Gender Differences in Adolescents’ Expectations of Marriage and Parenthood

• In Event: 534 - Section on Children and Youth Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Aspirations and Expectations

Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that adolescents’ expectations about marriage and family roles are quite important, as these are strongly linked to eventual marital transitions and family behaviors in their adult years. This study seeks to extend our understanding of the developmental processes associated with adolescents’ attitudes concerning marriage and marital roles by examining the combination of familial and individual characteristics of teens. Using data from the Monitoring the Future Project, a nationally representative sample of 2,113 high school seniors are included in the analyses. Both boys’ and girls’ expectations of eventual marriage are higher when they have two parents at home. Higher levels of school performance, however, are associated with lower marital expectations. Respondents’ perceptions of their effectiveness as future spouses were shown to be a salient predictor of both marriage and parenthood expectations. Interestingly, being more socially active and engaging in substance use appear to be associated with higher expectations of marriage and parenthood, and particularly so for teenage girls. Overall, the findings support the central contention of ecological theory (i.e., that the larger social contexts of adolescents must be considered as a whole). The implications of the findings are discussed, as well as the changing nature of gender differences in adolescents’ perceptions of marriage and family life.

Authors

• Patricia Neff Claster, Edinboro University-Pennsylvania

• Sampson Lee Blair, State University of New York-Buffalo