The (fe-)male breadwinner? Beliefs about gender roles in East Germany

Abstract

Background: Beliefs about gender roles develop in a complex interplay of individual factors with the sociopolitical and historical context. They differ between birth cohorts, depend on individual age, and change over time. In recent years, a certain retraditionalization was observed, especially in younger East German birth cohorts. This study investigates whether younger cohorts indeed show more traditional beliefs when considering age and period effects as well as sociodemographic factors. Methods: Using data from seven cross sections (1992 to 2016) of an East German sample of the German General Social Survey (N = 5,426), hierarchical age-period-cohort (HAPC) analyses were applied to simultaneously estimate the effects of age, birth cohort, and time period on gender role beliefs. Results: Significant cohort effects were observed, with those cohorts born and raised in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) showing the most egalitarian views. Similar to the oldest cohorts, the youngest cohorts exhibited more traditional beliefs. Conclusion: The results indeed suggest a trend toward retraditionalization of the gender role beliefs in the generations born after the end of the GDR compared to those born during its existence. Implications as well as limitations of the HAPC method are critically discussed.