Department Seminar: Biological vs. non-biological kinship by Professor, dr. Jan Paul Heisig

The Department of Sociology welcome Professor, dr. Jan Paul Heisig from Freie Universität Berlin, to give his speech on the dynamics of biological and non-biological kinship. All researchers are welcome to join this seminar at the Department of Sociology, City Campus.

Title:
Biological vs. non-biological kinship and perceived support obligations towards aging (step)parents: evidence from a conjoint experiment

Abstract:
Adult children’s support for older parents is a critical issue in contemporary societies, given demographic shifts towards aging populations and changing family structures. However, it remains unclear whether contemporary norms on the support of older adults are adjusting to these changing family structures. The present study investigates how adult children’s perceived support obligations towards aging parents depend on biological kinship status (biological vs. stepchildren) and other factors, including the gender of parent and child, children’s care responsibilities toward their own children, and former parental support.

A conjoint survey experiment, conducted with 1,500 German respondents in Nov-Dec 2024, shows that biological children are assigned higher support obligations than stepchildren, in line with preregistered expectations (AsPredicted, #201080). We find no clear support for the idea that the perceived support obligations of biological children will be more strongly governed by a logic of unconditional support, while the perceived obligations of non-biological children will be more strongly governed by a logic of reciprocity or availability (i.e., contingent on prior parental support or time availability). Further analyses will explore heterogeneities according to respondent socio-demographics and family history.