The relationship between siblings’ college choices: Evidence from one million SAT-taking families

Recent empirical work has demonstrated the importance both of educational peer effects and of various factors that affect college choices. We connect these literatures by highlighting a previously unstudied determinant of college choice, namely the college choice made by one's older sibling. Data on 1.6 million sibling pairs of SAT-takers reveals that younger and older siblings’ choices are very closely related. One-fifth of younger siblings enroll in the same college as their older siblings. Compared to their high school classmates of similar academic skill and with observably similar families, younger siblings are about 15–20 percentage points more likely to enroll in 4-year colleges or highly competitive colleges if their older siblings do so first. These findings vary little by family characteristics. Younger siblings are more likely to follow the college choices of their older siblings the more they resemble each other in terms of academic skill, age and gender. We discuss channels through which older siblings’ college choices might causally influence their younger siblings, noting that the facts documented here should prompt further research on the sharing of information and shaping of educational preferences within families.     

Parent-Child Relationships, Family Problem-Solving Behavior, and Sibling Relationship Quality: The Moderating Role of Sibling Temperaments

In this study we sought to determine whether sibling temperaments moderated the associations of parent-child relationship quality and family problem-solving behavior with sibling relationship quality. Observational assessments of mother-child and father-child relationship quality, family problem-solving behavior, and sibling relationship quality were obtained from the families of 49 pairs of brothers and 46 pairs of sisters. Mean ages were 10-2 for older siblings and 7-6 for younger siblings. Parent-reported child temperament assessments were also obtained. The links among mother–older child relationship quality, father–older child relationship quality, and sibling relationship quality were moderated by the older sibling's temperament. The younger and older siblings' temperaments moderated the associations between the quality of the father–younger sibling and sibling relationships. The association between family problem-solving behavior and sibling relationship quality was not moderated by sibling temperaments.     

Early Attachment Relationships as Predictors of Preschool Children's Emotion Regulation with a Distressed Sibling

The present study examined (1) the emotion regulation of preschool children by observing their emotional responses to a distressed younger sibling during a separation episode; (2) whether children's regulatory responses were related to sibling interaction observed during the separation episode, and (3) whether individual differences in these children's regulatory responses and the quality of sibling interaction could be predicted from early attachment relationships. Older siblings who ignored their younger siblings' distress were more likely to experience personal distress and use avoidant coping strategies. Emotion regulation strategies were related to the quality of sibling interaction such that older siblings who offered comfort to a distressed younger sibling were more likely to express positive affect in sibling interaction, whereas older siblings seeking adult assistance were less likely to engage in conflict and hostile behavior with a younger sibling. Preschool children who had an insecure-resistant infant-mother attachment at 1 year, were more likely to seek comfort from their younger siblings and engaged in more sibling conflict and hostility when they were 4 years old. The quality of infant-father attachment relationships was not significantly related to the child's emotion regulation at 4 years of age. Results are discussed with respect to the social origins of preschool children's emotional self-regulation and the consequences of emotional dysregulation in preschool settings.     

Sibling Experiences in Middle Childhood Predict Sibling Differences in College Graduation

To illuminate how within-family differences in achievement may emerge, this study examined sibling experiences in middle childhood as predictors of sibling differences in college graduation. First- and second-borns from 152 families reported on their experiences with siblings and parents at ages 11.80 (SD = 0.56) and 9.22 (SD = 0.90), respectively, and on their educational attainment at about age 26. Significant childhood predictors of sibling differences in college graduation status included low sibling warmth, fathers’ differential time spent with siblings, and perceived unfair differential treatment by parents. Findings suggest long-term implications of early sibling dynamics for educational attainment and provided novel insights into families’ role in achievement.     

