Gender, Religious, and Political Ideologies Among Three-Generation Families: Implications for Family Conflict

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to identify subgroups of families based on ideologies and examine intergenerational conflict predicated by ideological subset. Background: Gender, religious, and political ideologies are key to understanding how individuals' function both within their families and in society and can provide insight to intergenerational conflict. Methods: Families (85%–95% White) included individuals across three generations (late, middle, and emerging adulthood). Data from the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG) was used to conduct latent profile analyses. Results: Three subgroups of families were identified: nontraditional ideology families, traditional ideology families, and adapting ideology families. Using the modified Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars (2004) approach, intergenerational conflict between profiles was examined. Conclusions: Findings provide a snapshot of common groupings of families based on generational members' gender, religious, and political ideologies. Findings indicate that conflict may be reported more frequently by middle-aged parents or children (i.e., “sandwich generation”) in nontraditional ideology and adapting ideology families. Implications: Findings suggest that in approximately half of families in this study, emerging adults have similar ideologies to their grandparents, indicating there may not be such extreme differences between generations as are colloquially perceived.