Parental influence on work and family plans of adolescents of different ethnic backgrounds in the Netherlands

This paper examined the work and family plans of adolescents from five different ethnic origins. The way in which parents influence these plans was studied by using a representative sample of secondary school pupils (N = 52,000) in The Netherlands. Results showed that substantial proportions of adolescents had traditional work and family plans. The study showed that work and family plans of adolescents of non-Dutch origin overall were at least as egalitarian as those of Dutch origin. Girls of all ethnic origins held more egalitarian plans than boys. Logistic regression analyses revealed that adolescents’ plans were associated with parents’ socio-demographic characteristics and role-modeling. The processes of intergenerational transmission were found to be highly similar for girls and boys in all ethnic groups.