Sibling Temperaments, Conflict, Warmth, and Role Asymmetry

The association between sibling temperament combinations (activity and adaptability) and qualitative aspects of the sibling relationship were examined, including in-home observations of sibling positivity/warmth, negativity/conflict, social engagement, and role asymmetry and older sibling perceptions of warmth/closeness, conflict, and status/power. The sample consisted of 67 same-gender, school-aged sibling pairs. Highest levels of negativity/conflict occurred when both siblings were high in activity and when the older sibling was rated as more active than the younger. Conflict was lowest when both siblings were low in activity. Warmth/positivity was greatest when both children were similar in activity level. Siblings were more socially engaged when the the older sibling was more adaptable than the younger. Perceived status/power was greatest when younger siblings were low in adaptability. When between-temperament-dimension relationships were examined, observed conflict was greatest when older siblings were high in activity and younger siblings were nonadaptable. Gender and age-related findings are also reported. Findings highlight the importance of identifying the complex ways in which varying dimensions of sibling temperaments combine to influence specific aspects of the sibling relationship.     

Early Attachment Relationships as Predictors of Preschool Children's Emotion Regulation with a Distressed Sibling

The present study examined (1) the emotion regulation of preschool children by observing their emotional responses to a distressed younger sibling during a separation episode; (2) whether children's regulatory responses were related to sibling interaction observed during the separation episode, and (3) whether individual differences in these children's regulatory responses and the quality of sibling interaction could be predicted from early attachment relationships. Older siblings who ignored their younger siblings' distress were more likely to experience personal distress and use avoidant coping strategies. Emotion regulation strategies were related to the quality of sibling interaction such that older siblings who offered comfort to a distressed younger sibling were more likely to express positive affect in sibling interaction, whereas older siblings seeking adult assistance were less likely to engage in conflict and hostile behavior with a younger sibling. Preschool children who had an insecure-resistant infant-mother attachment at 1 year, were more likely to seek comfort from their younger siblings and engaged in more sibling conflict and hostility when they were 4 years old. The quality of infant-father attachment relationships was not significantly related to the child's emotion regulation at 4 years of age. Results are discussed with respect to the social origins of preschool children's emotional self-regulation and the consequences of emotional dysregulation in preschool settings.     

Maternal regulation of sibling interactions in the preschool years: observational study in Japanese families

Characteristics of three maternal regulating behaviors--(1) reference to one sibling's actions or emotional states toward the other sibling, (2) encouragement of sibling interactions, (3) distraction of one sibling's attention away from the other sibling-and their associations with children's positive and negative behaviors toward their siblings were investigated through semistructured home observations for 40 sibling pairs (1-4 years, 2-8 years) and their mothers in Japanese families. Maternal regulating behaviors were observed more frequently when the younger sibling was still in an early developmental stage in the preschool years, although the findings were modest. The older sibling's negative behaviors toward the younger sibling positively correlated with maternal distraction toward the younger; alternatively, the younger sibling's negative behaviors do not correlate with maternal distraction but do correlate with maternal encouragement directed toward the older sibling. Reliable associations were found between maternal regulating behaviors and prosocial exchanges between siblings; maternal reference to the younger sibling's actions or emotional states directed toward the older sibling was associated with the older sibling's positive behavior toward the younger sibling. Maternal regulating behaviors during mother-sibling triadic interactions were associated with the quality of sibling relationships.     

Choice of Higher Education Institutions: Perspectives of Students from Different Provinces in China

This study aims to find factors linked to university choice in China that work for or against students’ access to higher education. China has undertaken many reforms in the past two decades and has rapidly expanded its higher education system. The transition from a sequential to a parallel mechanism for students to select universities is a significant change in the admission process. The expansion of higher education increased the number of high school graduates who dream of going to top-ranked Chinese universities. With this dream, students start preparing themselves for higher education during basic education. Despite the increase in top-ranked universities, the issues such as school education, familial expectations, choices of city and of major have a significant impact on students’ choice of university.     

