LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – More often than not, becoming more conservative is seen as a side effect of ageing, much like unexpected physical pains and grey hair. But it now seems that may be because of a different reason, having kids.
Researchers have discovered that parents tend to be more socially conservative than those who do not have children, and that having children helps to explain why people have a tendency to become more conservative as they age.
Dr. Nick Kerry, co-author of the study from the University of Pennsylvania believes that there are assumptions that as one gets older they tend to become more conservative from experience and possibly from having to deal with harsh realities of the real world.
However, that doesn’t appear to be the case, she says. If you observe those who are not parents, you can find there isn’t any age difference evident.Â
The study might provide a new perspective on the drop in birth rates observed in several nations. Kerry said, “I think it might contribute to liberalisation in those countries,” adding that those that forbid abortions would see a movement in the other direction.
In a research published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Kerry and colleagues describe how 376 university students from the US were divided into two groups for an experiment.
The first group was shown pictures of household items and asked to discuss how they may use one. The other group, on the other hand, was shown photographs of children and asked to consider potential names and beneficial interactions. The survey asked both groups their opinions on topics like traditional marriage and abortion.
The researchers discovered that answers of individuals who imagined spending time with a kid were socially conservative than those who imagined household items, but this was only true for those who were really invested in the exercise.
The team discovered that adults who were more driven to take care of children appeared to be more socially conservative when they surveyed 2,610 persons in 10 nations, from Japan to Lebanon. Additionally, parents exhibited a more conservative societal outlook than childless individuals.
And while social conservatism rose with age, this association vanished once parenthood was considered.
However, having children is only one element that could affect societal norms in some nations, such as India and Pakistan, where having children was not associated with more conservative attitudes.
Prof. Paul Higgs of University College London issued a cautionary statement, saying that the study reduces political orientation to a single set of personal experiences, much as the cliché that greater age is associated with more conservative attitudes. Additionally, it does not take into consideration how later life changes or how social conservatism may be impacted by societal or social role changes.
He also pointed out that, rather than the opposite, the UK’s welfare state has encouraged individuals to have children at the same time as a more open and equal society.
The study was welcomed by Dr. Diana Burlacu of Newcastle University, who also noted that it was difficult to determine whether having children made one more conservative or whether conservatives were more likely to choose to have children.
She added that the study did not reveal that parents are more conservative with their money. According to her own research, “we find that parents do shift their economic choices and are more in favour of government spending,” albeit she pointed out their support for services like daycare only persisted while they were using them.
While there is a tonne of research on parenting and how it affects kids, Kerry noted that much less research has been done on the effects of parenthood itself.
He believes this research proves that when your objectives, priorities, and motivations change, your larger values are also influenced.
Understanding that notion is crucial to realising that perhaps those with whom you disagree aren’t simply evil or stupid. Those individuals may have been moulded solely by their circumstances in life as well as their goals and motivations.
