The early development of infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder: Characteristics of sibling interactions.

PubMed

Bontinck, Chloè; Warreyn, Petra; Van der Paelt, Sara; Demurie, Ellen; Roeyers, Herbert

2018-01-01

Although sibling interactions play an important role in children's early development, they are rarely studied in very young children with an older brother or sister with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study used a naturalistic, observational method to compare interactions between 18-month-old infants and their older sibling with ASD (n = 22) with a control group of 18-month-old infants and their typically developing (TD) older sibling (n = 29). In addition, role (a)symmetry and the influence of gender were evaluated. Sibling interactions in ASD-dyads were characterized by higher levels of negativity. Although somewhat less pronounced in ASD-dyads, role asymmetry was present in both groups, with the older child taking the dominant position. Finally, siblings pairs with an older sister were characterized by more positive behaviours. Since differences in sibling interactions may alter the developmental trajectories of both siblings, these early relationships should be taken into account in future ASD research and interventions.

Disrupted lives: siblings of disturbed adolescents.

PubMed

Deal, S N; MacLean, W E

1995-04-01

The impact of disturbed adolescents on siblings' psychological adjustment and sibling relationships was examined. Compared to siblings of nondisturbed adolescents, siblings of previously hospitalized adolescents reported more psychological distress, poorer social relationships, a more negative view of their older brothers and sisters, and less identification with their older siblings.

Mexican-American Adolescents’ Gender-Typed Characteristics: The Role of Sibling and Friend Characteristics

PubMed Central

Wheeler, Lorey A.; Updegraff, Kimberly A.; Schaefer, David R.

2016-01-01

This study examined the role of sibling and friend characteristics in Mexican-American youth’s gender-typed characteristics (i.e., attitudes, interests, and leisure activities) in early versus middle adolescence using a sibling design. Mexican-American 7th graders (M = 12.51 years; SD = .58) and their older siblings (M = 15.48 years; SD = 1.57) from 246 families participated in home interviews and a series of seven nightly phone calls. Results revealed that younger/early adolescent siblings reported more traditional gender role attitudes than their older/middle adolescent siblings and older brothers were more traditional in their attitudes than older sisters. When comparing siblings’ gender-typed interests and leisure activities, boys reported more masculine orientations than girls and girls reported more feminine orientations than boys. Older brothers’ gender-typed characteristics were associated with the amount of time spent with and gender characteristics of their friendship group, but for younger brothers, sibling characteristics were associated with their gender-typed characteristics. In contrast, both sibling and friendship characteristics were significantly associated with older and younger sisters’ gender-typed characteristics. The discussion addressed the different correlates of older and younger sisters’ and brothers’ gender-typed characteristics. PMID:25539774

Romantic Relationship Experiences from Late Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Role of Older Siblings in Mexican-Origin Families

PubMed Central

Wheeler, Lorey A.; Killoren, Sarah E.; Whiteman, Shawn D.; Updegraff, Kimberly A.; McHale, Susan M.; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J.

2016-01-01

Youth's experiences with romantic relationships during adolescence and young adulthood have far reaching implications for future relationships, health, and well-being; yet, although scholars have examined potential peer and parent influences, we know little about the role of siblings in youth's romantic relationships. Accordingly, this study examined the prospective longitudinal links between Mexican-origin older and younger siblings' romantic relationship experiences and variation by sibling structural and relationship characteristics (i.e., sibling age and gender similarity, younger siblings' modeling) and cultural values (i.e., younger siblings' familism values). Data from 246 Mexican-origin families with older (M = 20.65 years; SD = 1.57; 50% female) and younger (M = 17.72 years; SD = .57; 51% female) siblings were used to examine the likelihood of younger siblings' involvement in dating relationships, sexual relations, cohabitation, and engagement/marriage with probit path analyses. Findings revealed older siblings' reports of involvement in a dating relationship, cohabitation, and engagement/marriage predicted younger siblings' relationship experiences over a two-year period. These links were moderated by sibling age spacing, younger siblings' reports of modeling and familism values. Our findings suggest the significance of social learning dynamics as well as relational and cultural contexts in understanding the links between older and younger siblings' romantic relationship experiences among Mexican-origin youth. PMID:26590830

Romantic Relationship Experiences from Late Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Role of Older Siblings in Mexican-Origin Families.

PubMed

Wheeler, Lorey A; Killoren, Sarah E; Whiteman, Shawn D; Updegraff, Kimberly A; McHale, Susan M; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J

2016-05-01

Youth's experiences with romantic relationships during adolescence and young adulthood have far reaching implications for future relationships, health, and well-being; yet, although scholars have examined potential peer and parent influences, we know little about the role of siblings in youth's romantic relationships. Accordingly, this study examined the prospective longitudinal links between Mexican-origin older and younger siblings' romantic relationship experiences and variation by sibling structural and relationship characteristics (i.e., sibling age and gender similarity, younger siblings' modeling) and cultural values (i.e., younger siblings' familism values). Data from 246 Mexican-origin families with older (M = 20.65 years; SD = 1.57; 50 % female) and younger (M = 17.72 years; SD = .57; 51 % female) siblings were used to examine the likelihood of younger siblings' involvement in dating relationships, sexual relations, cohabitation, and engagement/marriage with probit path analyses. Findings revealed older siblings' reports of involvement in a dating relationship, cohabitation, and engagement/marriage predicted younger siblings' relationship experiences over a 2-year period. These links were moderated by sibling age spacing, younger siblings' reports of modeling and familism values. Our findings suggest the significance of social learning dynamics as well as relational and cultural contexts in understanding the links between older and younger siblings' romantic relationship experiences among Mexican-origin youth.

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Azmitia, Margarita; Hesser, Joanne

1993-01-01

Found that, in unstructured building sessions, kindergartners were more likely to observe, imitate, and consult their second- or third-grade siblings than their older peers. Older siblings were also more likely to provide additional explanations and positive feedback than older peers when instructing younger children. (MDM)

Adolescents' Perceptions of Relationships with Older Sibling in the Context of Other Close Relationships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seginer, Rachel

1998-01-01

Examined 11th graders' perceived relationships with older sibling in the context of adolescent-parent and adolescent-peer relationships. Found that relationships with older siblings were similar to relationships with parents and peers. Positive sibling relationships contributed to emotional and school-related support beyond the contribution of…

Risk of epilepsy and autism in full and half siblings-A population-based cohort study.

PubMed

Christensen, Jakob; Overgaard, Morten; Parner, Erik T; Vestergaard, Mogens; Schendel, Diana

2016-12-01

Epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often occur together in the same individual. However, it remains unknown whether siblings of children with ASD have an increased risk of epilepsy and vice versa. This study determines the risk of ASD and epilepsy among younger siblings of children with ASD and epilepsy. The study included all children born in Denmark between January 1, 1980 and 31 December 2006 who participated in follow-up until December 31, 2012 (1,663,302 children). We used Cox regression to calculate the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) and the Kaplan-Meier method to calculate the cumulative incidence. The overall aHR of epilepsy in younger siblings increased by 70% (aHR 1.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34-2.16%) if the older sibling had ASD compared with siblings where the older sibling did not have ASD. The cumulative incidence of epilepsy at 20 years of age was 2.54% (95% CI 1.97-3.26%) if the older sibling had ASD, whereas the cumulative incidence of epilepsy at 20 years of age was 1.63% (95% CI 1.60-1.66%) if the older sibling did not have ASD. The overall aHR of ASD in younger siblings increased by 54% if the older sibling had epilepsy (aHR 1.54, 95% CI 1.32-1.80) compared with siblings where the older sibling did not have epilepsy. The cumulative incidence of ASD at 20 years of age was 2.06% (95% CI 1.84-2.32%) if the older sibling had epilepsy, whereas the cumulative incidence of ASD at 20 years of age was 1.27% (95% CI 1.25-1.29%) if the older sibling did not have epilepsy. The cross-disorder sibling risk of epilepsy and ASD was increased for the two disorders, which suggests that genes or environmental factors shared by family members may play a causal role in the co-occurrence of ASD and epilepsy. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 International League Against Epilepsy.

"I Am Becoming More and More Like My Eldest Brother!": The Relationship Between Older Siblings, Adolescent Gambling Severity, and the Attenuating Role of Parents in a Large-Scale Nationally Representative Survey Study.

PubMed

Canale, Natale; Vieno, Alessio; Griffiths, Mark D; Siciliano, Valeria; Cutilli, Arianna; Molinaro, Sabrina

2017-06-01

The present study examined the association between having older siblings who gamble and adolescent at-risk/problem gambling and how parents (i.e., parental knowledge of their whereabouts) and peers might moderate such effects. Data were drawn from the ESPAD ® Italia2012 survey (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs) comprising a nationally representative Italian sample of adolescents. The analysis was carried out on a subsample of 10,063 Italian students aged 15-19 years (average age = 17.10; 55 % girls) who had at least one older sibling and who had gambled at some point in their lives. Respondents' problem gambling severity, older gambler sibling, gambler peers, parental knowledge, and socio-demographic characteristics were individually assessed. Multinomial logistic regression analyses including two- and three-way interactions were conducted. The odds of being an at-risk/problem gambler were higher among high school students with older siblings that gambled and those with peers who gambled. Higher parental knowledge (of who the adolescent was with and where they were in their leisure time) was associated with lower rates of at-risk/problem gambling. There was also an interaction between gamblers with older siblings and parental knowledge. The combination of having siblings who gambled and a greater level of parental knowledge was associated with lower levels of problem gambling. The present study confirmed the occurrence of social risk processes (older siblings and peers who gambled) and demonstrated that gambling among older siblings and peers represents an important contextual factor for increased at-risk/problem gambling. However, parental knowledge appears to be sufficient to counterbalance the influence of older siblings.

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

PubMed

Volling, Brenda L; McElwain, Nancy L; Miller, Alison L

2002-01-01

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.

Sibling Facilitation Mediates the Association Between Older and Younger Sibling Alcohol Use in Late Adolescence

PubMed Central

Samek, Diana R.; McGue, Matt; Keyes, Margaret; Iacono, William G.

2014-01-01

Previous research has shown adolescent siblings are similar in their alcohol use and that this similarity is largely due to their shared environment. Using a genetically-informed sibling sample (196 full-biological pairs, 384 genetically unrelated pairs), we confirmed that the extent to which older siblings facilitate younger siblings’ alcohol use (i.e., help them get alcohol) was one factor contributing to this shared environmental association. All analyses controlled for parent and peer influences. Findings were not moderated by sibling differences in genetic relatedness, gender, or ethnicity. Proximity in sibling age strengthened these associations, somewhat. Results were especially strong for sibling pairs where the older sibling was of legal drinking age. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed. PMID:26640355

Sibling relationship quality and Mexican-origin adolescents' and young adults' familism values and adjustment

PubMed Central

Killoren, Sarah E.; De Jesús, Sue A. Rodríguez; Updegraff, Kimberly A.; Wheeler, Lorey A.

2015-01-01

We examined profiles of sibling relationship qualities in 246 Mexican-origin families living in the United States using latent profile analyses. Three profiles were identified: Positive, Negative and Affect-Intense. Links between profiles and youths’ familism values and adjustment were assessed using longitudinal data. Siblings in the Positive profile reported the highest familism values, followed by siblings in the Affect-Intense profile and, finally, siblings in the Negative profile. Older siblings in the Positive and Affect-Intense profiles reported fewer depressive symptoms than siblings in the Negative profile. Further, in the Positive and Negative profiles, older siblings reported less involvement in risky behaviors than younger siblings. In the Negative profile, younger siblings reported greater sexual risk behaviors in late adolescence than older siblings; siblings in opposite-sex dyads, as compared to same-sex dyads, engaged in riskier sexual behaviors. Our findings highlight sibling relationship quality as promotive and risky, depending on sibling characteristics and adjustment outcomes. PMID:28239217

Sibling relationship quality and Mexican-origin adolescents' and young adults' familism values and adjustment.

PubMed

Killoren, Sarah E; De Jesús, Sue A Rodríguez; Updegraff, Kimberly A; Wheeler, Lorey A

2017-03-01

We examined profiles of sibling relationship qualities in 246 Mexican-origin families living in the United States using latent profile analyses. Three profiles were identified: Positive , Negative and Affect-Intense . Links between profiles and youths' familism values and adjustment were assessed using longitudinal data. Siblings in the Positive profile reported the highest familism values, followed by siblings in the Affect-Intense profile and, finally, siblings in the Negative profile. Older siblings in the Positive and Affect-Intense profiles reported fewer depressive symptoms than siblings in the Negative profile. Further, in the Positive and Negative profiles, older siblings reported less involvement in risky behaviors than younger siblings. In the Negative profile, younger siblings reported greater sexual risk behaviors in late adolescence than older siblings; siblings in opposite-sex dyads, as compared to same-sex dyads, engaged in riskier sexual behaviors. Our findings highlight sibling relationship quality as promotive and risky, depending on sibling characteristics and adjustment outcomes.

Sibship size, sibling cognitive sensitivity, and children's receptive vocabulary.

PubMed

Prime, Heather; Pauker, Sharon; Plamondon, André; Perlman, Michal; Jenkins, Jennifer

2014-02-01

The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between sibship size and children's vocabulary as a function of quality of sibling interactions. It was hypothesized that coming from a larger sibship (ie, 3+ children) would be related to lower receptive vocabulary in children. However, we expected this association to be moderated by the level of cognitive sensitivity shown by children's next-in-age older siblings. Data on 385 children (mean age = 3.15 years) and their next-in-age older siblings (mean age = 5.57 years) were collected and included demographic questionnaires, direct testing of children's receptive vocabulary, and videos of mother-child and sibling interactions. Sibling dyads were taped engaging in a cooperative building task and tapes were coded for the amount of cognitive sensitivity the older sibling exhibited toward the younger sibling. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted and showed an interaction between sibship size and sibling cognitive sensitivity in the prediction of children's receptive vocabulary; children exposed to large sibships whose next-in-age older sibling exhibited higher levels of cognitive sensitivity were less likely to show low vocabulary skills when compared with those children exposed to large sibships whose siblings showed lower levels of cognitive sensitivity. Children who show sensitivity to the cognitive needs of their younger siblings provide a rich environment for language development. The negative impact of large sibships on language development is moderated by the presence of an older sibling who shows high cognitive sensitivity.

