The influence of parents on the Party Identification of children– the Case of College Students at Ming Chuan University, Taoyuan Campus

• Main Authors: Bo-Chao Chang, 張博超
• Other Authors: WANG,JONG -TAIN
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/73308012987179764587

碩士 === 銘傳大學 === 公共事務學系碩士班 === 99 === Political socialization is an on-going process that shapes a person’s political attitudes, and the social institution that sets the initial shaping and that has a far-reaching impact, will be none other than one’s family. After performing research in existing literature, this study finds that the identification with a political party poses some impact over personal voting action, while a family injects a powerful transferring effect on the political attitudes that shapes children’s political party identification. In spite of personal view differences with issues and stands of the political party, the individual still has a high probability of voting for the identified political party, due to a deeply shaped belief that has been bestowed by the individual’s family since childhood. This study interviewed thirteen college students by using the in-depth interview method, then analyzes and compares their family backgrounds to see if the fathers, or the mothers, have a greater impact on shaping their party identifications, and then further analyzes and summarizes what types of family education and interaction model steer children’s political party identification to the father’s side, or the mother’s side. Based on scholarly papers from domestic and overseas sources, a mother, compared to a father, has a greater impact on children’s party identifications. However, these results are from the quantitative information on most of the families. The research findings of this study can be summarized as follows: first, when the respondents at their age of 9 to 13, they tend to form their party identification from whoever lives most intimately with them. Secondly, after their adolescence, mothers tend to be more influential in terms of party identification than fathers. Finally, when parents hold different political attitudes, the respondents will still take side with the one who he or she thinks has more influence on their lives.