Family Disruption and Intergenerational Reproduction

Comparing the Influences of Married Parents, Divorced Parents, and Stepparents

Bibliographic Data

ID10968614
AuthorsM Kalmijn (0000-0001-5217-1897, University of Amsterdam, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume52
Issue3
Pages811-833
Publication date2015-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDemography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0070-3370 • E-ISSN: 1533-7790
PublisherDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1007/s13524-015-0388-z
PMID26012844
OpenAlexW2110743248
LanguageEN
Citations received28
References cited68

The transmission of individual characteristics and behaviors across generations has frequently been studied in the social sciences. For a growing number of children, however, the biological father was present in the household for only part of the time; and for many children, stepfathers were present. What are the implications of these changes for the process of intergenerational transmission? To answer this question, this article compares intergenerational transmission among married, divorced, and stepparents. Two forms of reproduction are studied: educational attainment and church attendance. For education, divorced fathers were as influential as married fathers, whereas stepfathers were less influential. For church attendance, married fathers were most influential, divorced fathers were least influential, and stepfathers were in between. Divorced mothers, in contrast, appeared to be more influential than married mothers. These findings lend negative support for the social capital hypothesis and positive support for notions of value socialization. The strong role of the divorced father for educational transmission is consistent with genetic processes and hypotheses about early advantages

Biology · Remarriage · Reproduction · Sociology · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Genetics · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Psychology · Social Capital and Networks