Parents' approaches to conversations with their 5– to 18‐year‐olds about the 2024 US presidential election

Abstract Parents serve as primary agents of political socialization for their children. The present study examined how parents in the United States engaged in conversations with their children (5–18 years) about the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Using a nationally diverse sample of 1001 parents (reporting on 1769 children), we investigated the occurrence, frequency, and approach taken toward these discussions, and the factors that predicted them. The majority of parents (84%, n = 843) reported speaking to at least one of their children, of whom 65% ( n = 543) spoke to all of their children. Whether and how often the conversations occurred varied by several demographic factors (e.g., child age and gender, parent gender and education, and family size), political interest, child anxiety about the election, and communication approach. Notably, with a more active and less avoidant communication approach, parents were significantly more likely to talk to their children about the presidential election, and with a more active approach the frequency of conversations increased. Given the importance of conversational approaches in the occurrence and frequency of such conversations, predictors of parents’ approach were explored. Together these findings contribute to a growing understanding of the mechanisms that drive parents’ political socialization of their children.