Explaining television choices: The influence of parents and partners

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to examine, on the one hand, whether adult television viewers’ choices are influenced by their childhood experience (i.e., their parents’ viewing choices) and, on the other hand, whether their choices are influenced by their current context (e.g., their partners’ choices). The sample consists of 844 heterosexual couples. Genre choices made by each respondent's parents (when the respondent was 15 years old) were measured using retrospective questions about exposure to two genres: television news and soap series. Meanwhile, genre choices made by each respondent's partners were collected using self-reported questions about news and soaps. structural equation modelling was used to analyze the data. The results show that, first, adult television viewers’ choices are predicted by their parents’ choices that the respondents experienced when they were about 15 years old. Second, male partners have more influence on their female partners’ television choices than the other way around. Third, both intergenerational and inter-partner influences on television choices are exerted through the preferences of the present household members.