Downward educational mobility and the life satisfaction of adolescents and parents

Abstract

Objective: This study examines whether parental and adolescent life satisfaction is lower when adolescents are on a lower educational trajectory than their parents, and whether this association is mediated by the quality of the parent–adolescent relationship. Background: Existing literature shows that families seek to ensure status maintenance and to avoid downward educational mobility in their children. Little is known, however, about whether downward educational mobility has negative consequences for adolescents' and their parents' well-being. Method: Using data on 3781 16-year-old adolescents and their parents from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), this study examined associations between downward educational mobility, parent–adolescent relationship quality, and the life satisfaction of adolescents and their parents. Results In families with two college-educated parents, risks of downward educational mobility were associated with increased parent–child conflicts and quarrels over school issues as well as with lower life satisfaction in parents and adolescents. Conclusion: Adolescents and parents report reduced levels of life satisfaction when adolescents are on a lower educational trajectory than their parents, probably because the risk of declining status across generations negatively affects the psychological well-being of parents and adolescents. Implications: Providers of family services should consider that the psychological effects of low educational achievement in adolescents vary depending on parental levels of education.