The Effect of Classmates’ Maternal College Attainment on Volunteering in Young Adulthood

Objective In this study, I explore whether and how attending class with students who have a college‐educated mother generates positive spillovers to classmates’ volunteering behavior in young adulthood. Methods Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), I employ a quasi‐experimental research design that exploits variation in student composition across grade cohorts within schools. Results This study finds that the proportion of classmates with college‐educated mothers has a positive impact on the likelihood of students’ engagement in volunteering in young adulthood. Exposure to a higher proportion of classmates with college‐educated mothers increases adolescents’ future volunteering, in part, by directly transmitting civic values and providing civic opportunities and indirectly increasing “dominant status” attainment in young adulthood. Conclusion This study suggests that the spillover effects of having peers with highly educated mothers go beyond educational outcomes and influence volunteering behavior that persists into adulthood.

目的 在这项研究中，我探讨了与母亲受过大学教育的学生一起上课是否以及如何对青少年成年后的志愿行为产生积极的溢出效应。方法 利用来自“全国青少年到成人健康纵向研究”（Add Health）的数据，我采用了一种准实验研究设计，该设计利用了学校内不同年级群体学生构成的差异。结果 本研究发现，母亲受过大学教育的同学比例对学生在成年早期参与志愿服务的可能性有积极影响。接触更高比例的母亲受过大学教育的同学会增加青少年未来参与志愿服务的可能性，部分原因是直接传递公民价值观和提供公民参与机会，以及间接提高成年早期的“优势地位”获得。结论 这项研究表明，拥有母亲受过高等教育的同龄人所产生的溢出效应不仅限于教育成果，还会影响持续到成年的志愿行为。