Developmental Stage and Perceptions of Intergenerational Continuity

Previous research has found generational differences in perceptions of continuity. Bengtson and Kuypers offer the notion of developmental stake to explain why youths exaggerate differences between themselves and their parents and parents minimize intergenerational differences. The identity and intimacy concerns of a young adult child color perceptions of intergenerational continuity differently from the way the generative concerns of midlife parents do. Using a probability sample of college students and both their parents (282 families), we surveyed each generation's actual attitudes and their perceptions of the other generation's attitudes. We also assessed the psychological development of youth (identity and intimacy) and of midlife parents (generativity). Although our results confirm that youths perceive less intergenerational continuity in attitudes than their parents, our results call into question the connection between psychosocial developmental status of either generation and their perceptions of continuity. We offer alternative interpretations of generational differences in perception and make suggestions for broadening the study of developmental stake and intergenerational continuity.