Family (Dis)Advantage and Life Course Expectations

Abstract

Optimistic assessments of life chances can positively influence life outcomes, but conflicting theories suggest these assessments either reflect structural privilege or develop as a result of childhood hardship. In addition, competing hypotheses suggest that these assessments may matter differently depending on who holds them. We examine whether family socioeconomic status shapes adolescents’ expectations about how successful their lives will turn out. We distinguish generalized life expectations (GLE), capturing anticipated success in life across multiple domains, from intergenerational comparative expectations (ICE), which register expectations about improvement relative to observed success within the respondent’s family lineage. We find that adolescents from higher socioeconomic status families are simultaneously more optimistic about their likely success in life (GLE) but less likely to anticipate relative improvement in life success across generations (ICE). Holding high GLE in combination with low ICE predicted doing better in adulthood across a range of health, attainment, and well-being outcomes, though in most cases high GLE, regardless of ICE, was the key. These beneficial patterns are, for the most part, at least as beneficial for socioeconomically disadvantaged youth as they are for advantaged youth.

Adolescent Agentic Orientations: Contemporaneous Family Influence, Parental Biography and Intergenerational Development

“…(See Table 1 for full set of items.) Eight items from this scale were utilized because Johnson and Hitlin (2017) show the ten items support two subscales, with the two items dropped having little impact on future observed outcomes 1. Both mastery and life course expectations were treated as latent constructs measured by multiple observed indicators 2.…”

“…Reflecting adolescents' perceived capacities and perceived life chances, these sets of beliefs incorporate assessments of how one is doing in the here-and-now as well as how one will do in the future; they also incorporate an emotional aspect to perception, whether views of the future are more or less hopeful (Hitlin and Johnson 2015). Adolescents with strong mastery beliefs and optimistic assessments of what their futures have in store tend to be healthier, mentally and physically, achieve higher levels of education, earn more, and have fewer adult financial problems than other adolescents (Hitlin and Johnson 2015; Johnson and Hitlin 2017; Mirowsky and Ross 1998, 2007). As with many social psychological orientations, scholars know less about where this sense of agency comes from than how it plays out across the life course.…”

“…As with many social psychological orientations, scholars know less about where this sense of agency comes from than how it plays out across the life course. Yet both are key social psychological mechanisms involved in reproducing inequality (Johnson and Hitlin 2017; Lee and Mortimer 2009; Shanahan and Bauer 2004; Wolinsky et al 2003). As considered below, these agentic orientations develop more strongly in higher socioeconomic status families, and they contribute to adult attainment and well-being.…”

“…“Generalized life expectations” express perceived chances of success across life domains (e.g., having a good job, good friends, good health, owning a home; Johnson and Hitlin 2017), factors relevant to adolescent anticipation of the future (Nurmi 1991). These beliefs capture the extent to which people look ahead in their lives with more or less optimism (Peterson 2000), and predict beneficial life course outcomes, net of socioeconomic and demographic factors (Halleröd 2011; Hitlin and Johnson 2015).…”

“…At a very basic level, even expecting to live beyond age 35, adolescents are more optimistic if they stem from higher socioeconomic status families and live in higher social class neighborhoods (Swisher and Warner 2013). Adolescents from higher socioeconomic status families also hold more optimistic generalized life expectations (Johnson and Hitlin 2017). People from elite backgrounds tend to perpetuate those advantages across generations (Kahn 2012), and evidence suggests that individual beliefs are a part of this process.…”