Does the Likelihood of Parent-Child Estrangement Differ by Migration Background? Evidence from Germany

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  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 14: Family, Relationships, and the Life Course

Abstract

Interest in parent-child estrangement, defined as substantially reduced physical and emotional contact with their parents, has been on the rise both in the social scientific literature and in the popular press. Extant work stresses the role that gender and marital status play in the production of estrangement. However, far fewer studies focus on the role of migration background and how it relates to parent-child estrangement. In this study, we investigate whether first-generation and second-generation adult children are more likely to be estranged from parents than their native counterparts in Germany. Leveraging longitudinal panel data from 2010 to 2019, we find evidence that second-generation children are significantly more likely to be estranged from their fathers than first-generation and native children, while first-generation children are significantly less likely to be estranged from their mothers than second-generation and native children. These findings uncover an overlooked pathway in the generation of social inequalities.

Authors

• Michael Zaslavsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Flavia Mazzeo, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research