Individual's cultural capital: Intergenerational transmission, partner effect, or individual merit?

Abstract

For decades, social stratification research has focused on the effect of families’ cultural capital on their offspring's educational attainment. However, few studies have focused on the shaping of individuals’ cultural capital. This study aimed to examine the effects of family background, individual, partner, and household characteristics on individuals’ reading preferences and cultural participation. Structural equation modeling was applied to Czech Household Panel Survey (CHPS) data (N = 6,040). The results revealed the different social mechanisms responsible for cultural tastes and participation. While reading preferences are affected by individual characteristics and aspects of the family of origin, cultural participation is influenced by educational level and own cultural preferences, which outweighed the direct effect of family background. Furthermore, the individuals’ cultural behavior was also possibly affected by their partners’ cultural behavior, which was almost as strong factor as their own cultural preferences. In this respect, our results did not show any significant gender differences.