The Impact of Family on Ethical Decision Making by First-Generation and Non-First-Generation College Students Internationally

Oct 15, 2026

Family and kinship shape ethical decision making through values, beliefs, and conflict handling learned across generations. Prior research indicates family is a key influence on first-generation college students, but comparisons across regions remain limited. This study replicates earlier work on kinship and ethical decision making (Tilley et al., 2012) and extends it by first-generation status and geography, using scenarios with participants from the United States, New Zealand, Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages33

Reading Time1 h 23 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Family as an Ethical Influence

Review of Literature

First Generation Student Definition

Demographic Breakdowns

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| The Impact of Family on Ethical Decision Making by
First-Generation and Non-First-Generation College Students Internationally | | --- | --- | Susan M. Fredricks & Nicola DiFronzo-Heitzer, Penn State Brandywine Abstract Family or kinship affects how we make decisions including those of an ethical nature. Research has shown that family is an important component and influencer for First Generation College Students. The influence of family spans the globe from the United States to various international locations. This study replicates a previous study on kinship and ethical decision making (Tilley et al., 2012) while further delineating participants by their First Generational standing and geographic location specifically United States, New Zealand, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The results indicated that there were significant differences for two of the four scenarios but not overall. First Generation complexities, implications, and future research are also discussed. Keywords: ethical scenarios, first-generation college students, cross-cultural research, ethical decisions, higher education Introduction Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call ita family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one (The Quotations Page, n.d.) . The dynamics ofa family and their influence has changed over the years—over the centuries. A change from the more stable married, monogamous, life style to families composed of non-married, co-parenting, and extended families (Luscombe, 2014) . A more generalizable definition of family is,“a group of people who create and maintain a mutual identity emotional bonds, and communication boundaries…”(McCornack, 2010) . The impact of such diverse family dynamics affects our way of life, our values, and our beliefs and as Jane Howard states, it is a necessity. Research has shown that families play a key role in our interpersonal connections and our choices. We learn basic and foundational lessons from our family interactions (Fitzpatrick & Caughlin, 2002; McCornack, 2010) . Because the dynamics ofthe family are so intrinsic, so necessary, and so key to our development, we often use the metaphor of kinship to describe the ties (Rubin, 1996) . Essentially kinship affects our decision-making abilities including those related to ethics. Family relationships are some of the longest interpersonal relationship experienced in our lifetime (McCornack, 2010)) and therefore have the longest and perhaps strongest influence on how we handle conflict and ethics. Early studies show that personal ethical development occurs over time, in moral stages and over the life of the individual (Kohlberg et al., 1983) . So our ethical development includes the dynamic of family or kinship and has its owns implications (Tilley et al., 2012) . This study was designed to further test the kinship research (Fredricks et al., 2010; Fredricks & Hornett, 2007; Tilley et al., 2012) of ethical decision making of first-generation college students (FGS) and their demographic locations. Utilizing the same scenarios in the previous mentioned study (see Appendix 1), this article specific examines; (1) the kinship relationship between FGS and Non-FGS ethical choices and (2) the kinship relationship by geographic locations from the surveyed countries; United States, New Zealand, Czech Republic, and Slovakia, between FGS and Non-FGS ethical choices. Review of Literature First Generation students are most studied in the United States with inclusion in research lacking from other countries. The review of literature starts with an understanding of the definition ofFGS. It is then followed up by demographic breakdowns ofthe FGS in the countries researched and issues facing these students. The review ends with their family and cultural impacts on their education. Definition of First-Generation Unfortunately, there is no clear definition of the term “First Generation College Student.”“A commonly held def

FAQs

How does family influence ethical decision making in the study?

The study explains that family and kinship shape ethical decision making by influencing values, beliefs, and how individuals handle conflict. Ethical development is also described as developing over time within moral stages.

How does the research define first-generation college students for its purposes?

For this study, first-generation college students are those whose parents or guardians have not obtained a four-year college degree. The literature review also contrasts broader and stricter definitions used by different sources.

Which countries are included, and what does the study compare?

Participants are drawn from the United States, New Zealand, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The study examines kinship relationships between first-generation and non-first-generation ethical choices and also by geographic locations across the countries.

Oct 15, 2026

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