Womengive 15: How Do Sons and Daughters Affect Parent's Charitable Giving?

Women Give 2015 investigates whether the sex of a firstborn child affects parents' charitable giving. Generosity is learned by people as they relate to others in schools, community settings, religious organizations, and the workplace. It is also learned within the family. Research has shown that parents influence their children in many ways, including how to be generous. This study shifts the framework of thinking from the current focus on "parents influencing the development of their child's generosity" to also include "children affecting their parents' generosity."This research provides the first evidence that the sex of a person's first-born child influences both the likelihood of giving and the amount given to charitable organizations. The sex of a person's first-born child affects giving in two-parent family configurations, but not in single-parent families