Family Perspectives on Siblings' Conflict Goals in Middle Childhood: Links to Hierarchical and Affective Features of Sibling Relationships.

PubMed

Recchia, Holly E; Witwit, Ma-Ab

2017-06-01

This study examined parents' and children's descriptions of older and younger siblings' conflict goals in the late preschool and middle childhood years, and how these attributions were related to sibling relationship quality. Parents and 4- to 10-year-old children from 62 families were interviewed separately about siblings' motivations in two disputes and completed assessments of sibling relationship quality. Goal attributions varied across respondents in ways reflecting their family roles and positioning within disputes. Findings also revealed variations in the goals ascribed to older and younger siblings in line with hierarchical features of sibling relationships, such as younger siblings' conciliation/connectedness motives and older siblings' desires for autonomy/respect. Goal attributions were related to differences between families in the affective tenor of sibling relationships. Results demonstrate how power dynamics in sibling relationships play out in their everyday disputes, and underscore the importance of considering different family members' unique perspectives on children's sibling conflict experiences. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sibling influences on adolescent substance use: the role of modeling, collusion, and conflict.

PubMed

Low, Sabina; Shortt, Joann Wu; Snyder, James

2012-02-01

The longitudinal associations of older sibling substance use as well as dyadic sibling conflict and collusion to younger sibling substance use were examined in a community-based sample of 244 same-sex sibling pairs. Indirect effects of older siblings on younger sibling substance use were hypothesized via younger sibling deviant peer affiliation and conflict with friends. Adolescents, parents, friends, and teachers completed measures of substance use, conflict, and deviant peer involvement. Observational data were used for both measures of collusion and conflict. Findings suggest that older sibling substance use has a direct effect on younger sibling use, but relationship dynamics and reinforcement played a significant role as well. Specifically, collusion and conflict in the sibling relationship both had indirect effects through younger siblings' deviant peer affiliation. Findings validate the powerful socializing role of both siblings and peers, and elucidate the complex mechanisms through which socialization occurs. Furthermore, data underscore the importance of considering how multiple dimensions of socialization operate in the elaboration of antisocial behavior.

Sibling influences on adolescent substance use: The role of modeling, collusion, and conflict

PubMed Central

LOW, SABINA; SHORTT, JOANN WU; SNYDER, JAMES

2013-01-01

The longitudinal associations of older sibling substance use as well as dyadic sibling conflict and collusion to younger sibling substance use were examined in a community-based sample of 244 same-sex sibling pairs. Indirect effects of older siblings on younger sibling substance use were hypothesized via younger sibling deviant peer affiliation and conflict with friends. Adolescents, parents, friends, and teachers completed measures of substance use, conflict, and deviant peer involvement. Observational data were used for both measures of collusion and conflict. Findings suggest that older sibling substance use has a direct effect on younger sibling use, but relationship dynamics and reinforcement played a significant role as well. Specifically, collusion and conflict in the sibling relationship both had indirect effects through younger siblings' deviant peer affiliation. Findings validate the powerful socializing role of both siblings and peers, and elucidate the complex mechanisms through which socialization occurs. Furthermore, data underscore the importance of considering how multiple dimensions of socialization operate in the elaboration of antisocial behavior. PMID:22293010

Patterns of adjustment among siblings exposed to intimate partner violence.

PubMed

Piotrowski, Caroline C

2011-02-01

This research explored and compared patterns of adjustment in siblings exposed to intimate partner violence. The quality of family relationships were investigated as potential mechanisms that accounted for heterogeneity in these patterns. Participants included 47 sibling pairs and their mothers recruited from the community. Mothers and children reported on child adjustment measures and the quality of family relationships. Five cluster patterns were identified for both younger and older siblings, replicating three identified in previous research: primarily internalizing symptoms, a combination of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and an asymptomatic cluster. There was little overlap in cluster membership within families; most siblings differed in terms of their pattern of adjustment. The quality of family relationships varied significantly across clusters. Overall, asymptomatic siblings reported the most positive family relationships. Maternal warmth differed across clusters for both older and younger siblings, while maternal hostility varied across clusters for older but not younger siblings. The quality of sibling relationships also differed across clusters for older but not younger siblings. These findings underscore the importance of examining differential sibling experiences within violent families, and demonstrate the significance of family relationships as a mediating mechanism influencing heterogeneous child adjustment. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Sibling rivalry and the new baby: anticipatory guidance and management strategies.

PubMed

Sawicki, J A

1997-01-01

Sibling rivalry can be found in many families and frequently creates a stressful and challenging situation for parents. The arrival of a new baby often causes older siblings to feel displaced, frustrated, angry, and even unloved. Age, gender, personality and temperament, and parental behavior are factors that appear to influence the degree to which sibling rivalry occurs. Common reactions of older siblings to the birth of a new baby include aggression toward the newborn, behavioral regression, and attention seeking behavior, as well as independence and maturity. Anticipatory guidance is recommended to help parents adequately prepare their older child for the arrival of a new sibling. Strategies for managing sibling rivalry include open parent-child communication, equal treatment of siblings, non-intervention in sibling conflicts, distraction, and separation. Parents can minimize feelings of jealousy between siblings by providing a supportive, nurturing environment that allows each child to feel secure and loved.

Older (but Not Younger) Siblings Facilitate False Belief Understanding.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruffman, Ted; Perner, Josef; Naito, Mika; Parkin, Lindsay; Clements, Wendy A.

1998-01-01

Four experiments and an analysis of pooled data from English and Japanese children show a linear increase in understanding false beliefs with number of older siblings; no such effect for children younger than 38 months; no helpful effect of younger siblings at any age; no effect of siblings' gender; and no helpful effect of siblings on a source…

Similarities and bi-directional influences regarding alcohol consumption in adolescent sibling pairs.

PubMed

Van Der Vorst, Haske; Engels, Rutger C M E; Meeus, Wim; Deković, Maja; Van Leeuwe, Jan

2007-09-01

Ample studies have established that parents as well as peers function as role models in the development of adolescents' alcohol use. The role of siblings, however, has been largely neglected despite the long-term nature of a sibling relationship. The present study examined the impact of siblings on drinking behavior of adolescents using longitudinal data from 416 sibling dyads. Moreover, we explored which factors (gender constellation of the sibling dyad, quality of the sibling relationship, and similarity in norms about alcohol) affect reciprocal influences in alcohol use of siblings. Descriptive analyses showed that although older siblings drink more frequently and intensively than the younger siblings, moderate associations were found between frequency and intensity of drinking in siblings. Findings of structural equation modeling demonstrated that alcohol use of the older sibling marginally affected drinking of the younger sibling one year later. Drinking of the younger sibling did not affect drinking of the older sibling. Further, we found no moderating effects of having the same or opposite gender as a sibling, a low or high quality relationship, and the same or different norms about alcohol, on the association between siblings' alcohol use and adolescents' drinking over time.

Effects of Task Difficulty on Sibling Teaching in Middle Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howe, Nina; Brody, Marie-Helene; Recchia, Holly

2006-01-01

Teaching styles were investigated in 28 middle-class sibling dyads (older sibling M age = 8.2 yrs; younger sibling M age = 5.11 yrs) using two sets of block design tasks (five easy; five hard). Older siblings employed a greater number of strategies (i.e. physical demonstrations, scaffolding, corrective feedback) in the hard than in the easy tasks,…

Sibling power: influence of older siblings' persuasive appeals on younger siblings' judgements about risk taking behaviours.

PubMed Central

Morrongiello, B. A.; Bradley, M. D.

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Although many injuries happen when school age children are away from home and in the company of other children, we know surprisingly little about interpersonal influences on children's risk taking decisions. The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of older siblings' persuasive appeals on young children's decisions about engaging in behaviours that could threaten their physical safety. METHODS: Forty same sex sibling pairs participated. Children were shown drawings of play scenes (bicycling, river crossing, and sledding), with each depicting lower and higher risk paths of travel. Children of 8 years made initial decisions as to which paths they would take. Subsequently, their older sibling acted as a confederate and tried to persuade them to change their decisions. RESULTS: After the appeals of older siblings, younger children significantly shifted their decisions: choices of less risky paths replaced the initial selection of more risky paths, and vice versa. A positive sibling relationship was predictive of younger siblings' decision changes. Boys and girls were equally effective in persuasion but they did so using different types of arguments, with boys communicating primarily appeals to fun and girls emphasizing appeals to safety. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the effect that older siblings can have on risk taking decisions of younger siblings. Accordingly, they document the importance of considering the interpersonal context of risk taking when designing interventions to reduce injuries among elementary schoolchildren. Images PMID:9113843

Close friends', parents', and older siblings' smoking: reevaluating their influence on children's smoking.

PubMed

Bricker, Jonathan B; Peterson, Arthur V; Robyn Andersen, M; Leroux, Brian G; Bharat Rajan, K; Sarason, Irwin G

2006-04-01

A number of longitudinal studies have explored the role of friends', parents', and older siblings' smoking in children's smoking acquisition. A reasonable implication of this previous research is that intervention efforts could be beneficially directed toward countering the potential influence of friends' and possibly older siblings' smoking but not parents' smoking. However, methodological limitations of this previous research motivated our reevaluation of the role of friends', parents', and older siblings' smoking in children's smoking. Close friends' smoking status was assessed when children were in 5th grade, whereas parents' and older siblings' smoking status was assessed when children were in 3rd grade. The outcome, children's daily smoking status, was assessed in 12th grade. The setting was 40 Washington state school districts that participated in the long-term Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project. Participants were the 4,576 families for whom close friends', parents', and older siblings' smoking status as well as children's smoking status were available. The probability that each close friend's smoking influenced the child to smoke daily was 9% (95% CI = 6%-12%), the probability that each parent's smoking influenced the child to smoke daily was 11% (95% CI = 9%-14%), and the probability that each older sibling's smoking influenced the child to smoke daily was 7% (95% CI = 1%-13%). These results suggest that close friends', parents', and siblings' smoking were similarly important influences on children's smoking. Family-focused interventions could be a valuable future direction of prevention research.

Siblings, parents, and partners: family relationships within a longitudinal community study. ALSPAC study team. Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood.

PubMed

Dunn, J; Deater-Deckard, K; Pickering, K; Golding, J

1999-10-01

Links between sibling relationships, mother-partner, and parent-child relationships were studied in a longitudinal community sample of 3681 sibling pairs. Individual differences in sibling relationship quality were related to mother-partner affection and hostility assessed 4 years earlier, to contemporary parent-child negativity, and to indices of social adversity. Evidence for both direct and indirect pathways (via parent-child relations) linking mother-partner and sibling relations were found. Comparisons of prediction for non-stepfamilies and stepfather families showed similarities in patterns of association, but also differences: In stepfather families, mother-partner hostility was unrelated to parent-child negativity and sibling relationship quality. Both positivity and negativity towards young siblings decreased with the age of older siblings, and older sisters were more positive than older brothers.

Sibling influence on mexican-origin adolescents' deviant and sexual risk behaviors: the role of sibling modeling.

PubMed

Whiteman, Shawn D; Zeiders, Katharine H; Killoren, Sarah E; Rodriguez, Sue Annie; Updegraff, Kimberly A

2014-05-01

A growing body of research indicates that siblings uniquely influence each other's health risk behaviors during adolescence and young adulthood. Mechanisms underlying these associations, however, are largely unknown because they are rarely tested directly. The present study addressed this gap by examining the role of sibling modeling in explaining changes in Mexican-origin youths' deviant and sexual risk behaviors over time. The sample included 380 Mexican-origin siblings (older sibling age: M = 21.18, SD = 1.59; younger sibling age: M = 18.19, SD = .46) from (N = 190) families. Participants provided self-reports of their sibling relationship qualities, including modeling, as well as their engagement in deviant and sexual risk-taking behaviors in two home interviews across a 2-year span. A series of residualized regression models revealed that younger siblings' perceptions of modeling moderated the links between older siblings' deviant and sexual risk behaviors and younger siblings' subsequent behaviors in those same domains. Specifically, high levels of modeling predicted stronger associations between older siblings' earlier and younger siblings' later risk behaviors controlling for younger siblings' earlier behaviors as well as variables that have been used as proxies for social learning in previous research. Social learning mechanisms, especially modeling, are salient processes through which older siblings transmit norms and expectations regarding participation in health risk behaviors. Future research should continue to explore the ways in which siblings influence each other because such processes are emerging targets for intervention and prevention. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Concept Learning of Young Children as a Function of Sibling Relationships to the Teacher. Report from the Project on Variables and Processes in Cognitive Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Circirelli, Victor G.

This study attempted to answer the question: Is a sibling relationship associated with concept learning of a younger child taught by an older child? Each of the 120 First Grade children in the study had an older sibling in Third Grade; equal samples of 30 sibling pairs were drawn from the population of boys with older sisters, boys with older…

Understanding sibling influence on adolescents' alcohol use: Social and cognitive pathways.

PubMed

Whiteman, Shawn D; Jensen, Alexander C; Mustillo, Sarah A; Maggs, Jennifer L

2016-02-01

Research indicates that older siblings uniquely influence their younger brothers' and sisters' substance use behaviors during adolescence; however, the underlying mechanisms of socialization are rarely examined. The present study investigated whether social and/or cognitive pathways mediated the association between adolescent siblings' alcohol use and whether these pathways were moderated by the gender composition of the sibling dyad. Participants included one parent and two adolescent siblings (M age=14.52 and 17.17years) from 326 families. Data were collected via telephone interviews. Path analysis demonstrated that the association between older and younger siblings' alcohol use was mediated via social and cognitive pathways. Specifically, older siblings' drinking was positively related to the frequency of siblings' co-use as well as more positive expectations about alcohol, which in turn were positively associated with younger siblings' alcohol use. Identifying the ways in which siblings influence each other's substance use and health is critical because they are emerging and effective targets of intervention and prevention. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Early Childhood Predictors of School-Age Children's Reports of Sibling Relationships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poris, Michelle P.

