Kids don't always follow in parents' political footsteps

Washington: More than half of all children in the U.S either misperceive or reject parents' political party affiliations, according to a recent study.

This finding turns the conventional wisdom, as well as years of political socialization research, on its head, said first author Christopher Ojeda from the Stanford University.

He added that the public, the media, and the academic world have long believed that children learn their political values, such as which party to support or which policy positions to endorse, from their parents. In this view, learning occurs mostly because parents impose their values on their children. This belief depends on the assumption that children know and choose to adopt their parents' values.

The authors also found that more discussion about politics in the home increases the probability that children correctly identify their parents' party affiliations, but does not increase the likelihood that they will adopt those affiliations.

Overall, Ojeda said the study shows that much of what researchers have interpreted about parent-child similarities when it comes to party identification should be updated.

The study appears in the American Sociological Review (ASR).