Why Siblings Are Important Agents of Cognitive Development: A Comparison of Siblings and Peers

This study explored older siblings' and peers' influence on young children's cognitive development. Although we anticipated many similarities in siblings' and peers' influence, our principal goal was to test the hypothesis that siblings are unique agents of cognitive development. Young children, their older siblings, and an older, familiar peer first participated in an unstructured building session where each built their own construction. Then, one of the older children taught the younger child how to copy a model windmill. Finally, the younger child was given an individual posttest in which he or she copied the windmill. Although there were many similarities in older siblings' and peers' guidance, the results highlighted the uniqueness of the sibling relationship. In the unstructured building session, young children were more likely to observe, imitate, and consult their older siblings than their older peers, and older siblings were more likely than older peers to provide them with guidance spontaneously. In the teaching session, older siblings provided more explanations and positive feedback and gave learners more control of the task than older peers. However, older siblings' behavior was not independent from the learners', as young children often prompted the siblings' explanations and pressured them into giving them more control of the task. These differences in teaching and learning strategies affected young children's task mastery; Children taught by siblings obtained higher posttest scores than children taught by peers. The discussion interprets these findings within the context of shared and unique functions of siblings and peers in cognitive development and highlights the role of the learner in promoting his or her own development.     

Emotion regulation in context: the jealousy complex between young siblings and its relations with child and family characteristics

Jealousy is a social emotion that has received little attention by developmental researchers. The current study examined sibling jealousy and its relations to child and family characteristics in 60 families with a 16-month-old toddler and an older preschool-age sibling. Sibling jealousy was elicited in social triads consisting of a parent (mother or father) and the two siblings. Positive marital relationship quality (i.e., love and relationship maintenance) was a particularly strong predictor of the older siblings' abilities to regulate jealousy reactions in the mother sessions. Younger siblings' jealous affect with mothers was linked to the child's temperament, whereas older siblings' jealous affect with mothers was related to the child's emotional understanding. Younger siblings displayed more behavioral dysregulation in the mother-sibling triads if there was greater sibling rivalry reported by mothers. Session order (i.e., which sibling was challenged first in the jealousy paradigm) had a strong effect on both the affect and behavioral dysregulation displayed by the older and younger siblings. Results are discussed with respect to the need for future research to consider social relationships as developmental contexts for young children's emotion regulation.     

The development of interpersonal aggression during adolescence: the importance of parents, siblings, and family economics

Latent growth curve modeling employed data from a longitudinal study of 451 sibling families to examine parents, siblings, and family economics as factors in individual differences in the developmental course of interpersonal aggression during adolescence. Findings suggest that individual change in interpersonal aggression during adolescence can be predicted by the gender and aggression of one's sibling; predictions varied by the gender composition of the sibling dyad. Rates of parental hostility predicted levels of interpersonal aggression for both older (mean age = 12 years) and younger siblings (mean age = 15), and growth in aggression for younger siblings. Family economic pressure predicted interpersonal aggression of both siblings indirectly through parental hostility. Implications for future research and preventive interventions are discussed.     

Siblings exposed to intimate partner violence: Linking sibling relationship quality & child adjustment problems

Although the majority of families that experience intimate partner violence (IPV) have more than one child, most research to date has focused upon a single child within these families. A significant body of research has indicated siblings play an important role in children's adjustment and well-being. To address this gap, the three main goals of the present study were to compare the adjustment of older and younger siblings exposed to IPV, to describe and compare the quality of these sibling relationships from multiple perspectives, and to investigate how sibling adjustment and relationship quality influence children's adjustment. Forty-seven sibling pairs and their mothers were recruited from the community. Mothers self-reported on their violent experiences using the Conflict Tactics Scale, and also estimated the length of time their children were exposed to IPV. Mothers and children completed assessments of child adjustment and the quality of sibling relationships. Observers also assessed the quality of sibling interaction. Results indicated that adjustment between siblings was highly inter-related. On average, mothers reported sibling relationships as less positive but also as less hostile than did siblings themselves. Higher levels of sibling hostility, lower levels of sibling warmth and higher levels of disengagement each significantly predicted child adjustment; however, these effects were predicated upon the adjustment of the other sibling. The sibling relationships of children exposed to IPV made a difference in their individual adjustment, and their adjustment issues influenced how they feel about and interacted with their sibling. Sibling hostility played a stronger role in adjustment issues than sibling warmth. The nature of sibling influences and the direction of future research were discussed.     