This study examined the associations between the early family environment, older siblings' early characteristics, and later sibling relationships. Participating were 37 families with infants and preschool-age older siblings who were observed in the laboratory at 3 time points and followed-up 3 years later. Findings indicated that parents' early…

Sibling Relationships: An Unrealized Potential Support for the Elderly.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Avioli, Paula Smith

Although it has been estimated that over three-fourths of all older adults have living siblings, little information is available on the actual and potential supportive role siblings play for older persons. The sibling relationship has several unique and interesting characteristics and the intimate experiences of childhood may either bind or…

It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know: Older Siblings Facilitate Imitation during Infancy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barr, Rachel; Hayne, Harlene

2003-01-01

Investigated effects of older siblings on imitation by 12-, 15-, and 18-month-olds. Found that all age groups acquired one to two new behaviors per day through imitation. Older infants imitated more multi-step sequences and substituted more objects during reenactment than younger. Compared to infants without siblings, infants with siblings…

"I'm an Ogre so I'm Very Hungry!" "I'm Assistant Ogre": The Social Function of Sibling Imitation in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howe, Nina; Rosciszewska, Joanna; Persram, Ryan J.

2018-01-01

Siblings' imitative behaviors were investigated in 39 middle-class dyads during six 90-min home sessions at both Time 1 (M age: older sibling = 4.4 years; younger sibling = 2.4 years) and Time 2 (2 years later). Although younger siblings imitated most often at T1 and T2, older siblings' imitation increased proportionally over time in comparison to…

Longitudinal Links between Older Sibling Features and Younger Siblings’ Academic Adjustment during Early Adolescence

PubMed Central

Bouchey, Heather A.; Shoulberg, Erin K.; Jodl, Kathleen M.; Eccles, Jacquelynne S.

2010-01-01

This study investigated prospective relations between (1) older siblings’ support and academic engagement and (2) younger siblings’ academic adjustment from 7th to 8th grade. The study was unique in that it incorporated a sample of both African American and European American adolescents. Also investigated was the extent to which the gender constellation (same-sex vs. mixed-sex) of sibling dyads moderated prospective associations. Findings revealed that, in mixed-sex dyads only, younger siblings’ perceptions of support received from the older sibling and their positive image of the older sibling predicted declines in the younger sibling’s academic self-perceptions and performance over time, even after controlling for younger siblings’ background characteristics and support from parents. Older siblings’ reported support to younger siblings also predicted declines in younger siblings’ academic adjustment, whereas the older siblings’ own level of academic engagement predicted an increase in younger siblings’ academic adjustment over time. Overall, findings did not differ substantially for African and European American adolescents. PMID:20376283

Longitudinal Links between Older Sibling Features and Younger Siblings' Academic Adjustment during Early Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouchey, Heather A.; Shoulberg, Erin K.; Jodl, Kathleen M.; Eccles, Jacquelynne S.

2010-01-01

This study investigated prospective relations between older siblings' support and academic engagement and younger siblings' academic adjustment from 7th to post-8th grade. The study was unique in that it incorporated a sample of both African American and European American adolescents. Also investigated was the extent to which the gender…

Longitudinal Direct and Indirect Pathways Linking Older Sibling Competence to the Development of Younger Sibling Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brody, Gene H.; Kim, Sooyeon; Murry, Velma McBride; Brown, Anita C.

2003-01-01

Tested links between early adolescent older sibling (OS) and younger sibling (YS) competence in rural African American families. Found that OS competence was stable across time and related to improvements in mothers' psychological functioning from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Mothers' Wave-2 psychological functioning related to Wave-3 involved-supportive…

Autism occurrence by MMR vaccine status among US children with older siblings with and without autism.

PubMed

Jain, Anjali; Marshall, Jaclyn; Buikema, Ami; Bancroft, Tim; Kelly, Jonathan P; Newschaffer, Craig J

2015-04-21

Despite research showing no link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), beliefs that the vaccine causes autism persist, leading to lower vaccination levels. Parents who already have a child with ASD may be especially wary of vaccinations. To report ASD occurrence by MMR vaccine status in a large sample of US children who have older siblings with and without ASD. A retrospective cohort study using an administrative claims database associated with a large commercial health plan. Participants included children continuously enrolled in the health plan from birth to at least 5 years of age during 2001-2012 who also had an older sibling continuously enrolled for at least 6 months between 1997 and 2012. MMR vaccine receipt (0, 1, 2 doses) between birth and 5 years of age. ASD status defined as 2 claims with a diagnosis code in any position for autistic disorder or other specified pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) including Asperger syndrome, or unspecified PDD (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification 299.0x, 299.8x, 299.9x). Of 95,727 children with older siblings, 994 (1.04%) were diagnosed with ASD and 1929 (2.01%) had an older sibling with ASD. Of those with older siblings with ASD, 134 (6.9%) had ASD, vs 860 (0.9%) children with unaffected siblings (P < .001). MMR vaccination rates (≥1 dose) were 84% (n = 78,564) at age 2 years and 92% (n = 86,063) at age 5 years for children with unaffected older siblings, vs 73% (n = 1409) at age 2 years and 86% (n = 1660) at age 5 years for children with affected siblings. MMR vaccine receipt was not associated with an increased risk of ASD at any age. For children with older siblings with ASD, at age 2, the adjusted relative risk (RR) of ASD for 1 dose of MMR vaccine vs no vaccine was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.49-1.18; P = .22), and at age 5, the RR of ASD for 2 doses compared with no vaccine was 0.56 (95% CI, 0.31-1.01; P = .052). For children whose older siblings did not have ASD, at age 2, the adjusted RR of ASD for 1 dose was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.67-1.20; P = .50) and at age 5, the RR of ASD for 2 doses was 1.12 (95% CI, 0.78-1.59; P = .55). In this large sample of privately insured children with older siblings, receipt of the MMR vaccine was not associated with increased risk of ASD, regardless of whether older siblings had ASD. These findings indicate no harmful association between MMR vaccine receipt and ASD even among children already at higher risk for ASD.

Training Older Siblings to be Better Supervisors: An RCT Evaluating the "Safe Sibs" Program.

PubMed

Schell, Stacey L; Morrongiello, Barbara A; Pogrebtsova, Ekaterina

2015-09-01

This study evaluated a new online training program, Safe Sibs, aimed at improving supervision knowledge and behaviors of sibling supervisors. Participants included older children (7-11 years) and their younger siblings (2-5 years). A randomized controlled trial design was used, with older siblings randomly assigned to either an intervention or wait-list control group. Before and after either the intervention or wait-list period, older siblings completed measures of supervision knowledge and their supervision behaviors were unobtrusively observed when with their younger sibling. Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed significant improvements in supervision knowledge (child development, knowledge of effective supervision practices, injury beliefs, intervention-specific knowledge) and in some aspects of supervision behavior (frequency of proactive safety behaviors to prevent supervisee access to injury hazards). Although adult supervision is ideal, this new program can support older children to become more knowledgeable and improved supervisors of younger ones. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder: do siblings matter?

PubMed

Matthews, Nicole L; Goldberg, Wendy A; Lukowski, Angela F

2013-10-01

Research indicates a positive relation between the sibling constellation and theory of mind (ToM) development in typically developing (TD) children. Less is known about this association in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study examined the association among the presence and number of siblings, birth order, and false belief (FB) understanding in children with ASD and a TD comparison group. Two FB tasks (change of contents and change of location) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test were administered to 57 children with ASD and 28 TD children during a home visit. One parent of each child reported on demographics and the sibling constellation. Separate hierarchical regressions controlled for age, receptive language ability, and scores on the Social Communication Questionnaire. In children with ASD, no association was observed between presence or number of siblings and ToM. However, the presence of older (but not younger) siblings was found to be positively associated with ToM. Children with ASD who had at least one older sibling performed similarly to the TD group, whereas children with ASD who had no older siblings performed significantly worse than the TD group. These findings indicate an advantage for FB performance in children with ASD who have an older sibling. They may bear on decisions to include older siblings or peers in intervention programs and may also contribute to a more complete understanding of the origins of individual differences in ToM ability in children with ASD. © 2013 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Positive and Negative Interactions Observed Between Siblings: Moderating Effects for Children Exposed to Parents’ Conflict

PubMed Central

Iturralde, Esti; Margolin, Gayla; Spies Shapiro, Lauren A.

2012-01-01

This study investigated links between interparental conflict appraisals (specifically threat and self-blame), sibling relationship quality (positive and negative dimensions), and anxiety in sibling pairs comprised of an adolescent and a younger sibling close in age. Sibling relationship quality was measured through behavioral observation. Links between self-blame and anxiety were moderated by sibling relationship quality. In older siblings, positive behavior with a sibling was associated with an attenuated relation between self-blame and anxiety. A paradoxical moderating effect was found for negative interactions; for both younger and older siblings, a relation between self-blame and anxiety was weakened in the presence of sibling negativity. Results offered support for theorized benefits of sibling relationship quality in helping early adolescents adjust to conflict between parents. PMID:24244080

Parents, Siblings, and Peers: Close Social Relationships and Adolescent Deviance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ardelt, Monika; Day, Laurie

2002-01-01

Examined relations between parents, older siblings, peers, adolescents' individual characteristics, and adolescents' deviant attitudes and behaviors among inner-city families. Structural equation models showed that older deviant siblings had the strongest effect on adolescent deviance. Positive family relationships, parental support, and…

Sibling cooperation influences the age of nest leaving in an altricial bird.

PubMed

Bowers, E Keith; Sakaluk, Scott K; Thompson, Charles F

2013-06-01

In altricial birds, siblings raised within a nest usually leave the nest within hours of each other, despite often differing considerably in age. The youngest members of the brood are typically underdeveloped at this time and less likely than their older siblings to survive outside the nest, yet they risk abandonment if they do not fledge with their older siblings. Nest leaving is usually initiated by the older offspring, which may delay this process to provide more time for their younger siblings to mature, increasing the younger siblings' postfledging survival and their own inclusive fitness. We tested this hypothesis in a population of house wrens Troglodytes aedon and found that broods with broad age spans among siblings had longer nestling periods than broods with narrow age spans and that delayed fledging improves the survival and reproductive prospects of younger siblings, although at a potential cost to future siblings. We also manipulated age spans through cross-fostering and found that older foster nestlings postponed fledging when raised with younger broodmates, as predicted if the age of younger nestlings determines the time of fledging. Our results support kin-selection theory and demonstrate that the exact time of fledging is attributable, in part, to sib-sib interactions.

The Development of Empathic Concern in Siblings: A Reciprocal Influence Model.

PubMed

Jambon, Marc; Madigan, Sheri; Plamondon, André; Daniel, Ella; Jenkins, Jennifer M

2018-02-20

This study utilized actor-partner interdependence modeling to examine the bidirectional effects of younger (M age  = 18 months) and older siblings (M age  = 48 months) on later empathy development in a large (n = 452 families), diverse (42% immigrant) Canadian sample. Controlling for parenting, demographic characteristics, sibling relationship quality, and within-child stability in empathic concern, both younger and older siblings' observed empathic concern uniquely predicted relative increases in the other's empathy over a period of 18 months. The strength of the partner effects did not differ by birth order. Sex composition moderated the younger sibling partner effect, whereas age gap moderated the older sibling partner effect. This study highlights the important role that siblings play in enhancing the development of care and concern for others. © 2018 The Authors. Child Development © 2018 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

'Looking beyond the male-female dichotomy' - sibling composition and child immunization in India, 1992-2006.

PubMed

Singh, Prashant Kumar; Parasuraman, Sulabha

2014-04-01

This study examines trends in gender differentials in child immunization beyond the conventional male-female dichotomy, by considering older surviving sibling composition between 1992 and 2006 in India. The present study adopts the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for appraising full immunization among children utilising three rounds of the National Family Health Survey. Twelve combinations of sex composition of surviving older siblings were constructed. Bivariate differentials and pooled multilevel logistic regression analysis were conducted to assess the trends and patterns of child immunization with respect to various categories of older surviving sibling composition. Although child immunization increased between 1992 and 2006, majority of all eligible children did not receive the recommended immunization. Further, full immunization significantly varies by twelve categories of siblings composition during 1992-2006. The probability of full immunization among male children who did not have any older surviving sibling was 60% in 2005-06, while it was just 26% among female children who had 1+ older surviving sister and brother. This study emphasizes the need to integrate sibling issues in child immunization as a prioritized component in the ongoing Universal Immunization Programme, which could be an effective step towards ensuring full immunization coverage among Indian children. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Having older siblings is associated with gut microbiota development during early childhood.

PubMed

Laursen, Martin Frederik; Zachariassen, Gitte; Bahl, Martin Iain; Bergström, Anders; Høst, Arne; Michaelsen, Kim F; Licht, Tine Rask

2015-08-01

Evidence suggests that early life infections, presence of older siblings and furred pets in the household affect the risk of developing allergic diseases through altered microbial exposure. Recently, low gut microbial diversity during infancy has also been linked with later development of allergies. We investigated whether presence of older siblings, furred pets and early life infections affected gut microbial communities at 9 and 18 months of age and whether these differences were associated with the cumulative prevalence of atopic symptoms of eczema and asthmatic bronchitis at 3 years of age. Bacterial compositions and diversity indices were determined in fecal samples collected from 114 infants in the SKOT I cohort at age 9 and 18 months by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. These were compared to the presence of older siblings, furred pets and early life infections and the cumulative prevalence of diagnosed asthmatic bronchitis and self-reported eczema at 3 years of age. The number of older siblings correlated positively with bacterial diversity (p = 0.030), diversity of the phyla Firmicutes (p = 0.013) and Bacteroidetes (p = 0.004) and bacterial richness (p = 0.006) at 18 months. Further, having older siblings was associated with increased relative abundance of several bacterial taxa at both 9 and 18 months of age. Compared to the effect of having siblings, presence of household furred pets and early life infections had less pronounced effects on the gut microbiota. Gut microbiota characteristics were not significantly associated with cumulative occurrence of eczema and asthmatic bronchitis during the first 3 years of life. Presence of older siblings is associated with increased gut microbial diversity and richness during early childhood, which could contribute to the substantiation of the hygiene hypothesis. However, no associations were found between gut microbiota and atopic symptoms of eczema and asthmatic bronchitis during early childhood and thus further studies are required to elucidate whether sibling-associated gut microbial changes influence development of allergies later in childhood.

