Intergenerational Transmission of Values: Family Generativity and Adolescents' Narratives of Parent and Grandparent Value Teaching

Abstract

In this longitudinal study, we compared family stories told by 32 Canadian adolescents at ages 16 and 20 about how parents and grandparents had taught them values. Relations to parents' and children's levels of generativity were also examined. Adolescents' stories of grandparent value teaching were less readily recalled and less interactive in their content compared with stories about parents. Stories of value teaching by more generative parents were more likely to involve specific episodes, to be more interactive, to be more likely to emphasize caring content, and to be less likely to have their message rejected by the teens. Similarly, when parents were more generative, adolescents' stories about grandparents' value teaching were also more likely to involve specific and interactive episodes. Finally, stories told about parents and grandparents that were more positive on these dimensions predicted higher generative concern scores for the adolescents themselves, measured subsequently at age 24. Adolescents' stories about parent and grandparent socialization in more generative family contexts thus have features that suggest a more compelling process of intergenerational value transmission.

Calling orientations of junior doctors and medical interns in India: cultural, occupational and relational perspectives

“…Revisiting family pleas: Generativity assumes that conversations 'live on' and people revisit their experiences and exchanges within the familial or broader relational domain. It is a site for 'constant negotiation' where the conceptions of self evolves during a lifespan (Pratt et al, 2008). Returning to the appeals of his deceased grandparents, one calling-oriented participant recounted how he perceived their explicit plea as inspirational, which acted as a driving force to pursue medicine:…”

“…For example, a longitudinal study by Pratt, Norris, Hebblethwaite, and Arnold (2008) found that a greater number of life interventions by more generative parents were associated with greater adolescent acceptance of conveyed value messages. Family culture and communication can therefore form an important element in vocational socialization (Jablin, 2001).…”

Envolvimento paterno durante o nascimento dos filhos: pai "real" e "ideal" na perspectiva materna

“…Portanto, a satisfação das mães quanto ao envolvimento paterno durante a sua gravidez e o nascimento dos filhos depende, também, da própria dinâmica familiar existente antes mesmo destes se tornarem pais. Além disso, deve ser considerado como fonte de influência as relações estabelecidas pelo casal com seus respectivos genitores, pois eles desempenham papéis significativos nas expectativas e realizações quanto ao papel parental (Pratt, Norris, Hebblethwaite, & Arnold, 2008).…”

A Field in Search of Concepts: The Relevance of Generativity to Understanding Intergenerational Relationships

“…In this vein, the classical Eriksonian model, which links life interests to specific chronological periods, has been questioned as both too rigid and too simple (Villar, 2012). In the case of generativity, this would mean that generative concerns and behaviors could appear in young adulthood (e.g., Pratt, Norris, Hebblethwaite & Arnold, 2008) and, particularly, that they can persist beyond middle adulthood.…”