Family Disruption and Intergenerational Reproduction

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

Dados Bibliográficos

ID10968614
AutoresM Kalmijn (0000-0001-5217-1897, University of Amsterdam, autor correspondente)
Ano2015
Volume52
Fascículo3
Páginas811-833
Data de publicação2015-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoDemography (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0070-3370 • E-ISSN: 1533-7790
EditoraDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1007/s13524-015-0388-z
PMID26012844
OpenAlexW2110743248
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas28
Referências citadas68

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