Kid's Stuff: The Nature and Impact of Peer and Sibling Violence on Younger and Older Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finkelhor, David; Turner, Heather; Ormrod, Richard

2006-01-01

Objective: It is widely presumed that when children are hit by peers or siblings, it is not as serious as similar acts between adults or older youth, which would be termed, "assaults" and "violent crimes". The goal of this study was to compare the violent peer and sibling episodes of younger children to those of older youth in terms of their…

Early treatment with laronidase improves clinical outcomes in patients with attenuated MPS I: a retrospective case series analysis of nine sibships.

PubMed

Al-Sannaa, Nouriya A; Bay, Luisa; Barbouth, Deborah S; Benhayoun, Youssef; Goizet, Cyril; Guelbert, Norberto; Jones, Simon A; Kyosen, Sandra Obikawa; Martins, Ana Maria; Phornphutkul, Chanika; Reig, Celia; Pleat, Rebecca; Fallet, Shari; Ivanovska Holder, Iva

2015-10-07

Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with laronidase, (recombinant human α-L-iduronidase; Aldurazyme) is the primary treatment option for patients with attenuated mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I). This study examined the effect of early ERT on clinical manifestations. This multinational, retrospective case series abstracted data from records of 20 patients with Hurler-Scheie syndrome within nine sibships that included older siblings treated with laronidase after the development of significant clinical symptoms, and younger siblings treated before significant symptomatology. Median age at diagnosis was 5.6 and 0.5 years for older and younger siblings, respectively. Median age at ERT initiation was 7.9 and 1.9 years for older and younger siblings, respectively. Improvement or stabilization of somatic signs and symptoms was more notable in younger siblings. Organomegaly present at onset of ERT improved in the majority of both older and younger siblings. Analysis of physician-rated symptom severity demonstrated that cardiac, musculoskeletal, and cognitive symptoms, when absent or mild in younger siblings at ERT initiation, generally did not develop or progress. The majority of older siblings had height/length Z-scores greater than two standard deviations below the mean (less than -2) at both time points. In general, Z-scores for younger siblings were closer to the sex- and age-matched means at follow-up. These findings suggest early initiation of laronidase, prior to the onset of symptoms in patients with attenuated MPS I, can slow or prevent the development of severe clinical manifestations.

"Because if You Don't Put the Top On, It Will Spill": A Longitudinal Study of Sibling Teaching in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howe, Nina; Della Porta, Sandra; Recchia, Holly; Ross, Hildy

2016-01-01

Naturalistic dyadic sequences of teaching and learning involving older and younger siblings were investigated in 39 middle-class dyads over a 2-year period in early childhood. Siblings were observed during ongoing interactions in the home setting for 6 90-min sessions at both Time 1 (older sibling "M" age = 4.4 years; younger sibling…

Sibling Influence on Mexican-Origin Adolescents’ Deviant and Sexual Risk Behaviors: The Role of Sibling Modeling

PubMed Central

Whiteman, Shawn D.; Zeiders, Katharine H.; Killoren, Sarah E.; Rodriguez, Sue Annie; Updegraff, Kimberly A.

2013-01-01

Purpose A growing body of research indicates that siblings uniquely influence each other’s health risk behaviors during adolescence and young adulthood. Mechanisms underlying these associations, however, are largely unknown because they are rarely tested directly. The present study addressed this gap by examining the role of sibling modeling in explaining changes in Mexican-origin youths’ deviant and sexual risk behaviors over time. Methods The sample included 380 Mexican-origin siblings (older sibling age: M = 21.18, SD = 1.59; younger sibling age: M = 18.19, SD = .46) from (N = 190) families. Participants provided self-reports of their sibling relationship qualities, including modeling, as well as their engagement in deviant and sexual risk taking behaviors in two home interviews across a two-year span. Results A series of residualized regression models revealed that younger siblings’ perceptions of modeling moderated the links between older siblings’ deviant and sexual risk behaviors and younger siblings’ subsequent behaviors in those same domains. Specifically, high levels of modeling predicted stronger associations between older siblings’ earlier and younger siblings’ later risk behaviors controlling for younger siblings’ earlier behaviors as well as variables that have been used as proxies for social learning in previous research. Conclusions Social learning mechanisms, especially modeling, are salient processes through which older siblings transmit norms and expectations regarding participation in health risk behaviors. Future research should continue to explore the ways in which siblings influence each other because such processes are emerging targets for intervention and prevention. PMID:24287013

Family, Peer, and Pubertal Determinants of Dating Involvement Among Adolescents

PubMed Central

Low, Sabina; Shortt, Joann Wu

2017-01-01

This study examines the influence of family, peer, and biological contributors to dating involvement among early adolescents (11–14 years of age; n = 244). Further, we assess how parental monitoring may be modified by pubertal maturation and older sibling risky behavior. Data on delinquent peer affiliation, pubertal maturation, parental monitoring, older sibling risky behavior, and dating involvement were gathered through observations and surveys from adolescents, mothers, older siblings, and teachers. Results indicate that lower levels of parental monitoring and higher levels of older sibling risky behavior were related to adolescents’ dating involvement through delinquent peer affiliation. Pubertal maturation was directly related to dating involvement for early daters. Findings emphasize the value of examining social and biological factors, in concert, over time. PMID:28498528

Cultural variation in the social organization of problem solving among African American and European American siblings.

PubMed

Budak, Daniel; Chavajay, Pablo

2012-07-01

This study examined the social organization of a problem-solving task among 15 African American and 15 European American sibling pairs. The 30 sibling pairs between the ages of 6 and 12 were video recorded constructing a marble track together during a home visit. African American siblings were observed to collaborate more often than European American siblings who were more likely to divide up the labor and direct each other in constructing the marble track. In addition, older European American siblings made more proposals of step plans than older African American siblings. The findings provide insights into the cultural basis of the social organization of problem solving across African American and European American siblings.

Relative Power in Sibling Relationships Across Adolescence.

PubMed

Lindell, Anna K; Campione-Barr, Nicole

2017-06-01

During childhood, older siblings typically hold a more powerful position in their relationship with their younger siblings, but these relationships are thought to become more egalitarian during adolescence as siblings begin to prepare for their relationships as adults and as younger siblings become more socially and cognitively competent. Little is known about relationship factors that may explain this shift in power dynamics, however. The present study therefore examined longitudinal changes in adolescents' and their siblings' perceptions of sibling relative power from age 12 to 18 (n = 145 dyads), and examined whether different levels of sibling relationship positivity and negativity, as well as sibling structural variables, indicated different over-time changes in relative power. Multilevel models indicated that adolescents reported significant declines in their siblings' relative power across adolescence, with older siblings relinquishing the most power over time. However, only siblings with less positively involved relationships reported declines in relative power, suggesting that siblings who maintain highly involved relationships may not become more egalitarian during adolescence. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Longitudinal pathways linking family factors and sibling relationship qualities to adolescent substance use and sexual risk behaviors.

PubMed

East, Patricia L; Khoo, Siek Toon

2005-12-01

This 3-wave, 5-year longitudinal study tested the contributions of family contextual factors and sibling relationship qualities to younger siblings' substance use, sexual risk behaviors, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease. More than 220 non-White families participated (67% Latino and 33% African American), all of which involved a younger sibling (133 girls and 89 boys; mean age = 13.6 years at Time 1) and an older sister (mean age = 17 years at Time 1). Results from structural equation latent growth curve modeling indicated that qualities of the sibling relationship (high older sister power, low warmth/closeness, and low conflict) mediated effects from several family risks (mothers' single parenting, older sisters' teen parenting, and family's receipt of aid) to younger sibling outcomes. Model results were generally stronger for sister-sister pairs than for sister-brother pairs. Findings add to theoretical models that emphasize the role of family and parenting processes in shaping sibling relationships, which, in turn, influence adolescent outcomes. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

Influence of Siblings on Out-of-School Reading Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knoester, Matthew; Plikuhn, Mari

2016-01-01

This study draws on interviews with 26 individuals who attained an advanced degree and whose parents did not attend university and who reported having at least one older sibling. Participants were asked about independent reading practices in their youth and the reading practices of their older siblings. Participants reported many memories of their…

Siblings of Disabled Children: Birth Order and Age-Spacing Effects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breslau, Naomi

1982-01-01

Siblings (N=237) of disabled children were compared to 248 siblings from a random family sampling to examine the effects of relative birth order and age spacing on psychological functioning. Younger males scored higher than older males on psychological impairment, while younger females were psychologically better off than older females. (CL)

Support and Strain in Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents' Sibling Relationships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gee, Christina B.; Nicholson, Melba J.; Osborne, Lori N.; Rhodes, Jean E.

2003-01-01

This study examined social support and social strain in the sibling relationships of 536 adolescent mothers, primarily African American, low-income, and attending an alternative school. Findings indicate that older sisters were nominated twice as often as any other sibling group as a source of support. Older sister support was not associated with…

Prospective prediction of children's smoking transitions: role of parents' and older siblings' smoking.

PubMed

Bricker, Jonathan B; Peterson, Arthur V; Leroux, Brian G; Andersen, M Robyn; Rajan, K Bharat; Sarason, Irwin G

2006-01-01

To use a novel social epidemic probability model to investigate longitudinally the extent to which parents' and older siblings' smoking predict children's smoking transitions. Parents' and older siblings' smoking status was assessed when children were in 3rd grade (baseline). Three smoking transitions were assessed over the period of child/adolescent smoking acquisition (up to 12th grade): (1) transition from never smoking to trying smoking, (2) transition from trying to monthly smoking and (3) transition from monthly to daily smoking. Forty Washington State school districts participating in the long term Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project (HSPP). Participants were the 5520 families for whom data on both parents' and older siblings' baseline smoking status, as well as on children's smoking transitions, were available. The probability that a smoking parent influenced their child to make the first transition to trying smoking was 32% (95% CI: 27%, 36%); to make the second transition from trying to monthly smoking, 15% (95% CI: 10%, 19%); and to make the third transition from monthly to daily smoking, 28% (95% CI: 21%, 34%). The probability that an older sibling influenced a child to make the first transition to trying smoking was 29% (95% CI: 17%, 39%); to make the second transition from trying to monthly smoking, 0% (95% CI: 0%, 8%); and to make the third transition from monthly to daily smoking, 20% (95% CI: 4%, 33%). In contrast to previous research, the results provide new evidence suggesting that family smoking influences both initiation and escalation of children's smoking. Results also quantify, in terms of probabilities, the importance of parents' and older siblings' smoking on children's three major smoking transitions. Parents' smoking, as well as older siblings' smoking, are important behaviors to target in preventing adolescents from making smoking transitions.

The Well Siblings of Schizophrenics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samuels, Laurel; Chase, Laura

1979-01-01

Explores the impact of having a schizophrenic sibling. Subjects functioned at high levels of adjustment. Separated from their families, there followed a period of reinvolvement, including responsibility for the ill sibling. Younger siblings expressed guilt over being well, whereas older siblings expressed guilt over earlier sibling rivalry.…

Is the Risk of Autism in Younger Siblings of Affected Children Moderated by Sex, Race/Ethnicity, or Gestational Age?

PubMed

Xie, Fagen; Peltier, Morgan; Getahun, Darios

2016-10-01

To evaluate the recurrence risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in younger siblings of affected children and determine how it is modified by race/ethnicity and sex. Medical records of children born in a large health maintenance organization (Kaiser Permanent Southern California) hospitals from January 1, 2001, through December 31, 2010, and who remained in our system until 2 to 11 years of age were used to assess the risk of recurrence of ASD in younger siblings. Children born at <28 or >42 weeks gestation, multiple births, or those who were not active members for ≥3 months were excluded. ASD diagnosis was ascertained from DSM-IV codes, and the magnitude of the association was estimated using adjusted relative risks (aRRs). Among eligible younger siblings, 592 (1.11%) had the diagnosis of ASD. The ASD rates were 11.30% and 0.92% for younger siblings of older affected and unaffected siblings, respectively (aRR: 14.27; 95% confidence interval, 11.41-17.83). This association remained after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Race/ethnicity- and gestational age-specific analyses revealed a positive association of similar magnitude across groups. Risk remained higher in younger boys than girls regardless of the sex of affected older siblings. The findings of this study suggest that the risk of ASD in younger siblings is higher if the older sibling has ASD. The risk of ASD in younger siblings of older affected siblings was comparable across gestational age at birth and child's race/ethnicity groups. However, risk remains higher for boys. This study contributes to a better understanding of the influence of race/ethnicity, sex, and gestational age at birth in identifying children at higher risk of ASD.

Associations between social understanding, sibling relationship quality, and siblings' conflict strategies and outcomes.

PubMed

Recchia, Holly E; Howe, Nina

2009-01-01

Sibling relationship quality and social understanding (second-order false belief, conflict interpretation, and narrative conflict perspective references) were examined as unique and interactive correlates of sibling conflict behavior in 62 dyads (older M age = 8.39 years and younger M age = 6.06 years). High-quality relationships were associated with positive conflict processes. Younger siblings' second-order false belief scores were negatively associated with constructive conflict strategies, and older siblings' narrative self-referential focus was negatively associated with compromise. Associations between younger children's social understanding (conflict interpretation and narrative perspective references) and siblings' dyadic conflict behavior were moderated by relationship quality. Results suggest that links between social understanding and conflict behavior should be considered in conjunction with the quality of children's relationships.

Perceptions of sibling relationships during middle childhood and adolescence.

PubMed

Buhrmester, D; Furman, W

1990-10-01

Children in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 were administered the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire. Relationships were rated as progressively more egalitarian across the 4 grade groups, with adolescents reporting less dominance and nurturance by their older siblings than younger participants. Adolescents also reported less companionship, intimacy, and affection with siblings than younger participants reported. Levels of perceived conflict with younger siblings were moderately high across all 4 grades, whereas ratings of conflict with older siblings were progressively lower across the 4 grades. The findings suggested that sibling relationships: (a) become more egalitarian and less asymmetrical with age, (b) become less intense with age, and (c) encompass experiences that are partially determined by the child's standing in the family constellation.

Older/Younger Sibling Pairs in the Context of a Community Outreach Children's Choir

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fredrickson, William E.; Byrnes, Suzanne R.; Aycock, Sylvia R.

2018-01-01

This article was designed to explore the behaviors observed and document the interactions of older and younger siblings in a children's choir rehearsal environment. Observations by a music education student observer, the director/teacher of the group, and some parent recollections indicate that the sibling interactions do have a primarily positive…

Neighborhood disadvantage moderates associations of parenting and older sibling problem attitudes and behavior with conduct disorders in African American children.

