The Similarity of Political Values of Parents and College-Age Youths

Studies of college students over the past decade have most often inferred a high rate of intergenerational continuity of political values. In contrast, political socialization studies have concluded that parent-youth similarity is low to moderate except in the case of party identification. Analysis of interviews with a representative national sample of seventeen- to twenty-three-years-olds, along with independent interviews with their parents, supports the political socialization tradition for nonstudents and students alike, including student activists and students at elite colleges.