Parenthood’s Effects on Global Political Behavior

• In Event: Childcare and the Politics of Parenthood in Advanced Economies

Abstract

Increasingly, political science literature has focused its attention on the impact of “life” and life-changing events (e.g. marriage, childbirth, divorce, and death) on political attitudes. Much of this literature is based on the experiences of Americans, and generally, compares the behaviors and attitudes of parents to non-parents (and mothers to fathers). Less common is an assessment of the ways that parenthood may differ by cultural context (e.g. across countries), and most studies (even those based on a single country) do not account for the possibility that parenthood is not only a gendered experience, but likely racialized as well. Given that the experiences of people of color with work and receiving state services such as health care can differ profoundly from what white individuals expect, it seems plausible that the politicization of parental status would also be structured by race. We seek to fill these gaps using a cross-national and intersectional analysis of the impact of parenthood on political participation and attitudes. Longitudinal data from the World Values Survey allows us to track attitudes about political issues over time and across space, seeking to understand the different ways that context structures the impact of parenthood on political behavior. We expect to find variation in the impact of parenthood on political attitudes and participation by sex as well as race/ethnicity across both space and time.

Authors

• Amanda Bittner, Memorial University of Newfoundland

• Melanee Thomas, University of Calgary