PubMed

Brody, Gene H; Ge, Xiaojia; Kim, Su Yeong; Murry, Velma McBride; Simons, Ronald L; Gibbons, Frederick X; Gerrard, Meg; Conger, Rand D

2003-04-01

Data from 296 sibling pairs (mean ages 10 and 13 years), their primary caregivers, and census records were used to test the hypothesis that African American children's likelihood of developing conduct problems associated with harsh parenting, a lack of nurturant-involved parenting, and exposure to an older sibling's deviance-prone attitudes and behavior would be amplified among families residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods. A latent construct representing harsh-inconsistent parenting and low levels of nurturant-involved parenting was positively associated with younger siblings' conduct disorder symptoms, as were older siblings' problematic attitudes and behavior. These associations were strongest among families residing in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Future research and prevention programs should focus on the specific neighborhood processes associated with increased vulnerability for behavior problems.

Siblings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Linda; Della Corte, Suzanne

1989-01-01

The newsletter article examines the impact of a handicapped child on siblings and offers parents suggestions for handling sibling relationships effectively. The article notes differences in the emotional adjustment process between older and younger siblings of a handicapped child. This report also explains typical sibling reactions of regression,…

The Nature and Correlates of Sibling Influence in Two-Parent African American Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whiteman, Shawn D.; Becerra Bernard, Julia M.; McHale, Susan M.

2010-01-01

Guided by research and theory on sibling similarities and differences, this study explored the nature and correlates of 2 processes of sibling influence--social learning and sibling differentiation--during adolescence. Participants included 2 adolescent-age siblings (M = 16.29 years for older siblings and M = 12.59 years for younger siblings,…

Effects of Residential Instability on Head Start Children and Their Relationships with Older Siblings: Influences of Child Emotionality and Conflict between Family Members.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoneman, Zolinda; Brody, Gene H.; Churchill, Susan L.; Winn, Laura L.

1999-01-01

Examined influence of residential dislocations on child behavior problems, depression, peer competence, cognitive competence, and quality of sibling relationships among Head Start children and their older siblings. Found that child emotionality moderated the effects of residential mobility. Caregiver conflict was a less powerful moderator.…

The Drift toward Problem Behavior during the Transition to Adolescence: The Contributions of Youth Disclosure, Parenting, and Older Siblings.

PubMed

Low, Sabina; Snyder, James; Shortt, Joann Wu

2012-03-01

Prospective associations of mothers' parenting processes, youth disclosure and youth problem behavior were examined in a longitudinal design following 244 adolescent sibling dyads over a three year period. For both siblings, authoritative parenting was positively associated with youth disclosure and negatively related to problem behavior, and coercive parenting was negatively associated with youth disclosure and positively related to problem behavior. When the influence of older sibling problem behavior on younger sibling problem behavior was modeled, younger sibling disclosure accounted for the relationship of maternal parenting processes to problem behavior. Findings indicate the important role of sibling influence in the development of problem behavior, contextualizing the relative roles of maternal parenting and youth disclosure in the transmission of risk.

The Drift toward Problem Behavior during the Transition to Adolescence: The Contributions of Youth Disclosure, Parenting, and Older Siblings

PubMed Central

Low, Sabina; Snyder, James; Shortt, Joann Wu

2013-01-01

Prospective associations of mothers’ parenting processes, youth disclosure and youth problem behavior were examined in a longitudinal design following 244 adolescent sibling dyads over a three year period. For both siblings, authoritative parenting was positively associated with youth disclosure and negatively related to problem behavior, and coercive parenting was negatively associated with youth disclosure and positively related to problem behavior. When the influence of older sibling problem behavior on younger sibling problem behavior was modeled, younger sibling disclosure accounted for the relationship of maternal parenting processes to problem behavior. Findings indicate the important role of sibling influence in the development of problem behavior, contextualizing the relative roles of maternal parenting and youth disclosure in the transmission of risk. PMID:23667299

Detecting and correcting for family size differences in the study of sexual orientation and fraternal birth order.

PubMed

Blanchard, Ray

2014-07-01

The term "fraternal birth order effect" denotes a statistical relation most commonly expressed in one of two ways: Older brothers increase the odds of homosexuality in later born males or, alternatively, homosexual men tend to have more older brothers than do heterosexual men. The demonstrability of this effect depends partly on the adequate matching of the homosexual and heterosexual study groups with respect to mean family size. If the homosexual group has too many siblings, relative to the heterosexual group, the homosexual group will tend to show the expected excess of older brothers but may also show an excess of other sibling-types (most likely older sisters); if the homosexual group has too few siblings, it will tend not to show a difference in number of older brothers but instead may show a deficiency of other sibling-types (most likely younger brothers and younger sisters). In the first part of this article, these consequences are illustrated with deliberately mismatched groups selected from archived data sets. In the second part, two slightly different methods for transforming raw sibling data are presented. These are intended to produce family-size-corrected variables for each of the four original sibling parameters (older brothers, older sisters, younger brothers, and younger sisters). Both versions are shown to render the fraternal birth order effect observable in the deliberately mismatched groups. In the third part of the article, fraternal birth order studies published in the last 5 years were surveyed for failures to find a statistically significant excess of older brothers for the homosexual group. Two such studies were found in the nine examined. In both cases, the collective findings for older sisters, younger brothers, and younger sisters suggested that the mean family size of the homosexual groups was smaller than that of the heterosexual comparison groups. Furthermore, the individual findings for the four classes of siblings resembled those for the present experimentally mismatched groups in which the mean family size of the homosexual group was significantly smaller. This illustrates the necessity of comparing groups on measures of mean family size and removing this confound in some way when those means are markedly different.

Children exposed to intimate partner violence: influences of parenting, family distress, and siblings.

PubMed

Tailor, Ketan; Stewart-Tufescu, Ashley; Piotrowski, Caroline

2015-02-01

The aim of this study was to investigate associations between maternal stress, parenting behavior, and sibling adjustment in relation to child trauma symptoms in families with and without a history of intimate partner violence (IPV). Maternal report was used to measure maternal stress and child trauma symptoms, whereas parenting behavior was assessed through an observational measure. Participants consisted of mothers with 2 school-age siblings recruited from the community. Results indicated that violent families reported higher levels of maternal stress and sibling trauma symptoms than nonviolent families, although no differences were found in parenting behavior. Sibling trauma symptoms and negative maternal behavior toward a sibling were strong predictors of trauma symptoms in younger siblings exposed to IPV but only modest predictors for older siblings. Moderator analyses showed that in IPV-affected families, the trauma symptoms of older siblings were related to the trauma symptoms of younger siblings when maternal stress was high. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Sibling influences on theory of mind development for children with ASD.

PubMed

O'Brien, Karen; Slaughter, Virginia; Peterson, Candida C

2011-06-01

Research indicates that having child siblings is positively associated with theory of mind (ToM) in typically developing children. As ToM is important to everyday social behaviours it is important to extend this research to examine whether there are similar sibling effects for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Theory of mind and executive functioning abilities of 60 children clinically diagnosed with ASD were assessed with batteries of standard tasks. Verbal mental age (VMA) and severity of autism symptoms were also measured together with number of child-aged siblings (1 to 12 years) and position in the sibling constellation. Having older siblings was a significant negative predictor of ToM performance for children with ASD, even after controlling for age, VMA, executive function and autism symptom severity. A weaker ToM benefit of younger siblings was not statistically significant independently of control variables. In sharp contrast to findings for typically developing preschoolers, having an older sibling was a disadvantage for ToM development in children with ASD. Conceivably, older siblings may over-compensate for their younger ASD siblings in social interactions, thereby limiting opportunities for social-cognitive growth. Parental attitudes, family resources, cultural norms and access to educational interventions may also conceivably be relevant and clearly warrant further research. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2011 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Adult siblings of individuals with Down syndrome versus with autism: findings from a large-scale US survey.

PubMed

Hodapp, R M; Urbano, R C

2007-12-01

As adults with Down syndrome live increasingly longer lives, their adult siblings will most likely assume caregiving responsibilities. Yet little is known about either the sibling relationship or the general functioning of these adult siblings. Using a national, web-based survey, this study compared adult siblings of individuals with Down syndrome to siblings of individuals with autism in terms of a potential 'Down syndrome advantage' and changes across age of the brother/sister with disabilities. Two groups were examined, siblings of persons with Down syndrome (n = 284) and with autism (n = 176). The Adult Sibling Questionnaire measured the number and length of contacts between siblings and their brothers/sisters with disabilities; the warmth, closeness and positiveness of the sibling relationship; and the sibling's overall levels of perceived health, depression and rewards of being a sibling. Compared with siblings of brothers/sisters with autism, siblings of brothers/sisters with Down syndrome showed closer, warmer sibling relationships, along with slightly better health, lower levels of depressive symptoms and more contacts. Across age groups of the brother/sister with disabilities, both groups showed lessened contacts, with less close sibling relationships occurring when brothers/sisters with disabilities were aged 30-44 years and 45 years and older (in Down syndrome) and 45 years and older (in autism). Within both groups, closer sibling relationships were associated with more frequent and lengthy contacts, brothers/sisters with disabilities who were better at maintaining friendships and had lower levels of behavioural/emotional problems, and siblings who felt themselves more rewarded by being a sibling to a brother/sister with disabilities. In line with earlier work on families of children with disabilities, this study shows an advantage for siblings of adults with Down syndrome, in terms of both sibling relationships and of slightly better health and lessened depressive symptoms. Both joint contacts and close sibling relationships do, however, differ when the brother/sister with disabilities is older. As the first generation of probable caregivers, siblings of persons with Down syndrome who are in their forties, fifties and sixties require increased research attention.

SIBLING CONCORDANCE FOR CLINICAL FEATURES OF DUCHENNE AND BECKER MUSCULAR DYSTROPHIES

PubMed Central

PETTYGROVE, SYDNEY; LU, ZHENQIANG; ANDREWS, JENNIFER G.; MEANEY, F. JOHN; SHEEHAN, DANIEL W.; PRICE, ELINORA T.; FOX, DEBORAH J.; PANDYA, SHREE; OUYANG, LIJING; APKON, SUSAN D.; POWIS, ZOE; CUNNIFF, CHRISTOPHER

2015-01-01

Introduction The correlation of markers of disease severity among brothers with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy has implications for clinical guidance and clinical trials. Methods Sibling pairs with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy (n = 60) were compared for ages when they reached clinical milestones of disease progression, including ceased ambulation, scoliosis of ≥ 20°, and development of cardiomyopathy. Results The median age at which younger brothers reached each milestone, compared with their older brothers ranged from 25 months younger for development of cardiomyopathy to 2 months older for ceased ambulation. For each additional month of ambulation by the older brother, the hazard of ceased ambulation by the younger brother decreased by 4%. Conclusions The ages when siblings reach clinical milestones of disease vary widely between siblings. However, the time to ceased ambulation for older brothers predicts the time to ceased ambulation for their younger brothers. PMID:24030636

Older Siblings' Contributions to Young Child's Cognitive Skills.

PubMed

Dai, Xianhua; Heckman, James J

2013-09-01

This work finds that older siblings as well as early parenting influence young children's cognitive skills directly or indirectly, for example, Mathematics, and English. Our findings challenge a pervasive view in the economical literatures that early parenting play a dominant role in explaining child development. In economics, early environmental conditions are important to demonstrate the evolution of adolescent and adult cognitive skills (Knudsen, Heckman, Cameron, and Shonkoff, 2006; Cunha and Heckman, 2007), and it establishes causal impacts of early parental inputs and other environmental factors on cognitive and non-cognitive skills (Heckman, Stixrud, and Urzua, 2006; Borghans, Duckworth, Heckman, and Weel, 2006; Cunha, Heckman, and Schennach, 2010). Early parenting as well as older siblings should explain a diverse array of academic and social outcomes, for example, Mathematics, English, maritage and pregnancy. In fact, older siblings' characteristics are as important, if not more important, than parenting for child development. Our analysis addresses the problems of measurement error, imperfect proxies, and reverse causality that plague conventional approach in psychology. We find that older brother contributes much more than older sister to child's mathematical achievement, while older sister contributes much more to child's english achievement. Our evidence is consistent with psychology literature, for example, Hetherington (1988), Jenkins (1992), Zukow-Goldring (1995), Marshall, Garcia-Coll, Marx, McCartney, Keffe, and Rub (1997), Maynard (2002), and Brody Ge, Kim, Murry, Simons, Gibbons, Gerrard, and Conger (2003) for siblings' direct contributions to child development, Bronfenbrenner (1997), East (1998), Whiteman and Buchanan (2002), and Brody, Ge, Kim, Murry, Simons, Gibbons, Gerrard, and Conger (2003) for siblings's indirect contributions, and Reiss, Neiderhiser, Hetherington, and Plomin (2000), Feinberg and Hetherington (2001), Kowal, Kramer, Krull, and Crick (2002) for parental differential treatment.

Relative Power in Sibling Relationships across Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindell, Anna K.; Campione-Barr, Nicole

2017-01-01

During childhood, older siblings typically hold a more powerful position in their relationship with their younger siblings, but these relationships are thought to become more egalitarian during adolescence as siblings begin to prepare for their relationships as adults and as younger siblings become more socially and cognitively competent. Little…

The relation between having siblings and children's cheating and lie-telling behaviors.

PubMed

O'Connor, Alison M; Evans, Angela D

2018-04-01

The current study investigated how having at least one child sibling influenced children's dishonest behaviors. Furthermore, for those children with a sibling, we examined whether having a younger or older sibling and the age difference between siblings influenced deceptive acts. Children between 3 and 8 years of age (N = 130) completed the temptation resistance paradigm, where they played a guessing game and were asked not to peek at a toy in the experimenter's absence. Children's peeking behavior was used as a measure of cheating, and children's responses when asked whether they had peeked were used as measures of lie-telling. Results demonstrate that siblings do indeed influence children's deceptive behaviors. First, children with a sibling were significantly more likely to cheat compared with children without any siblings. Next, for those with a sibling, children with a larger age difference with their younger sibling(s) were significantly more likely to lie compared with children closer in age, and children with a younger sibling were significantly more likely to maintain their lie during follow-up questioning compared with children with an older sibling. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biological versus nonbiological older brothers and men's sexual orientation.

