Youth Centrism and the Formation of Political Orientations in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Abstract

In a longitudinal design the parent-child resemblance and mutual transmission of two kinds of attitudes were studied: Tolerance of Alternative Lifestyles (cultural conservatism) and wish for Equality of Income and Property (economical conservatism). Four categories of adolescents were defined, ranging from strong youth centrist to strong non-youth centrist. Adolescent youth centrism concerns a fervent identification with peers and peer culture combined with distrust and loathing of the adult world and its institutions. At Time 1 (T1), the strong youth centrists do not set themselves apart. It is the group of strong non-youth centrists differentiating themselves by resembling their parents’ cultural conservatism far more than other young people do. During adolescence, youth centrists take over and communicate cultural conservatism in much the same way as their peers. With regard to economic conservatism, no significant differences were found at T1. During adolescence, however, strong youth centrists slightly increase the dissimilarity between their economic views and those of their parents, whereas strong non-youth centrists work to increase similarity in those orientations.