Why Parents Pay for College: The Good Parent,Perceptions of Advantage,and the Intergenerational Transfer of Opportunity

This article asks how parents think about the cost of a college education for their children. Based on data from more than ninety in‐depth interviews with upper‐middle‐class parents and children, it is clear that grooming children for college and then paying for their education is intimately linked with ideas about being a “good parent.” We present data on three related aspects of parents' consciousness about paying for college. First, data are presented on how parents view the benefits of college for their children. Second, data illustrate how parents think about the obligations associated with paying. Third, we report on what parents expect in return for their efforts and expenditures. Data also indicate that parents' views are contingent on their perceived ability to pay for the increasing costs of higher education. We conclude by considering how the implicit contract between upper‐middle‐class parents and children may change as new economic and structural uncertainties increase parents' anxieties and challenge their abilities to see themselves as good parents.     

Financial Assistance Patterns from Midlife Parents to Adult Children: A Test of the Cumulative Advantage Hypothesis

Young adults may receive financial assistance from midlife parents as they experience life course transitions often associated with establishing independent status, such as schooling, marriage or gaining full-time work. We used longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (1992–2002) and hypothesized that adult children in the United States who received repeated financial transfers from midlife parents experienced cumulative advantages across time. We also examined the data using parental household characteristics to reinforce the importance of previous transfer behaviors. We found that the receipt of prior transfers, family structure and parental household income were the strongest determinants of the odds that parents gave financial assistance to adult children as both generations aged. The findings also supported the cumulative advantage theory due to the larger likelihood of continued transfers.     

Caring for Children From the Same Culture: Challenges for Foster Parents

Foster parents licensed in a central Canadian province were contacted by telephone and invited to participate in a survey that included the question “What are the challenges of fostering a child with the same values, beliefs, and traditions as you?” Participants sorted all responses to the question into concepts that were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis in accordance with the concept mapping method. The final concept map included five clusters that were labeled rebuild confidence, different expectations, resistance, restore connections, and acceptance. Results were compared to the literature. Similarities and differences are presented.     

Group Interventions for Children Having Separated Parents: A Systematic Narrative Review

The aims of this article are to review the current body of knowledge on group interventions for children with separated or divorced parents and to provide new insights into the evaluation of their efficacy. This review draws on a method of systematic narrative review (SNR). We provide a narrative synthesis of evidence from 29 studies conducted between 1980 and 2014, which were included in the SNR consistently with the inclusion criteria established. Three dimensions were considered: intervention characteristics, study characteristics, and intervention outcomes (i.e., types of outcomes and efficacy). Our findings showed a general inconsistency among the studies, which was discussed in the light of some important methodological issues.     

Intergenerational Transmission of Constructive Parenting

Past research on the intergenerational transmission of parenting concentrates on the continuity of harsh or abusive parenting, for the most part relying on retrospective reports of early upbringing. This study investigates the intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting using a 3‐wave longitudinal data set that has spanned 2 decades, obtaining the respondents' contemporaneous reports in early adolescence, early adulthood, and middle adulthood respectively (N= 2,338 ). The results support the hypotheses that interpersonal relations, social participation, and role‐specific modeling explain the intergenerational continuity of constructive parenting.     

代际流动的后果——流动者后续地位获得研究综述

与代际流动相关的分析多围绕社会开放性展开,对流动后果的分析较少。对代际流动者在更长远的人生发展中,生活机会获得的考察,不仅可以深化社会开放性的分析,也可以作为表征代际流动者在后致地位上融合程度的指标。文章分别梳理了向上和向下两种代际流动后果,发现代际向下流动者往往受到优势家庭背景的保护。对代际向上流动的后果则存在一些分歧,不少研究发现了家庭背景劣势的持续影响,使得代际向上流动者的后续地位获得不及非流动者,而另一些研究则发现流动者的后续发展与非流动者无异。     

From Generation to Generation: Intergenerational Relations in the Kibbutz

The first kibbutzim were established at the beginning of the twenetieth century. This short history allows us to trace the outline of generations. The second generation followed the practices of the founders, but without their ideological dedication. The third generation did not accept the kibbutz lifestyle, and many left. Those who stayed implemented changes, which ensured the continuity of the community, but at the cost of abandoning some original kibbutz values. Since the turn of the century, the youngest generation has been returning, but now to a different kibbutz, one based on principles that meet their needs while ensuring the sustainability of the community.     