PubMed

Bogaert, Anthony F

2006-07-11

The most consistent biodemographic correlate of sexual orientation in men is the number of older brothers (fraternal birth order). The mechanism underlying this effect remains unknown. In this article, I provide a direct test pitting prenatal against postnatal (e.g., social/rearing) mechanisms. Four samples of homosexual and heterosexual men (total n = 944), including one sample of men raised in nonbiological and blended families (e.g., raised with half- or step-siblings or as adoptees) were studied. Only biological older brothers, and not any other sibling characteristic, including nonbiological older brothers, predicted men's sexual orientation, regardless of the amount of time reared with these siblings. These results strongly suggest a prenatal origin to the fraternal birth-order effect.

Personality traits and sibling relationships in emerging adults.

PubMed

Lanthier, Richard P

2007-04-01

Associations between the Big Five personality traits of siblings and the quality of sibling relationships were examined in a sample of 115 college students and one of their older siblings. Big Five traits, as assessed by Goldberg's 100 adjective markers, predicted a large amount of the variability in sibling Warmth and Conflict. Agreeableness was the most consistent predictor of positive sibling outcomes.

Family stability in greater white-fronted geese

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ely, Craig R.

1993-01-01

I investigated the stability of parent-offspring bonds, and sibling-sibling bonds of neck-banded Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons frontalis) during winters (September-May) in California and southern Oregon from 1979 to 1989. Geese captured at feeding sites were more likely to be in social groups than those captured at roosting sites. Offspring remained associated with their parents longer than reported for other geese, as 69% of yearlings, 39% of two-year-olds, and 38% of three-year-olds and older were observed with their parents during winter. The proportion of time offspring spent with their parents declined as they grew older, being 76% for juveniles, 32% for yearlings, and 15% for two-year-olds and older. The prevalence of extended family groups was corroborated by counts of landing groups of unmarked geese. Sibling bonds also persisted after the first year of life, with 74%, 50%, and 39% of siblings maintaining some degree of social contact at ages of one, two and three years or older, respectively. Older offspring were more likely to associate with brood mates than with parents. Intensive observations ended when the oldest known-age geese were 34 months old. Incidental sightings in subsequent years revealed that some offspring up to eight years of age still associated with their parents and/or siblings. The benefits of maintaining long-term family bonds were not readily apparent, as there was no difference in the reproductive success of parents with and without attendant offspring, and yearlings that associated with parents were not more likely to survive than yearlings that did not associate with parents. However, older offspring and their parents may benefit by remaining together if extended families are more dominant and have better access to limited food and safe roost sites. Parents benefit if their fitness is enhanced due to nest defense provided by older offspring, and subadults probably benefit from staying with their parents by learning foraging and predator avoidance strategies from parents and older siblings.

Theory of mind in children with and without autism spectrum disorder: Associations with the sibling constellation.

PubMed

Matthews, Nicole L; Goldberg, Wendy A

2018-04-01

The two prior studies that have examined associations between the sibling constellation and theory of mind in autism spectrum disorder yielded discrepant findings. Thus, efforts to better understand the sibling-theory of mind link in autism spectrum disorder are necessary. This study examined a sample of prekindergarten- and kindergarten-aged (i.e. 4-6 years) typically developing children ( n = 39) and verbal children with autism spectrum disorder ( n = 61). Sibling presence, number of siblings, and having younger and older siblings were positively associated with theory of mind in typically developing children, but not in the full sample of children with autism spectrum disorder. However, in the subgroup of children with autism spectrum disorder without sibling recurrence, the presence of at least one older sibling was positively associated with theory of mind. Findings expand previous limited research on the sibling-theory of mind link in children with autism spectrum disorder by demonstrating a potential difference in the influence of the sibling constellation between children from simplex and multiplex families.

Sibling number and prevalence of allergic disorders in pregnant Japanese women: baseline data from the Kyushu Okinawa Maternal and Child Health Study.

PubMed

Miyake, Yoshihiro; Tanaka, Keiko; Arakawa, Masashi

2011-07-14

Although an inverse relationship between number of siblings and likelihood of allergic disorders has been shown in many epidemiological studies, the biological mechanism underlying this phenomenon has not yet been identified. There is no epidemiological research regarding the sibling effect on allergic disorders in Japanese adults. The current cross-sectional study examined the relationship between number of siblings and prevalence of allergic disorders among adult women in Japan. Subjects were 1745 pregnant women. This study was based on questionnaire data. The definitions of wheeze and asthma were based on criteria from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey whereas those of eczema and rhinoconjunctivitis were based on criteria from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Adjustment was made for age, region of residence, pack-years of smoking, secondhand smoke exposure at home and at work, family history of asthma, atopic eczema, and allergic rhinitis, household income, and education. The prevalence values of wheeze, asthma, eczema, and rhinoconjunctivitis in the past 12 months were 10.4%, 5.5%, 13.0%, and 25.9%, respectively. A significant inverse exposure-response relationship was observed between the number of older siblings and rhinoconjunctivitis, but not wheeze, asthma, or eczema (P for trend=0.03); however, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for having 2 or more older siblings was not significant although the adjusted OR for having 1 older sibling was statistically significant (adjusted OR=0.71 [95% CI: 0.56-0.91]). Number of total siblings and number of younger siblings were not related to wheeze, asthma, eczema, or rhinoconjunctivitis. This study found a significant inverse relationship between the number of older siblings and the prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis among pregnant Japanese women. Our findings are likely to support the intrauterine programming hypothesis; however, we could not rule out the hygiene hypothesis.

Sibling number and prevalence of allergic disorders in pregnant Japanese women: baseline data from the Kyushu Okinawa Maternal and Child Health Study

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Although an inverse relationship between number of siblings and likelihood of allergic disorders has been shown in many epidemiological studies, the biological mechanism underlying this phenomenon has not yet been identified. There is no epidemiological research regarding the sibling effect on allergic disorders in Japanese adults. The current cross-sectional study examined the relationship between number of siblings and prevalence of allergic disorders among adult women in Japan. Methods Subjects were 1745 pregnant women. This study was based on questionnaire data. The definitions of wheeze and asthma were based on criteria from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey whereas those of eczema and rhinoconjunctivitis were based on criteria from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Adjustment was made for age, region of residence, pack-years of smoking, secondhand smoke exposure at home and at work, family history of asthma, atopic eczema, and allergic rhinitis, household income, and education. Results The prevalence values of wheeze, asthma, eczema, and rhinoconjunctivitis in the past 12 months were 10.4%, 5.5%, 13.0%, and 25.9%, respectively. A significant inverse exposure-response relationship was observed between the number of older siblings and rhinoconjunctivitis, but not wheeze, asthma, or eczema (P for trend = 0.03); however, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for having 2 or more older siblings was not significant although the adjusted OR for having 1 older sibling was statistically significant (adjusted OR = 0.71 [95% CI: 0.56-0.91]). Number of total siblings and number of younger siblings were not related to wheeze, asthma, eczema, or rhinoconjunctivitis. Conclusions This study found a significant inverse relationship between the number of older siblings and the prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis among pregnant Japanese women. Our findings are likely to support the intrauterine programming hypothesis; however, we could not rule out the hygiene hypothesis. PMID:21752304

Having a Brother or Sister with Down Syndrome: Perspectives from Siblings

PubMed Central

Skotko, Brian G.; Levine, Susan P.; Goldstein, Richard

2012-01-01

This study asks brothers and sisters about their feelings and perceptions toward their sibling with Down syndrome. We analyzed valid and reliable surveys from 822 brothers and sisters whose families were on the mailing lists of six non-profit Down syndrome organizations around the country. More than 96% of brothers/sisters that responded to the survey indicated that they had affection toward their sibling with Down syndrome; and 94% of older siblings expressed feelings of pride. Less than 10% felt embarrassed, and less than 5% expressed a desire to trade their sibling in for another brother or sister without Down syndrome. Among older siblings, 88% felt that they were better people because of their siblings with Down syndrome, and more than 90% plan to remain involved in their sibling’s lives as they become adults. The vast majority of brothers and sisters describe their relationship with their sibling with Down syndrome as positive and enriching. PMID:21910244

Understanding Sibling Influence on Adolescents’ Alcohol Use: Social and Cognitive Pathways

PubMed Central

Whiteman, Shawn D.; Jensen, Alexander C.; Mustillo, Sarah A.; Maggs, Jennifer L.

2015-01-01

Research indicates that older siblings uniquely influence their younger brothers’ and sisters’ substance use behaviors during adolescence; however, the underlying mechanisms of socialization are rarely examined. The present study investigated whether social and/or cognitive pathways mediated the association between adolescent siblings’ alcohol use and whether these pathways were moderated by the gender composition of the sibling dyad. Participants included one parent and two adolescent siblings (M age = 14.52 and 17.17 years) from 326 families. Data were collected via telephone interviews. Path analysis demonstrated that the association between older and younger siblings’ alcohol use was mediated via social and cognitive pathways. Specifically, older siblings’ drinking was positively related to the frequency of siblings’ co-use as well as more positive expectations about alcohol, which in turn were positively associated with younger siblings’ alcohol use. Identifying the ways in which siblings influence each other’s substance use and health is critical because they are emerging and effective targets of intervention and prevention. PMID:26414204

Emotion Regulation in Context: The Jealousy Complex between Young Siblings and Its Relations with Child and Family Characteristics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volling, Brenda L.; McElwain, Nancy L.; Miller, Alison L.

2002-01-01

Examined relations between sibling jealousy and child and family characteristics in families with toddler and preschool-age siblings. Found that positive marital relationship was particularly strong predictor of older siblings' abilities to regulate jealousy in sessions with mothers. Younger siblings' jealous affect with mothers related to child's…

Siblings' Mediated Learning Strategies in Families with and without Children with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tzuriel, David; Hanuka-Levy, Dikla

2014-01-01

Dyads of siblings in which the younger sibling had an intellectual disability (ID, n = 25) were videotaped interacting. The ID group was compared with typically developing sibling dyads matched on mental age (n = 25) and chronological age (n = 25). We observed the mediation strategies, activation, and antimediation behaviors of older siblings and…

Differential Parental Treatment, Sibling Relationships and Delinquency in Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scholte, Ron H. J.; Engels, Rutger C. M. E.; de Kemp, Raymond A. T.; Harakeh, Zeena; Overbeek, Geertjan

2007-01-01

The present study examined the moderating effect of the quality of the sibling relationship on the longitudinal association of parental treatment with theft, vandalism, and violence in adolescence. Participants were 416 sibling pairs which were studied over a one-year period. The younger siblings were aged 13 to 15, the older siblings 14 to 17 at…

Sibling Comparison of Differential Parental Treatment in Adolescence: Gender, Self-Esteem, and Emotionality as Mediators of the Parenting-Adjustment Association.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feinberg, Mark E.; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.; Simmens, Sam; Reiss, David; Hetherington, E. Mavis

2000-01-01

Compared adolescent siblings' evaluations of parental treatment. Found support for a moderating effect for self-esteem and emotionality but not gender. Evidence of the "sibling barricade" effect was limited and interpreted as reflecting a sibling comparison process. For older siblings, emotionality and self-esteem moderated the sibling…

When Do Siblings Compromise? Associations with Children's Descriptions of Conflict Issues, Culpability, and Emotions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Recchia, Holly E.; Howe, Nina

2010-01-01

This study examined associations between children's descriptions of sibling conflicts and their resolutions during a structured negotiation task. A sample of 58 sibling dyads (older sibling M age = 8.39 years, younger sibling M = 6.06 years) were privately interviewed about an actual conflict. Each child provided a narrative that was coded for…

Sibling Pretend Play in Early and Middle Childhood: The Role of Creativity and Maternal Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howe, Nina; Bruno, Andrea

2010-01-01

Research Findings: Sibling pretend play, collaboration, and creativity during maternal presence and absence were investigated in 24 dyads in early and middle childhood (younger siblings' M age = 5.3 years; older siblings' M age = 8.2 years). Associations between sibling behavior and maternal interaction (e.g., guidance, positive responses) were…

Alcohol and Substance Use in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: The Role of Siblings

PubMed Central

Kothari, Brianne H.; Sorenson, Paul; Bank, Lew; Snyder, Jim

2014-01-01

Interpersonal relationships both within and outside the family have been a central part of alcohol and substance use research. Many studies have focused on the role of parents and peers; fewer studies have focused on siblings. This paper examined siblings' roles in ATOD use patterns and trajectories in the context of familial and non-familial factors across time. First, intraclass correlations (ICCs) were used to examine the degree to which older siblings' ATOD use was associated with younger siblings' ATOD use. Second, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the degree to which individual, parent, sibling and peer factors over time were associated with adolescents' and young adults' ATOD use. It should be noted that developmentally proximal predictors were utilized in these models and within-family replication was also examined. Results demonstrate strong associations between older and younger siblings' ATOD use. Moreover, the developmentally proximal sibling variables were predictive of younger sibling ATOD use in the context of other variables across all substances. Study findings are discussed in terms of identifying promising and potentially malleable points of intervention for future investigators. PMID:25484550

Alcohol and Substance Use in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: The Role of Siblings.

PubMed

Kothari, Brianne H; Sorenson, Paul; Bank, Lew; Snyder, Jim

2014-08-08

Interpersonal relationships both within and outside the family have been a central part of alcohol and substance use research. Many studies have focused on the role of parents and peers; fewer studies have focused on siblings. This paper examined siblings' roles in ATOD use patterns and trajectories in the context of familial and non-familial factors across time. First, intraclass correlations (ICCs) were used to examine the degree to which older siblings' ATOD use was associated with younger siblings' ATOD use. Second, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the degree to which individual, parent, sibling and peer factors over time were associated with adolescents' and young adults' ATOD use. It should be noted that developmentally proximal predictors were utilized in these models and within-family replication was also examined. Results demonstrate strong associations between older and younger siblings' ATOD use. Moreover, the developmentally proximal sibling variables were predictive of younger sibling ATOD use in the context of other variables across all substances. Study findings are discussed in terms of identifying promising and potentially malleable points of intervention for future investigators.

