Cross-cutting families: how parent politics shape political communication and socialization practices

Abstract

Many families in the United States hold divergent political beliefs, which may cause relational issues between parents and affect the political socialization of their child(ren). Through a mixed-methods approach, we first assess data from in-depth interviews (N = 30) with parents in cross-cutting romantic relationships, or relationships where partners hold different political beliefs, to inductively explore the connection between parent politics and political socialization within the family. We find that parent political differences shape parent political communication, which is related to the political socialization of their child(ren). Drawing from these interviews, we employ survey data of cross-cutting and politically similar parents in the U.S. (N = 484), offering complementary evidence that cross-cutting parent relationships are negatively associated with expressiveness and political socialization, and that the relationship with political socialization is mediated by parent expressiveness. These findings showcase the role that parent disagreement plays in family political communication and political socialization.