Generational Differences in Gender Attitudes Between Parents and Grown Offspring

Abstract

This study examined generational differences in gender attitudes between parents and grown offspring, including the extent to which these differences vary in families with daughters vs families with sons and in African American vs European American families. Participants included 158 African American and European American men and women (aged 22 to 49 years), their mothers, and their fathers (N=474) recruited predominantly through purchased telephone lists. Participants completed a self-report measure of gender attitudes toward marital and childrearing roles. Mixed method ANOVAs revealed offspring were less traditional than parents, although there were greater generational differences in attitudes between mothers and daughters and in European American families. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for family roles and relationships.

Older and Younger Adults’ Attitudes Toward Feminism: The Influence of Religiosity, Political Orientation, Gender, Education, and Family

“…In Britain, adolescent girls were found to have the most nontraditional attitudes when compared to other family members (Burt and Scott 2002), and in the U.S. the greatest difference was reported between mothers and daughters (Cichy et al 2007). …”

“…When it comes to issues nested within feminism, generational differences have been found in gender attitudes toward tomboy behavior (Morgan 1998), marital and childrearing roles (Burt and Scott 2002;Cichy et al 2007), and women's role in society (Slevin and Wingrove 1983). The purpose of the present study was to further explore attitudes toward feminism between intergenerational groups of family members in the U.S. College students and their older relatives, including parents and grandparents, answered questions about religiosity, political orientation, gender, and education level, based on prior research identifying variables affecting feminist attitudes (e.g., Clifton et al 1976;Duncan and Agronick 1995;Twenge 1997).…”

Campus Adaptations among First Generation and Non FirstGeneration Students

“…The family context is important to consider in the adjustment and success of firstgeneration college students (Covarrubias et al, 2014) as among first generation students non cognitive factors have a greater contribution to students success (Peterson, 2016) with family support vehemently impacting first generation college students (Boehmer, 2014) . Parents do influence educational aspirations among first generation students towards pursuing tertiary education (Rahim & Azman, 2010) with generational difference in gender attitudes between parents helping out a cold play (Cichy, Lefkowitz, & Fingerman, 2007). Never the less, an extra mile on social support , the full on follow back through peers impacts better college adjustment especially among minority students of race (Dennis, Phinney, & Chuateco, 2005) (Burgos-Cienfuegos, Vasquez-Salgado, Ruedas-Gracia, & Greenfield, 2015).…”

Fixed Roles and Situated Actions

“…Effects of sequential situations persist, so a man who has experienced interacting with, for instance, a highly competent woman will treat the next woman he encounters more equally than a man without such experience (Markovsky et al 1984;Pugh and Wahrman 1983). Some evidence has begun to emerge that such a shift in gender expectations may be occurring in natural settings (Cichy et al 2007).…”

“…Several studies point to either hopes for (McKeen and Bu 2005) or actual decreases in gender stereotyping (Cichy et al 2007;Foschi and Lapointe 2002;Hovland et al 2005), though the source of such changes is unclear. It might occur from changes in schools and popular culture such as television, or it might simply reflect historical change in stereotypic beliefs.…”