Sibling sex ratio and birth order in early-onset gender dysphoric adolescents.

PubMed

Schagen, Sebastian E E; Delemarre-van de Waal, Henriette A; Blanchard, Ray; Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T

2012-06-01

Several sibship-related variables have been studied extensively in sexual orientation research, especially in men. Sibling sex ratio refers to the ratio of brothers to sisters in the aggregate sibships of a group of probands. Birth order refers to the probands' position (e.g., first-born, middle-born, last-born) within their sibships. Fraternal birth order refers to their position among male siblings only. Such research was extended in this study to a large group of early-onset gender dysphoric adolescents. The probands comprised 94 male-to-female and 95 female-to-male gender dysphoric adolescents. The overwhelming majority of these were homosexual or probably prehomosexual. The control group consisted of 875 boys and 914 girls from the TRAILS study. The sibling sex ratio of the gender dysphoric boys was very high (241 brothers per 100 sisters) compared with the expected ratio (106:100). The excess of brothers was more extreme among the probands' older siblings (300:100) than among their younger siblings (195:100). Between-groups comparisons showed that the gender dysphoric boys had significantly more older brothers, and significantly fewer older sisters and younger sisters, than did the control boys. In contrast, the only notable finding for the female groups was that the gender dysphoric girls had significantly fewer total siblings than did the control girls. The results for the male probands were consistent with prior speculations that a high fraternal birth order (i.e., an excess of older brothers) is found in all homosexual male groups, but an elevated sibling sex ratio (usually caused by an additional, smaller excess of younger brothers) is characteristic of gender dysphoric homosexual males. The mechanisms underlying these phenomena remain unknown.

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

PubMed

Feinberg, M E; Neiderhiser, J M; Simmens, S; Reiss, D; Hetherington, E M

2000-01-01

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.

Young Children's Personal Accounts of Their Sibling Disputes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Anne E.; Smith, Melissa D.; Ross, Hildy S.; Ross, Michael

2004-01-01

We investigated children's personal representations of significant sibling conflicts. Forty pairs of siblings were interviewed separately about the same disputes. Although they described the same episodes, both older (M age = 7.0) and younger (M age = 4.4) siblings ascribed more serious transgressions to their opponents than to themselves. They…

Siblings and the Development of Prosocial Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunn, Judy; Munn, Penny

1986-01-01

Examines the capability and motivation of 18- and 24-month-old infants to share, help, comfort, and cooperate with their older siblings; the frequency of such prosocial behavior by both siblings; and the children's response to sibling distress. The relationship between prosocial and conflict behavior was also studied. (HOD)

Family Perspectives on Siblings' Conflict Goals in Middle Childhood: Links to Hierarchical and Affective Features of Sibling Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Recchia, Holly E.; Witwit, Ma-ab

2017-01-01

This study examined parents' and children's descriptions of older and younger siblings' conflict goals in the late preschool and middle childhood years, and how these attributions were related to sibling relationship quality. Parents and 4- to 10-year-old children from 62 families were interviewed separately about siblings' motivations in two…

Bullied Children: Parent and School Supports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honig, Alice Sterling; Zdunowski-Sjoblom, Nicole

2014-01-01

Family interviews were conducted with 28 7-12-year-old children who had experienced various forms of bullying and relational aggression by their peers, as well as with their parent and with an older sibling. Interviews explored possible supportive strategies of older siblings, parents, and teachers. All bullied children reported negative feelings…

An intervention to improve sibling relationship quality among youth in foster care: Results of a randomized clinical trial.

PubMed

Kothari, Brianne H; McBeath, Bowen; Sorenson, Paul; Bank, Lew; Waid, Jeff; Webb, Sara Jade; Steele, Joel

2017-01-01

Sibling programming is an important part of a prevention framework, particularly for youth in foster care. After children are removed from their families and placed into foster care in the aftermath of maltreatment, the sibling relationship is often the most viable ongoing relationship available to the child, and may be critical to a youth's sense of connection, emotional support, and continuity. The promise of dyadic sibling programming in particular rests on the ability of interventions to enhance the quality of sibling relationships; yet little research exists that suggests that sibling interventions can improve relationship quality among foster youth. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the effects of a specific dyadic sibling-focused intervention for older and younger siblings on sibling relationship quality. One hundred sixty four dyads (328 youth) participated in the study, with each dyad consisting of an older sibling between 11 and 15 years of age at baseline and a younger sibling separated in age by less than 4 years. Hierarchical linear models were applied to self-reported, observer-reported and observational data over the 18-month study period. Findings suggest that the sibling intervention holds promise for improving sibling relationship quality among youth in foster care. Implications and future directions for research are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultural Teaching: The Development of Teaching Skills in Maya Sibling Interactions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maynard, Ashley E.

2002-01-01

Examined the development of teaching skills in older siblings responsible for teaching their younger siblings to become competent members of their culture among children from a Zinacantec Maya village in Chiapas, Mexico. Found that by age 4, children took responsibility for initiating teaching situations with their younger siblings, and by 8,…

Associations between Social Understanding, Sibling Relationship Quality, and Siblings' Conflict Strategies and Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Recchia, Holly E.; Howe, Nina

2009-01-01

Sibling relationship quality and social understanding (second-order false belief, conflict interpretation, and narrative conflict perspective references) were examined as unique and interactive correlates of sibling conflict behavior in 62 dyads (older M age = 8.39 years and younger M age = 6.06 years). High-quality relationships were associated…

Maternal Depression and Maternal Treatment of Siblings as Predictors of Child Psychopathology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tarullo, Louisa B.; And Others

1995-01-01

Maternal treatment of sibling pairs with affectively ill and well mothers was examined in relation to child psychiatric status across childhood and early adolescence. Found that older siblings' symptoms were predicted by maternal bipolar or unipolar illness, whereas younger siblings' symptoms were predicted by lower maternal engagement and higher…

Adolescent Sibling Relationship Quality and Adjustment: Sibling Trustworthiness and Modeling, as Factors Directly and Indirectly Influencing These Associations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gamble, Wendy C.; Yu, Jeong Jin; Kuehn, Emily D.

2011-01-01

The main goal of this study was to examine the direct and moderating effects of trustworthiness and modeling on adolescent siblings' adjustment. Data were collected from 438 families including a mother, a younger sibling in fifth, sixth, or seventh grade (M = 11.6 years), and an older sibling (M = 14.3 years). Respondents completed Web-based…

Psychosocial Adjustment and Sibling Relationships in Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Risk and Protective Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walton, Katherine M.; Ingersoll, Brooke R.

2015-01-01

This study compared sibling adjustment and relationships in siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD-Sibs; n = 69) and siblings of children with typical development (TD-Sibs; n = 93). ASD-Sibs and TD-Sibs demonstrated similar emotional/behavioral adjustment. Older male ASD-Sibs were at increased risk for difficulties. Sibling…

"Who Said You Could Wear My Sweater?" Adolescent Siblings' Conflicts and Associations with Relationship Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campione-Barr, Nicole; Smetana, Judith G.

2010-01-01

A new measure of sibling conflict was used to identify 2 types of conflicts in 115 adolescent sibling pairs (older siblings, M = 15.59, SD = 2.01 years; younger siblings, M = 13.02, SD = 2.06 years). Conflicts overall were more frequent than intense and more likely to involve the invasion of the personal domain than conflicts involving equality…

Young Children's Engagement and Learning Opportunities in a Cooking Activity with Parents and Older Siblings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finn, Lauren; Vandermaas-Peeler, Maureen

2013-01-01

Parents teach their children through informal social interactions in a process known as guided participation (Rogoff, 1990). Although most research focuses on parent-child dyads, young children also learn from older siblings and parents through shared participation in daily activities. Utilizing a structured observational design, the authors…

Older Adults' Perceptions of Closeness in Sibling Relationships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Helgola G.; And Others

Decreasing numbers of peers in the lives of older adults give a special meaning to closeness in their sibling relationships. Interviews elicited perceptions of closeness from 30 adults. Content analyses revealed several patterns, i.e., participants perceived themselves as always having been close, as having grown more or less close over time, or…

Having Older Siblings Is Associated with Lower Rates of Depression, ADD/ADHD, Anxiety and Behavior Problems Among Children with ASD.

PubMed

Montes, Guillermo

2018-05-01

Objective Within the social determinants of mental health framework, this article investigated whether children with ASD who have older siblings are less likely to experience depression, anxiety, behavior problems or have ADD/ADHD after controlling for standard social determinants of mental health such as household income, parental education and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Methods Using the National Survey of Children's Health 2011-2012, children with ASD spectrum disorders (n = 1624) were categorized into three groups: only child, oldest child and has older siblings. Design corrected cross-tabulations, univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were estimated. Results The three groups of children with ASD were comparable in demographic characteristics (except age), ACEs, and parent-reported ASD severity. Children with ASD who had older siblings were significantly less likely to experience depression, anxiety or behavior problems. They were also less likely to have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. Adjusted odds ratios ranged from 0.12 to 0.53 indicating robust associations. Conclusions for Practice Children with ASD who have older siblings were less likely to have comorbid mental health disorders than other children with ASD. Conversely, oldest and only children with ASD were at increased risk for these disorders. Further research is needed to understand how this protection is conferred on children with ASD, and whether it can be adapted into interventions for only and oldest children with ASD.

The transition to siblinghood: a developmental ecological systems perspective and directions for future research.

PubMed

Volling, Brenda L

2005-12-01

The birth of a baby sibling is a normative life event for many children. Few studies address this important transition period and changes in the older sibling's adjustment and family relationships following the sibling's birth. The present article presents a developmental ecological systems model for studying changes in family life and the older child's adjustment following the birth of a baby sibling. Simultaneous changes occurring in the family and how these changes are interrelated over time to predict patterns of adaptation after the transition to siblinghood are underscored. Recommendations for designing longitudinal studies that take advantage of recent developments in multilevel modeling are also discussed. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

Siblings versus parents and friends: longitudinal linkages to adolescent externalizing problems.

PubMed

Defoe, Ivy N; Keijsers, Loes; Hawk, Skyler T; Branje, Susan; Dubas, Judith Semon; Buist, Kirsten; Frijns, Tom; van Aken, Marcel A G; Koot, Hans M; van Lier, Pol A C; Meeus, Wim

2013-08-01

It is well documented that friends' externalizing problems and negative parent-child interactions predict externalizing problems in adolescence, but relatively little is known about the role of siblings. This four-wave, multi-informant study investigated linkages of siblings' externalizing problems and sibling-adolescent negative interactions on adolescents' externalizing problems, while examining and controlling for similar linkages with friends and parents. Questionnaire data on externalizing problems and negative interactions were annually collected from 497 Dutch adolescents (M = 13.03 years, SD = 0.52, at baseline), as well as their siblings, mothers, fathers, and friends. Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed modest unique longitudinal paths from sibling externalizing problems to adolescent externalizing problems, for male and female adolescents, and for same-sex and mixed-sex sibling dyads, but only from older to younger siblings. Moreover, these paths were above and beyond significant paths from mother-adolescent negative interaction and friend externalizing problems to adolescent externalizing problems, 1 year later. No cross-lagged paths existed between sibling-adolescent negative interaction and adolescent externalizing problems. Taken together, it appears that especially older sibling externalizing problems may be a unique social risk factor for adolescent externalizing problems, equal in strength to significant parents' and friends' risk factors. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2013 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Links between Older and Younger Adolescent Siblings' Adjustment: The Moderating Role of Shared Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Corinna Jenkins; McHale, Susan M.; Crouter, Ann C.

2008-01-01

Siblings' constructive and unstructured shared activities were examined as moderators of the links between first- and second-born siblings' adjustment across a two-year period in adolescence. Siblings (N = 189 dyads) reported on their depression, peer competency, self worth during home interviews, and their time together in constructive (e.g.,…

Number of siblings, birth order, and childhood overweight: a population-based cross-sectional study in Japan.

PubMed

Ochiai, Hirotaka; Shirasawa, Takako; Ohtsu, Tadahiro; Nishimura, Rimei; Morimoto, Aya; Obuchi, Ritsuko; Hoshino, Hiromi; Tajima, Naoko; Kokaze, Akatsuki

2012-09-11

Although several studies have investigated the relationship between the number of siblings or birth order and childhood overweight, the results are inconsistent. In addition, little is known about the impact of having older or younger siblings on overweight among elementary schoolchildren. The present population-based study investigated the relationship of the number of siblings and birth order with childhood overweight and evaluated the impact of having younger or older siblings on childhood overweight among elementary schoolchildren in Japan. Subjects comprised fourth-grade schoolchildren (age, 9-10 years) in Ina Town during 1999-2009. Information about subjects' sex, age, birth weight, birth order, number of siblings, lifestyle, and parents' age, height, and weight was collected by a self-administered questionnaire, while measurements of subjects' height and weight were done at school. Childhood overweight was defined according to age- and sex-specific cut-off points proposed by the International Obesity Task Force. A logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of "number of siblings" or "birth order" for overweight. Data from 4026 children were analyzed. Only children (OR: 2.13, 95% CI: 1.45-3.14) and youngest children (1.56, 1.13-2.16) significantly increased ORs for overweight compared with middle children. A larger number of siblings decreased the OR for overweight (P for trend < 0.001). Although there was no statistically significant relationship between a larger number of older siblings and overweight, a larger number of younger siblings resulted in a lower OR for overweight (P for trend < 0.001). Being an only or youngest child was associated with childhood overweight, and having a larger number of younger siblings was negatively associated with overweight. The present study suggests that public health interventions to prevent childhood overweight need to focus on children from these family backgrounds.

"The Driver Doesn't Sit, He Stands up like the Flintstones!": Sibling Teaching during Teacher-Directed and Self-Guided Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howe, Nina; Recchia, Holly; Porta, Sandra Della; Funamoto, Allyson

2012-01-01

Associations among sibling teaching strategies, learner behavior, age, age gap, gender, and social-cognitive skills (second-order false-belief and interpretive understanding of knowledge) were investigated in 63 sibling dyads in early and middle childhood. Two teaching tasks were introduced to the older sibling teacher: a teacher-directed task…

Sibling Influences on Risky Behaviors from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Vertical Socialization or Bidirectional Effects?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whiteman, Shawn D.; Jensen, Alexander C.; McHale, Susan M.

