Timing preferences for women's family life transitions: Intergenerational transmission among migrants and Dutch

This study examines the transmission of preferences regarding the timing of family-life transitions of women among migrant and native Dutch families. We study how and to what extent parental preferences, migrant origin, and family characteristics affect the child's timing preferences. We use parent and child data (N = 1,290) from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (2002, 2003) and the Social Position and Provisions Ethnic Minorities Survey (2002). Regression analyses reveal that parental timing preferences regarding family-life transitions are strongly associated with the timing preferences of their children. Analyses also show that these preferences strongly vary by migrant origin, educational level, and religious involvement. The process of intergenerational transmission, however, is found to be very similar among migrants and Dutch. © National Council on Family Relations, 2007.