Executive Summary: "Family Ties: Understanding the Intergenerational Transmission of Participation" by Nancy Burns, Lehman Schlozman, and Sidney Verba

This paper deals with the impact of family-rearing on our political activity as adults.  It seeks to clarify how the family operates to influence future political participation and, in particular, to influence the inequality of political activity among adults.  We specify two different paths that link parents’ socio-economic status (SES) to the adult political participation of their offspring: political socialization within the family and socio-economic advantages bequeathed by parents to children.  We argue that, when it comes to political participation, as important as the political learning that takes place in families is the set of opportunities bequeathed by the socio-economic status of the family of origin, in particular, the opportunity for educational attainment.  Those whose parents are advantaged in SES terms are not only likely to come of age in a politically rich environment, and thus to learn lessons germane to future political activity, but are likely themselves to attain a high level of education which, in turn, enhances the likelihood of acquiring many other attributes that foster political participation.

We demonstrate that, as expected, upper-SES parents are more likely to participate in politics themselves and to create households in which there is political discussion, both of which contribute to the political learning of their children.  In addition, the resource advantages conferred by growing up in a family that enjoys a favorable position in the SES hierarchy—in particular, the opportunity to achieve high levels of education—are crucial for the cultivation of future citizens.  Indeed, when it comes to political participation such resource advantages outweigh the advantages that accrue to those who learn about politics by virtue of coming of age in a household in which parents who are politically active and engaged function as role models.