Religious Value Transmission: An Exploration of the Internalization of Catholic Values in Adolescence, Young Adulthood, and Parenthood

Despite increasingly secular pressures, more Catholics continue to practice the faith in which they were brought up, as compared to members of other Christian denominations. It is of interest to understand what factors contribute to the maintenance of childhood beliefs into adulthood and into one’s own childrearing practices, thereby passing those beliefs to the next generation. This dissertation explored religious value transmission through the lens of internalization across three notable life stages in Catholic individuals: young adolescence (Study One), young adulthood (Study Two), and parenthood (Study Three). Across these three stages, the pattern was mostly consistent: parental influence was positively associated with religiosity, and this relationship was generally mediated by identified, but not introjected, internalization.