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The influence of parents' martial dissolutions on children's attitudes toward family formation
1Department of Sociology and Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802, USA. axinn@pop.psu.edu
Abstract:
We investigate the influence of parents' martial dissolutions on their children's attitudes toward several dimensions of family formation. Hypotheses focus on the role of patients' attitudes as a mechanism linking parents' behavior to their children's attitudes. We test these hypotheses using intergenerational panel data that include measures of children's attitudes taken directly from children. Results demonstrate strong effects of parental divorce, remarriage, and widowhood on children's attitudes toward premarital sex, cohabitation, marriage, childbearing, and divorce. The results also show that parents' own attitudes link their behavior to their children's attitudes, although substantial effects of parental behavior remain after controlling for parents' attitudes.