Mothers have greater influence in the transference of discriminatory behavior including the intergenerational transfer of sexist attitudes, according to a Spanish study published this month in Psicothema magazine.
The study was carried out using a sample of 1,455 adolescents between 11 and 17 years old along with their mothers and fathers (764 and 648), and highlights the strong influence that the mother has on her sons and daughters and also the influence that the father has on his sons.
Other factors that could explain this phenomenon, according to the authors, include the amount of time children spend with their parents, the household chores the mother encourages them to do, the type of gifts they are given and the roles that these gifts infer and, finally, the important role of the mother in the transference of values in general.
The study also confirms that sexist attitudes are linked to gender: adolescent boys reach significantly higher levels than girls and the same can be said for fathers in comparison to mothers. The mother and father have also been shown to share similar levels of sexism.
In addition, discriminatory attitudes were linked to the family’s socio-economic and cultural position. The researchers concluded, "the greater the socio-economic and cultural level of the family, the lower the level of sexism in both sons and daughter and in mothers and fathers.”
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