Intergenerational similarities in cultural tastes: Like mother, like daughter?

There have been quite a few studies on the intergenerational transmission of high brow taste. However, the literature has almost entirely neglected the parental influence on more popular tastes, such as preferences for popular music, film or TV-programs. Highly influenced by the individualization thesis, adolescents' tastes are considered to be a matter of individual choice. The idea that parents have an influence on the tastes of their adolescent children is overruled. Ever since the ethic of individual self-realization and the idea of a 'do-it-yourself biography' have become prevalent in our society, parental socialization is believed to fade away, certainly when it concerns popular taste.
In this paper we investigate if this popular belief can be confirmed by empirical data. More specific we examine if parents and their offspring resemble each other in their tastes and if so, along which paths this similarity is achieved. In order to distinguish and to clarify all paths of transmission, we make use of structural equation modelling. The data are gathered by means of a survey held in Flanders (Belgium) in 2000, containing questionnaires of 6.974 youngsters and one of their parents. In 69% of the cases it was the mother who filled out the questionnaire. Therefore, and because we know that tastes are strongly defined by gender, we will also test if intergenerational similarities in tastes are gender bounded.
Variations in taste were mapped on the basis of music preferences (30 styles or genres), television programs (17 genres) and movie genres (15 genres). Each of the 62 items could be rated from 0 to 10 (allowing for the expression of both likes and dislikes). A factor analysis showed four dimensions: 1) a high brow mass culture, 2) a macho or virile culture, 3) a fun culture and 4) an alternative culture.
The analyses show that, although specific styles are age-related, adolescents and their parents do resemble each other in their cultural tastes. Parents influence the tastes of their children in a direct and indirect way. The indirect socialization, via the guidance towards relevant socialization agents (i.e. schools and media), is similar for the four tastes. On the other hand, the degree of direct influence differs for the four taste patterns. There is a strong direct socialization for the fun taste, a moderate socialization effect for the legitimate and the virile tastes, and a weak socialization effect for the alternative taste pattern. Fathers and mothers influence their children's tastes alike and in a similar way, but the tastes of mothers and daughters resemble each other the most.