Intergenerational Transmission of Political Behaviour and Attitudes

In recent years, we have witnessed a steady decline of political interest, political trust, and political participation in Western European countries. Young adults thereby particularly refrain from actively participating in the political process. Insights from prior research suggest that political socialization within the family plays a pivotal role in defining young adults’ political involvement. That is, a culture of participation or non-participation is transmitted from one generation to the next. In this vein, we argue that political involvement is acquired as a result of strong parental socialisation. We test this general assumption by means of survey data incorporating Swiss young adults aged 18 to 35 and one of their parents. With the help of this unique data set, we are not only able to test the transmissions of multiple aspects of political behaviour and attitudes, but also how the parenting style, the closeness between parent and child as well as status inheritance, in terms of economic, cultural, and social capital, moderate the transmission of political behaviour. Preliminary results support the idea of a political socialisation process within the family.