Do early family experiences, such as parental separation or growing up in a single-parent or stepfamily household, influence how young adults view gender roles in early adulthood? This question lies at the heart of a recent study using Swedish data to examine how different childhood family structures relate to attitudes towards gender equality in young adulthood.
Using data from the Young Adult Panel Study (YAPS), conducted in 1999 and 2003, Michael Gähler and Livia Sz. Oláh (Stockholm University) investigated how growing up in non-traditional families — including single-parent and stepfamilies — might shape attitudes towards gender roles in both public (i.e. paid work) and private (i.e. family) life, plus attitudes about gender equality on combining these spheres (i.e. the ideal division of tasks among parents with pre-school children regarding economic provision and care). The data is based on a nationally representative sample of respondents aged 22, 26, 30, and 34 years. Importantly, the study also considered the role of maternal employment and the respondent’s gender.
Their findings suggest that experiencing parental divorce or separation in childhood has little impact on young adults' views. The authors also found no evidence that growing up in a single-mother family influences gender role attitudes differently for sons and daughters. Respondents who grew up with a single father, however, expressed more modern private sphere gender role attitudes than their counterparts raised in two biological parent families.
Finally, the study examined the impact of family reconstitution on the formation of gender role attitudes (i.e. growing up with a biological parent and a step-parent). The results suggest that daughters from families with a mother and stepfather tend to express more modern gender role attitudes in both the public and private spheres than daughters raised by their two biological parents. Conversely, boys in stepfather families tend to express more traditional views on gender roles in the public sphere.
Why don’t we see stronger effects of family structure? The authors highlight the strength of Sweden’s egalitarian culture. In a society where gender equality is actively promoted through schools, media, and public policy, family dynamics may play a smaller role in shaping attitudes. Similar findings have also been reported in other countries, suggesting that parental separation or family form may not be as influential on young people’s gender beliefs as once assumed.
The study has limitations. It is based on cross-sectional data, which makes it challenging to capture changes over time or establish causality. Nonetheless, the takeaway is clear: in Sweden, family form seems to matter less than wider cultural and social influences when it comes to shaping young people’s views on gender roles. As earlier researchers have concluded, children learn about gender not just from their parents, but from a wide array of sources — and in a country like Sweden, those sources consistently point in a modern, egalitarian direction.