Comparison of Articles Regarding Parent-Child Transmission of Political Values

Week 6 - O.P.P.B - Response
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Week 6 - O.P.P.B – Response
            The article “The Transmission of Political Values From Parent to Child” by Jennings & Niemi (1968) examined the role of parents as socializing agents in transmitting political values to children, as observed in late adolescence. On the other hand, the article “Accounting for the Child in the Transmission of Party Identification” by Ojeda & Hatemi (2015) examined the transmission of party ideologies from parent to child by focusing on the latter as active agents in their socialization. This essay will compare the two readings meaningfully by focusing on the similarities, differences, and contradictions in the author’s argument. The first similarity between the two readings relates to their subject matter. Both articles investigate the nature of political socialization in the United States by examining the pathways by which parents teach party identification to children (Jennings & Niemi, 1968; Ojeda & Hatemi, 2015). Moreover, both studies explore aspects of family structure that influence the pathways through which party ideologies are transferred from parents to children. Another crucial similarity in the two readings is that they both disprove past assumptions of parents as the primary socializing agent in children’s political orientations (Jennings & Niemi, 1968; Ojeda & Hatemi, 2015). For instance, Jennings & Niemi (1968) determined that other socializing agents may supplant parents as the primary socializing agent of political orientations. The rapid socio-technological changes in today’s society mediate the parent-to-child value acquisition process, particularly among adolescents. As a result of the intrusion of various socializ...