Influences on Gender-Role Attitudes during the Transition to Adulthood☆☆☆

Abstract We use longitudinal data for a nationally representative sample of U.S. youth to study intergenerational and intragenerational influences on the gender-role attitudes of young women and men. We find that during the period between 1979 and 1987 young women had more egalitarian attitudes than young men but that the gender-role attitudes of both sexes were similarly influenced by family background. Although there was considerable stability in gender-role attitudes during the transition to adulthood, both sexes experienced change in an egalitarian direction with age. Young men experienced more change than young women, making their attitudes more similar to those of young women over time. Gender-role attitudes were also influenced by particular experiences and role changes during the transition to adulthood, including the continuation of education, movement into and out of the labor force, entry into marriage, and becoming a parent.