A key determinant of the persistence of preadult's political predispositions is the strength of the residues of preadult political socialization. Neither the strength of those residues, nor the impact of major socialization experiences on attitude strength, has been examined closely in the past. Political socialization proceeds through a series of periodic event-triggered occasions for political communication. The data for this study come from an investigation of preadults (aged 10-17) and their parents at the beginning and at the end of the 1980 presidential campaign, and a follow-up study one year later. By measuring attitude strength, affective intensity, attitudinal power and stability, domain differences, and the effects of family political communication versus political television exposure, a marked jump in the preadult's political socialization occurs, more so for younger children than older ones or for parents. Parental political socialization of children worked most powerfully on the younger children, while political television strengthened the basic political attitudes of the older children. A list of 84 references and 9 tables of statistics are included. (PPB)