Do Grandparents Transmit a Highbrow Lifestyle to their Grandchildren? Testing Bourdieu’s Theory of Distinction

Abstract

Abstract Pierre Bourdieu assumes in his theory of lifestyle that a highbrow lifestyle is shaped during childhood socialization and depends on the cultural capital of the family. While the effect of parents’ capital and lifestyle on their children has been frequently analyzed, there is no research that focuses on the three-generational transmission of a highbrow lifestyle from grandparents to their grandchildren. We attempt to fill this research gap with our study. Our primary research question is whether grandparents’ cultural capital and their practice of a highbrow lifestyle increases the probability of their grandchildren also pursuing a highbrow lifestyle. Based on a survey of parents of high school students, we are able to show that not only the parents’ conditions of socialization but also the grandparents’ cultural capital and lifestyle have a substantial effect on the probability that the grandchildren play an instrument / sing in a choir and practice a highbrow lifestyle. Furthermore, our analyses show that the grandparents’ influence on the grandchildren is only partially mediated by the parents’ capital and lifestyle.