Social inequalities in attaining higher education in Scotland: New evidence from sibling data

Over the last decades, various policies at national and local levels have been implemented to widen participation in higher education (HE) in Scotland and more widely in the UK. Despite this, the acquisition of a HE qualification is still largely determined by the family in which individuals are born. Our study provides new evidence on the extent to which family factors matter by examining sibling data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study, a large-scale linkage study created using data from administrative and statistical sources. Random effects linear probability models are used to analyse individual and family-level variance in the chances of obtaining a HE qualification. Our results show that about 40% of the variation in the chances of attaining a university degree is explained by siblings’ shared family characteristics and about a third of this share is explained by parental social class, education and housing tenure. A high degree of sibling similarity in the outcome was found across all social-origin classes. However, while siblings of advantaged families are alike because they both graduated from HE, siblings of disadvantaged families are alike because neither of them did. We suggest that parental compensatory strategies in the former families and economic constraints in the latter families may explain such stark patterns of inequality. Finally, we do not find evidence that the availability of sub-degrees makes a difference to these patterns.     

Sibling comparison of differential parental treatment in adolescence: gender, self-esteem, and emotionality as mediators of the parenting-adjustment association

This study employs findings from social comparison research to investigate adolescents' comparisons with siblings with regard to parental treatment. The sibling comparison hypothesis was tested on a sample of 516 two-child families by examining whether gender, self-esteem, and emotionality-which have been found in previous research to moderate social comparison-also moderate sibling comparison as reflected by siblings' own evaluations of differential parental treatment. Results supported a moderating effect for self-esteem and emotionality but not gender. The sibling comparison process was further examined by using a structural equation model in which parenting toward each child was associated with the adjustment of that child and of the child's sibling. Evidence of the "sibling barricade" effect-that is, parenting toward one child being linked with opposite results on the child's sibling as on the target child-was found in a limited number of cases and interpreted as reflecting a sibling comparison process. For older siblings, emotionality and self-esteem moderated the sibling barricade effect but in the opposite direction as predicted. Results are discussed in terms of older siblings' increased sensitivity to parenting as well as the report of differential parenting reflecting the child's level of comfort and benign understanding of differential parenting, which buffers the child against environmental vicissitudes evoking sibling comparison processes.     

Risk of maltreatment for siblings: Factors associated with similar and different childhood experiences in a dyadic sample of adult siblings

Siblings share the same environment and thus potentially a substantial number of risk factors for child maltreatment. Furthermore, the number of siblings and the sibling constellation itself might pose a risk for child maltreatment. Little is known about the likelihood that more than one child in a family is maltreated and which factors increase the risk. This study sought to investigate similarities and differences in maltreatment in siblings and risk factors associated with the maltreatment of more than one child from the same family. Data on maltreatment during childhood and adolescence, family background, and sibling constellation were collected from 870 pairs of siblings. In the dyadic analyses, siblings reported similar maltreatment experiences, especially when any type of maltreatment was considered. Parents’ mental health problems were significant predictors for maltreatment of at least one sibling. Father’s mental health problems were predictive of maltreatment of both or only the younger sibling, mother’s mental health problems of both or only the older sibling. Closeness in age and same gender of siblings did not emerge as a consistent predictor. The increasing number of siblings was a risk factor for any type of maltreatment of both siblings. The results highlight the need for preventive measures for families with a large number of children and with parents with mental health problems as well as a repeated risk assessment of all siblings in a family when one sibling was maltreated.     

