Work

The Cultivation of Parent and Child Materialism: A Parent–Child Dyadic Study

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Research has shown that television viewing cultivates a materialistic worldview in children. However, other socialization factors may also influence children’s materialism. The current research tests two socialization pathways of parental influence: (a) an indirect path in which parents pass on their own materialism to their children, and the parent’s materialism is at least partly the result of a parent cultivation effect (parent cultivation); (b) an indirect path in which parents pass on their television viewing behavior to their children, which in turn positively predicts the children’s level of materialism (child cultivation). The results of two studies (initial study plus direct replication, N = 818) of U.S. parent–child dyads with 14- to 17-year-old children support the first path but not the second: The relation between parent TV viewing and child materialism is mediated through parent materialism. Child TV viewing is positively correlated with child materialism, but is nonsignificant when parent materialism is controlled.

Source: Human Communication Research

DOI: 10.1093/hcr/hqab004

Authors: Cristel A Russell, L J Shrum

Institutions: Pepperdine University, HEC Paris

Language: English

Topic: Child Development and Digital Technology

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Agence Nationale de la Recherche, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Awards: Idex Paris-Saclay, Réguler l'économie au service de la société, G6586963010, Effect of Alcohol Placements in Television Programming, G9000093189