and Hamel 2010 in France;Soehl and Yahirun 2011 in Germany).…”

“…When immigrants come from societies in which the transition to adulthood has characteristics other than those of the society in which they grow up, the socialization process of their descendants is characterized by potentially conflicting injunctions (de Valk and Liefbroer 2007;Hamel et al 2012). Being attached to two cultural heritages, their behaviors are shaped by both the dominant norms of the society in which they grow up and by the intergenerational transmission of family values and practices (Huschek, Liefbroer, and de Valk 2010;Collet and Santelli 2012).…”

Gender, Generations and the Family in International Migration

“…Even though immigrant children are raised in the Netherlands, parental socialisation into ethnic specific behaviour is of importance for the perceptions and behaviour of children. This is especially the case for those issues that relate to the private sphere of life (De Valk & Liefbroer 2007). Contrary to societies from which many immigrants originate, Dutch society is generally characterised by individualisation and the inde pendence of parents and children.…”