C D M H

Project Title:	Intergenerational Panel Study of Parents and Children
Principal Investigator:	Arland Thornton
Co-Investigators:	William Axinn, Deborah Freedman
Contact Person and Information:
Arland Thornton Survey Research Center Room 4053 (734)-763-1500 arlandt@umich.edu
STUDY AIMS:
The study investigates the reciprocal influences of parents and children on each other. The study also examines the extent to which experiences, attitudes, and values early in the life course influence subsequent behavior and values.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INITIAL SAMPLE:
Selection criteria:
The families participating in the study were chosen to represent white couples in the Detroit metropolitan area who had just given birth to their first, second, or fourth child in 1961. The sampling frame was the birth records of white babies born in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, and the sample was drawn from this universe using systematic random procedures.
Sample characteristics:
Gender:		Both sons and daughters are included
Ethnicity:		100% White families
Socioeconomic Status:		All levels represented

COMPLETED WAVES:
Wave	Wave	Age of Subjects	N:
Mothers	1 (1962)	Adult	1113
	2 (1963)	Adult	.
	3 (1966)	Adult	.
	4 (1977)	Adult	.
	5 (1980)	Adult	.
	6 (1985)	Adult	.
	7 (1993)	Adult
Children	1 (1980)	18 yrs	.
	2 (1985)	23yrs	.
	3 (1993)	31 yrs	.
Currently Funded Waves: Last data collection in 1993.

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES:
Young Adulthood Middle Adulthood

MEASURES
Personal:
	Personality:	Attitudes
Social:
	Family:	Parent-child relationships Relationships with other kin Childbearing Cohabitation Marriage Intellectual ability Sexuality Dating
REPRESENTATIVE FINDINGS:
1. The cohabitation and marriage experience of children are influenced by the marital history and religiosity of parents.   2. Marital attitudes influence the attitudes and behavior of children concerning cohabitation, marriage, childbearing, and divorce.   3. There are reciprocal influences of marriage and divorce attitudes with cohabitation experience.
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS:
Orbuch, T., Thornton, A., & Cancio, J. (2000). The impact of marital quality, divorce, and remarriage on the relationships between parents and their children. Marriage and Family Review: Special Issue: Fatherhood: Research, interventions, and policies, 29(4), 221-246. Thronton, A., Orbuch, T., Axinn, W. G. (1995). Parent-child relationships during the transition to adulthood. Journal of Family Issues, 16(5), 538-564.

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