Children,Parents and the State: The Children Act, 1908

SUMMARY: This article examines the first major consolidating piece of child welfare legislation in Britain, the 1908 Children Act. The focus is on the relationship established between child, parent, and state. Contemporary reasons for the need for this re-ordered relationship are suggested, but it is also argued that in certain respects parallels can be found between the Edwardian Act and that of 1989. This in turn suggests the persistence of certain issues in child welfare, and especially that of the division of responsibilities for the care of children between parents and State.     

The Intergenerational Transmission of Financial Stress and Relationship Outcomes

Numerous studies have focused on the intergenerational transmission of poverty, financial stress, and family functioning. Other research has shown how financial stressors can predict various family processes, including parent–child interactions, family conflict, and couple communication, and relationship outcomes, including marital stability and satisfaction. This study shows continued evidence that financial stress from the male and female partner's family of origin may predict marital dissatisfaction using dyadic data techniques. Also, an exploration of indirect paths also found that the presence of current financial stress partially mediates these associations.     

The Intergenerational Transmission of Union Instability in Early Adulthood

Research on the intergenerational transmission of divorce should be expanded to incorporate disrupted nonmarital cohabitations. This study (a) examined the transmission of union instability from parents to offspring using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, (b) replaced binary variables (divorced vs. nondivorced) typically used in this literature with count variables (number of disrupted unions), (c) relied on independent sources for data on parents' and offspring's union disruptions to minimize same‐source bias, (d) assessed the mediating role of theoretically derived variables (many not previously considered in this literature), and (e) incorporated information on discord in intact parental unions. Parent and offspring union disruptions were positively linked, with each parental disruption associated with a 16% increase in the number of offspring disruptions, net of controls. The mediators collectively accounted for 44% of the estimated intergenerational effect. Parent discord in intact unions was associated with more offspring disruptions.     

The Intergenerational Transmission of Spouse Abuse: A Meta‐Analysis

This study uses meta‐analytic procedures to examine the relationship between growing up in a violent home and subsequently becoming part of a violent marital relationship. Our meta‐analysis examines published and unpublished research studies that investigate the relationship between witnessing or experiencing family violence in childhood and receiving or perpetrating violence in an adult heterosexual cohabiting or marital relationship. The findings of this meta‐analysis suggest there is a weak‐to‐moderate relationship between growing up in an abusive family and becoming involved in a violent marital relationship. Differential effects of gender and sample type are also discussed.     

The Role of Parents in Introducing Children to Financial Services: Evidence from Ghana-YouthSave

Financial capability—financial knowledge, skills, and access to financial services—may help smooth transitions to adulthood for youth and is affected by socialization experiences with parents and other family members. Among a sample of youth and their parents enrolled in the YouthSave experiment in Ghana (n?=?4,065), this study examined whether physical access to financial services and/or visiting banks with parents or other family members was associated with youth’s perceptions and understanding of financial institutions. We found a statistically significant association between visiting the bank with a parent or other family member and youth’s attitudes (β?=?1.45, p?<?0.001) and understanding of financial services (β?=?2.96, p?<?0.001), controlling for other factors like household income and assets. Conversely, physical access (distance, travel time) was not associated with financial services attitudes or understanding. Parents may play an important role in introducing their children to financial services. Practitioners and policy makers should consider ways to include parents in efforts to promote financial capability among youth.     

The Intergenerational Transmission of Social Capital: A Developmental Approach to Adolescent Social Capital Formation*

Previous scholarship has demonstrated the importance of individual characteristics and structural context for understanding social capital formation. However, a developmental approach to social capital formation has, so far, been absent. In this study, I argue that social capital formation must be understood intergenerationally as well as structurally. Using hierarchical linear modeling, I investigate the hypothesized intergenerational transmission of social capital using Waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The results show that, in addition to individual characteristics, neighborhood‐level factors, and school‐level variables, parental social capital is an important predictor of adolescent social capital. This study also suggests that the intergenerational transmission of social capital functions, in part, through family structure and that structural differences account for only a relatively small share of the variation in adolescent social capital. Potential explanations for these findings are discussed.