Reciprocity, Quality of Family Relationship and Intergenerational Transmission of Social Competence

Grundmann M, Gerris JRM

Zusammenfassung

This research on the relevance of reciprocity for the quality of family relationship & the development of social competences describes the transaction between parents & offspring as a circular & responsive transaction, which is interpreted as fundamental for the family's life course, education, & communication patterns. A transactional & ecological model of family enables a differentiation between specific experiences of reciprocity in family relations across the life course. In addition to sociostructural parameters of family living, these experiences help us understand the conditions for the quality of relations between the two parents & the parents & children. Overall empirical findings lead to the assumption that the experience of reciprocity in family relations affects the behavior in partnership, engagement in parenting, educational practices of parents, & relational competencies of family members. The importance of reciprocity for personality development results in theoretical considerations about a theory of reciprocity & socialization, which is important for further analysis on the intergenerational transmission of competences & generative behavior.