Differential Treatment of Siblings in Two Family Contexts

We examined differential treatment of siblings (maternal involvement, discipline, children's chores) in 2 contexts: families with and without a disabled child. Further, we assessed the connections between differential treatment and both children's adjustment and sibling relationships. Subjects were 62 children, 8–14 years old, half with younger disabled siblings and half with younger nondisabled siblings. In home interviews children rated their adjustment and sibling relations, and mothers reported on discipline strategies used with each child. In 7 nightly phone interviews, mothers recalled durations of specific activities with each child and each child's chores during that day. Analyses revealed greater levels of differential treatment in families with disabled children but no context differences in the correlations between older and younger siblings' treatment. Dimensions of differential treatment were linked to children's adjustment and sibling relationships, and some of these links differed across context.     

The demand for higher education: A static structural approach accounting for individual heterogeneity and nesting patterns

In this paper we estimate a structural model of higher education participation and labour choices in a static setting that accounts for individual heterogeneity and possible nesting structures in the decision process. We assume that young people that complete upper secondary education are faced with three choices, go to higher education, not go to higher education or go to higher education and work part time. We model this choice using Irish data incorporating variation in costs (direct and indirect), the estimated lifecycle returns and household credit constraints. Using a mixed nested logit choice model we find that simulated lifecycle earnings and a choice-specific household income variable impact the educational/labour choices of young people. We also find evidence that preference for choices with higher simulated lifecycle earnings and household income vary significantly across individuals. Policy simulations undertaken find that varying student financial aid can lead to increases in higher education participation.     

Do brothers affect their sisters’ chances to graduate? An analysis of sibling sex composition effects on graduation from a university or a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fachhochschule</Emphasis> in Germany

In a recent paper on gender inequality in higher education Buchman and DiPrete (2006) assume that the decrease in the gender gap in college completion in the US can partly be explained by changes in the allocation of familial resources in favour of women. However, they do not test this hypothesis empirically. In this paper I examine the effects of sibling sex composition on the graduation of women in more detail by analysing data from the German Life History Study. I assume that resources are the key issue to explaining the effects of sibling configuration on educational attainment. Tertiary education is a good case for testing sex composition effects due to the unequal distribution of resources between and within families, because the direct costs and opportunity costs of higher education are relatively high compared to those of earlier educational decisions. Accordingly, I expect that working class daughters are most likely to be disadvantaged if they are raised with brothers. The empirical results show that in fact, not the presence of a brother as such hinders educational attainment of sisters, but older brothers have a negative influence on their sisters chances of graduation. In accordance to the hypothesis, this effect is stronger for university graduation than for graduation at Fachhochschule. For social class differences in sibling effects it turns out that working class daughters are particularly less likely to graduate compared to service class daughters if there are older brothers in the family.     

师范院校毕业生就业问题探究

高等院校毕业生就业发生了深刻的变化，由原来的包分配转向竞争择业，双向选择。引起高校内部教学的改革和就业观念的变化，学校由常规习惯教育转向创新教育和创业教育。学校由原用人单位上门要人，转向学校主动建立就业基地，对学生进行终身教育；学生由原来的上师范院校就等于终身就业转向强内功，发展自己，主动竞争岗位，或自主创业，主动解决社会就业岗位。这是新兴就业带来的学校改革和学生主动学习的生机。学生从单一的中学就业转向多元化的就业选择。     

Someone Else Can Use This Time More Than Me: Working with College Students with Impaired Siblings

This article discusses and illustrates with case examples the impact on the college experience for students who have impaired—medically or mentally ill, substance abusing, developmentally disabled—siblings. Although these students often show resilience and a well-developed sense of compassion, they may also struggle with developmental tasks of the college years. Compulsive altruism and conflicts about needing or receiving special attention influence normal developmental dilemmas of leaving home, forming new relationships, and vocational choice in characteristic ways. These challenges are elucidated and illustrated in this article with case examples. Implications for conducting psychotherapy, including transference and countertransference complications, are discussed. Understanding the difficulties of students with seriously impaired siblings may also alert clinicians to more subtle sibling issues in the broader student population.