2/14/2008
Rand Conger (UC-Davis), Intergenerational Continuity in Economic Hardship
Rand Conger is a distinguished professor of human development, family studies, and psychology at the University of California - Davis. Professor Conger's program of research focuses on social, economic, cultural and individual characteristics that either increase or reduce risk for social and emotional problems, substance abuse, and psychiatric disorders over time. His research has underscored the importance of economic and related stressors for family and individual development. More recently his work has focused on interconnections among multiple generations in the same family. Professor Conger received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Washington.
There is good evidence that economic circumstances in one generation of families affect the economic fortunes of the next generation. One hypothesis suggests that these continuities are based on enmeshment in broader economic structures while the second proposes that more advantaged parents invest more heavily in the human capital of their children which leads to greater economic success. Data from 558 study participants followed from early adolescence to almost 30 years of age evaluates the credibility of these hypotheses as explanations for intergenerational continuity in economic hardship.
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