Intersectional Pathways to College: Parental Decision-Making Authority and Home-Based Cultural Capital In Unequal Family Contexts

Introduction
Authoritative parenting—marked by warmth and control—is linked to better academic outcomes, especially among European American youth. Concerted cultivation, including autonomy-supportive parent-child interaction and structured activities aligned with institutional norms, similarly promotes achievement and has diffused beyond middle-class families. Yet little is known about how autonomy-granting in parent–child decision-making operates across racial and socioeconomic contexts. This study examines how parental decision-making authority and other forms of home-based cultural capital shape college enrollment across intersections of class and race–ethnicity.

Methods
Data are drawn from 1,978 participants in the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), a racially diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged cohort. The outcome is college enrollment by ages 22–26. The focal independent variable is parent–child decision-making authority at age 15, categorized as authoritative (joint decision), authoritarian (parent-led), or permissive (youth-led). Descriptive analyses and chi-square tests assess distributional differences across groups. Logistic regression models are estimated separately for youth from college-educated and non–college-educated households (based on parental maximum education at baseline), with sequential adjustment for race moderation, relational and static forms of intrafamilial cultural capital, and demographic covariates. As a sensitivity analysis, models are re-estimated using household income as an alternative stratification and an earlier developmental outcome (college-going belief) to assess robustness across class operationalizations and outcome timing; findings are substantively consistent.

Results
Decision-making authority varies significantly by race–ethnicity (χ²(2) = 51.97, p < .001) and by the intersection of race and parental education (χ²(5) = 58.33, p < .001). Black (OR = 0.51, p < .001) and Hispanic (OR = 0.61, p < .001) caregivers are less likely than White caregivers to adopt authoritative decision-making. Associations with college enrollment are class-contingent. Among youth from non–college-educated households, authoritarian parenting is associated with lower odds of enrollment relative to authoritative parenting (OR = 0.73, p < .05). Among youth from college-educated households, both authoritarian (OR = 0.22–0.44, p < .05) and permissive styles (OR = 0.38–0.41, p < .05) are linked to lower odds of enrollment. Race moderates these associations. Authoritarian parenting is associated with higher odds of enrollment among Black youth (OR = 2.11–2.23, p < .05), while no significant moderation is observed for Hispanic youth. Black youth from college-educated households exhibit lower odds of enrollment than their White peers (OR = 0.28–0.32, p < .05), indicating diminished returns. Cultural capital operates differently by class. Among youth from non–college-educated households, fine arts participation (OR = 1.30–1.60, p < .05), household learning resources (OR = 1.51–1.68, p < .001), and technological capital (OR = 1.28, p < .001) are associated with higher enrollment. Among youth from college-educated households, college-going habitus shows the strongest association (OR = 2.38–3.32, p < .001).

Conclusions and Implications
Autonomy-related parenting practices yield benefits across contexts; associations with college enrollment depend on class-based resources and racialized opportunity structures. While authoritative decision-making aligns with enrollment in advantaged contexts, cultural capital forms are more consequential in disadvantaged settings. Persistent racial differences indicate advantages do not translate equally into educational attainment. These findings underscore the need for context-sensitive approaches addressing unequal conditions shaping mobility.