| Sumario: | This investigation evaluated a theoretical model whereby political philosophy mediates the association between family communication patterns and perception of candidate credibility in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Participants included younger and older adults reporting on communication in their family of origin, political beliefs, and evaluations of both candidates. Results supported the expectation, guided by the moral foundations hypothesis, that family-of-origin communication patterns predict political philosophy in adulthood, with both conversation and conformity orientations predicting conservative beliefs. As predicted, political philosophy mediated the association between family communication patterns and candidate credibility. Results clarify the family’s mechanism of political socialization, indicate both direct and indirect effects of family communication patterns on candidate evaluation, and suggest pluralistic and consensual families may be particularly effective at transmitting political beliefs between parents and their children.
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