Adolescents and Parents Attitudes about Marriage in Korea : The Importance of the Frequency of Parent-Adolescent Communications

Abstract

This paper examines the association of parental attitudes regarding marriage with the children's same attitudes in Korea using a national representative sample of 1,184 adolescents aged 10 to 18 and their mothers and fathers. This study also appraises the role of parent-adolescent communication as a transmitting mechanism. Results indicate strong generational associations between adolescents' and their parents' attitudes towards marriage in Korea. Adolescents whose mothers or fathers are liberal with respect to cohabitation, marriage, and divorce also tend to think of cohabitation and divorce as possible options and deny the absoluteness of marriage in life. This study also found that when parents and children communicate frequently, stronger generational associations occur, suggesting that parent-adolescent communications play a key role in generational transmission of attitudes towards marriage in Korea.