Yes We Can? Gender Differences in the Influence of Parental Sense of Control on Young Adults

Sense of control (SC) refers to the belief that one’s actions will bring about a valued outcome. It has been linked to favourable outcomes in health and mental health and is known to be influenced by social class and education. This article investigates the extent to which the sense of control of young adults (age 16–24 years) is directly influenced by that of their parents. Using the subsample of young adults living at home from the 1994 Living in Ireland Survey, we examine the link between parent and adult–child SC, controlling for other parent and adult–child characteristics. We find that parental SC has a significant impact on the SC of sons and daughters, even when both parental and adult–child socio-economic status and education are controlled. The effects were different for sons and daughters: son’s SC was influenced by that of fathers but was only influenced by mother’s SC where the latter was high (in the top fifth). Daughter’s SC was influenced by that of both parents, and there was no additional effect when mother’s or father’s SC was in the top quintile. Thus, vicarious learning from parents may be one of the pathways for intergenerational transmission of advantage and disadvantage. In the case of SC, this transmission appears to operate differently for males and females.