Cultural and Individual Determinants of (Changing) Family Values and Intergenerational Solidarity

The current paper focuses on cross-cultural differences and similarities as well as cultural change processes with regard to family values and intergenerational solidarity. First, I will summarize our research from the Value of Children-study regarding the cultural determinants of patterns of family values (family models) and regarding the intergenerational transmission of these patterns (Mayer, 2009; Mayer, Trommsdorff, Kagitcibasi, & Mishra, 2012). The implications of these findings for Kagitcibasi’s Theory of Family Change will be discussed (Mayer, 2013). Second, we will focus on the role of religiosity and affluence for different kinds of adolescents’ family orientations (traditional values versus personal future orientation), both at the cultural and at the individual level (Mayer et al., 2015). Third, we explore how parent-reported parenting goals and behaviors are related to adolescents’ intergenerational solidarity across 14 cultures, and how these effects differ between cultural groups according to specific cultural characteristics (Mayer, Schwarz, & Trommsdorff, 2015)