2017-01-01

This study built on research on sibling influences to assess potential bidirectional effects of older and younger siblings' risky behaviors on one another's risky behaviors; our longitudinal design allowed us to test these effects when siblings were at about the same chronological age, at different points in time. We also tested whether the…

The More the Merrier? Sibling Composition and Early Manifestations of Theory of Mind in Toddlers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leblanc, Élizabel; Bernier, Annie; Howe, Nina

2017-01-01

Sibling relationships are argued to offer a rich social context for the development of young children's theory of mind (ToM). There is evidence that the presence of siblings, particularly older siblings, may promote preschoolers' ToM, but it has not been investigated among toddlers. This study evaluated differences in early manifestations of ToM…

Outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for adolescent and young adults compared with children and older adults with acute myeloid leukemia.

PubMed

Majhail, Navneet S; Brazauskas, Ruta; Hassebroek, Anna; Bredeson, Christopher N; Hahn, Theresa; Hale, Gregory A; Horowitz, Mary M; Lazarus, Hillard M; Maziarz, Richard T; Wood, William A; Parsons, Susan K; Joffe, Steven; Rizzo, J Douglas; Lee, Stephanie J; Hayes-Lattin, Brandon M

2012-06-01

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer have not experienced improvements in survival to the same extent as children and older adults. We compared outcomes among children (<15 years), AYAs (15-40 years) and older adults (>40 years) receiving allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Our cohort consisted of 900 children, 2,708 AYA, and 2,728 older adult recipients of HLA-identical sibling or unrelated donor (URD) transplantation using myeloablative or reduced-intensity/nonmyeloablative conditioning. Outcomes were assessed over three time periods (1980-1988, 1989-1997, 1998-2005) for siblings and two time periods (1989-1997, 1998-2005) for URD HCT. Analyses were stratified by donor type. Results showed overall survival for AYAs using either siblings or URD improved over time. Although children had better and older adults had worse survival compared with AYAs, improvements in survival for AYAs did not lag behind those for children and older adults. After sibling donor HCT, 5-year adjusted survival for the three time periods was 40%, 48%, and 53% for children, 35%, 41%, and 42% for AYAs, and 22%, 30%, and 34% for older adults. Among URD HCT recipients, 5-year adjusted survival for the two time periods was 38% and 37% for children, 24% and 28% for AYAs, and 19% and 23% for older adults. Improvements in survival occurred because of a reduction in risk of treatment-related mortality. The risk of relapse did not change over time. Improvements in survival among AYAs undergoing allogeneic HCT for AML have paralleled those among children and older adults. Copyright © 2012 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Leukoencephalopathy with thalamus and brainstem involvement and high lactate caused by novel mutations in the EARS2 gene in two siblings.

PubMed

Şahin, Sevim; Cansu, Ali; Kalay, Ersan; Dinçer, Tuba; Kul, Sibel; Çakır, İsmet Miraç; Kamaşak, Tülay; Budak, Gülden Yorgancıoğlu

2016-06-15

Leukoencephalopathy with thalamus and brainstem involvement, and high lactate (LTBL) is a recently identified disease related to mutations in the EARS2 gene encoding glutamyl-tRNA synthetase. We report clinical and radiological findings for two siblings with new pathogenic mutations in the EARS2 gene. Both patients showed symptoms of mild-type disease, but there were clinical differences between the two siblings. While the older brother had hypotonia and delayed developmental milestones, the younger brother had seizures and spasticity in the lower extremities. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were quite similar for the two siblings. MRI findings were specific to LTBL. MRI lesions of the older sibling had regressed over time. Clinical and radiological improvement, as in the previously reported patients with LTBL, may be an important clue for diagnosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transmission of Work Ethic in African-American Families and Its Links with Adolescent Adjustment.

PubMed

Lee, Bora; Padilla, Jenny; McHale, Susan M

2016-11-01

A strong work ethic generally has positive implications for achievements in work and school settings, but we know little about how it develops. This study aimed to describe the intra-familial transmission of work ethic and the associations between work ethic and adjustment in African American youth. Mothers, fathers, and two adolescent siblings (M age  = 14.1 years) in 158 families were interviewed on two occasions. Path models revealed that fathers' work ethic was positively linked with older siblings' work ethic, which in turn was linked with more positive youth adjustment in the domains of school functioning and externalizing and internalizing problems. Moreover, the results indicated that the work ethics of older siblings, but not parents, was linked to those of younger siblings. The discussion focuses on the importance of African American fathers and siblings in youth adjustment and how work ethic may promote positive development.

Transmission of Work Ethic in African-American Families and its Links with Adolescent Adjustment

PubMed Central

Padilla, Jenny; McHale, Susan M.

2015-01-01

A strong work ethic generally has positive implications for achievements in work and school settings, but we know little about how it develops. This study aimed to describe the intra-familial transmission of work ethic and the associations between work ethic and adjustment in African American youth. Mothers, fathers, and two adolescent siblings (Mage = 14.1 years) in 158 families were interviewed on two occasions. Path models revealed that fathers' work ethic was positively linked with older siblings' work ethic, which in turn was linked with more positive youth adjustment in the domains of school functioning and externalizing and internalizing problems. Moreover, the results indicated that the work ethics of older siblings, but not parents, was linked to those of younger siblings. The discussion focuses on the importance of African American fathers and siblings in youth adjustment and how work ethic may promote positive development. PMID:26608056

Pretend Play and Social Engagement in Toddlers at High and Low Genetic Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Susan B.; Leezenbaum, Nina B.; Mahoney, Amanda S.; Moore, Elizabeth L.; Brownell, Celia A.

2016-01-01

Toddlers with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and low risk (LR) toddlers with typically-developing older siblings were observed during free play with a parent and elicited pretend with an examiner at 22-months. Functional and pretend play, children's social engagement, and parent sensitivity were assessed during free play.…

Individual Differences in Dynamic Measures of Verbal Learning Abilities in Young Twin Pairs and Their Older Siblings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Soelen, Inge L. C.; van den Berg, Stephanie M.; Dekker, Peter H.; van Leeuwen, Marieke; Peper, Jiska S.; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E.; Boomsma, Dorret I.

2009-01-01

We explored the genetic background of individual differences in dynamic measures of verbal learning ability in children, using a Dutch version of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). Nine-year-old twin pairs (N = 112 pairs) were recruited from the Netherlands Twin Register. When possible, an older sibling between 10 and 14 years old…

Older Sibling Support of Younger Siblings' Socio-Emotional Development: A Multiple-Case Study of Second-Generation Mexican and Honduran Children's Initiative and Co-Construction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palacios, Natalia; Kibler, Amanda K.; Yoder, Michelle; Baird, Ashley Simpson; Bergey, Rebecca

2016-01-01

Siblings play a critical role in the socialization experiences of their younger siblings. Societal values, standards, and customs are transmitted and created through the process of modeling and the construction of shared meaning. It follows, therefore, that the process of socialization may be culturally dependent. Using multiple case studies of…

Sibling Competition & Growth Tradeoffs. Biological vs. Statistical Significance

PubMed Central

Kramer, Karen L.; Veile, Amanda; Otárola-Castillo, Erik

2016-01-01

Early childhood growth has many downstream effects on future health and reproduction and is an important measure of offspring quality. While a tradeoff between family size and child growth outcomes is theoretically predicted in high-fertility societies, empirical evidence is mixed. This is often attributed to phenotypic variation in parental condition. However, inconsistent study results may also arise because family size confounds the potentially differential effects that older and younger siblings can have on young children’s growth. Additionally, inconsistent results might reflect that the biological significance associated with different growth trajectories is poorly understood. This paper addresses these concerns by tracking children’s monthly gains in height and weight from weaning to age five in a high fertility Maya community. We predict that: 1) as an aggregate measure family size will not have a major impact on child growth during the post weaning period; 2) competition from young siblings will negatively impact child growth during the post weaning period; 3) however because of their economic value, older siblings will have a negligible effect on young children’s growth. Accounting for parental condition, we use linear mixed models to evaluate the effects that family size, younger and older siblings have on children’s growth. Congruent with our expectations, it is younger siblings who have the most detrimental effect on children’s growth. While we find statistical evidence of a quantity/quality tradeoff effect, the biological significance of these results is negligible in early childhood. Our findings help to resolve why quantity/quality studies have had inconsistent results by showing that sibling competition varies with sibling age composition, not just family size, and that biological significance is distinct from statistical significance. PMID:26938742

Sibling Competition & Growth Tradeoffs. Biological vs. Statistical Significance.

PubMed

Kramer, Karen L; Veile, Amanda; Otárola-Castillo, Erik

2016-01-01

Early childhood growth has many downstream effects on future health and reproduction and is an important measure of offspring quality. While a tradeoff between family size and child growth outcomes is theoretically predicted in high-fertility societies, empirical evidence is mixed. This is often attributed to phenotypic variation in parental condition. However, inconsistent study results may also arise because family size confounds the potentially differential effects that older and younger siblings can have on young children's growth. Additionally, inconsistent results might reflect that the biological significance associated with different growth trajectories is poorly understood. This paper addresses these concerns by tracking children's monthly gains in height and weight from weaning to age five in a high fertility Maya community. We predict that: 1) as an aggregate measure family size will not have a major impact on child growth during the post weaning period; 2) competition from young siblings will negatively impact child growth during the post weaning period; 3) however because of their economic value, older siblings will have a negligible effect on young children's growth. Accounting for parental condition, we use linear mixed models to evaluate the effects that family size, younger and older siblings have on children's growth. Congruent with our expectations, it is younger siblings who have the most detrimental effect on children's growth. While we find statistical evidence of a quantity/quality tradeoff effect, the biological significance of these results is negligible in early childhood. Our findings help to resolve why quantity/quality studies have had inconsistent results by showing that sibling competition varies with sibling age composition, not just family size, and that biological significance is distinct from statistical significance.

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Dynamics of Mental State Talk in Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenkins, Jennifer M.; Turrell, Sheri L.; Kogushi, Yuiko; Lollis, Susan; Ross, Hildy S.

2003-01-01

Observed home interaction between parents and 2- and 4-year-olds at Time 1 and 2 years later. Found that parent mental state talk to children varied by child's age, context of talk, and parent gender. Four-year-olds with older siblings produced and heard more cognitive talk and less desire talk than children without older siblings. Time 1 family…

Concern for Another's Distress in Toddlers at High and Low Genetic Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Susan B.; Leezenbaum, Nina B.; Schmidt, Emily N.; Day, Taylor N.; Brownell, Celia A.

2015-01-01

We examined concern for others in 22-month-old toddlers with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and low risk typically-developing toddlers with older siblings. Responses to a crying infant and an adult social partner who pretended to hurt her finger were coded. Children with a later diagnosis of ASD showed limited empathic…

Teen responses when a younger school-age sibling has been bullied

PubMed Central

Honig, Alice Sterling; Zdunowski-Sjoblom, Nicole

2015-01-01

The prevalence of bullying among children, and the sometimes tragic consequences as a result, has become a major concern in schools. The larger research for this study reported on in-depth interviews with 28 elementary and middle school-age boys and girls (7–12 years) who had experienced various forms of bullying and relational aggression by their peers, mostly on school grounds, and the responses of their parents and teachers. Responses of the children's teen siblings to the younger child's revelations of being bullied are the focus of this report. In-depth interviews with each teen sibling (n = 28) and with each bullied child revealed how the children viewed the teen siblings' supportive strategies. Almost all the children (89%) reported that their older siblings talked with them and offered advice. The teen siblings shared with the younger ones that they too (71%) had been bullied, or they knew someone who had been bullied (18%). Teens gave the advice to ‘bully back’ to 11% and advice to ‘tell someone’ to 32% of the younger children. The children felt quite positive about their older siblings' advice (89%), which did differ depending on the bullied child's gender. Teen siblings gave advice to ‘avoid bullies’ to 77% of female and to 27% of male younger children. PMID:25931644

Risk Factors for Behavioral and Emotional Difficulties in Siblings of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Walton, Katherine M

2016-11-01

This study examined risk factors for behavioral and emotional problems in 1973 siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Results revealed six correlates of sibling internalizing and externalizing problems: male gender, smaller family size, older age of the child with ASD, lower family income, child with ASD behavior problems, and sibling Broader Autism Phenotype. Siblings with few risk factors were at low risk for behavioral and emotional problems. However, siblings with many risk factors were at increased risk for both internalizing and externalizing problems. These results highlight the need to assess risk for individual siblings to best identify a sub-population of siblings who may be in need of additional support.

Patterns of family caregiving and support provided to older psychiatric patients in long-term care.

PubMed

Beeler, J; Rosenthal, A; Cohler, B

1999-09-01

Data on patterns of relationships and caregiving between older, institutionalized chronically mentally ill patients and their families were gathered in brief face-to-face interviews with 109 patients randomly selected from residents age 45 or older in a large intermediate care facility in Chicago. Three-fourths of the sample maintained some form of family contact. One-third had been married or had children. Siblings were the most frequently identified family contact and support. The results suggests that older, institutionalized psychiatric patients continue to have family contact and that siblings and offspring become increasingly important as patients age.

Effects of residential instability on Head Start children and their relationships with older siblings: influences of child emotionality and conflict between family caregivers.

PubMed

Stoneman, Z; Brody, G H; Churchill, S L; Winn, L L

1999-01-01

This study examined the influence that residential dislocations have on child behavior problems, depression, peer competence, cognitive competence, and the quality of sibling relations in a sample of 70 Head Start children, aged 32 to 67 months, and their older brothers and sisters, aged 48 to 155 months. This was the first study to investigate the sibling relationship in the context of high residential mobility. Information on child characteristics was obtained from mothers and teachers. Sibling data (warmth/harmony and conflict) were obtained from coding videotaped interactions. Child emotionality was found to be an important moderator of the effects of residential mobility on young, poor children and their siblings; caregiver conflict was a less powerful moderator of these effects. Residential instability seemed to compromise the warmth/harmony of the sibling relationship. It was concluded that the effects of residential instability are complex and cannot be understood without considering child characteristics, such as temperament, and the family context in which the child lives.

"This Is a Bad Dog, You Know...": Constructing Shared Meanings During Sibling Pretend Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howe, Nina; Petrakos, Hariclia; Rinaldi, Christina M.; LeFebvre, Rachel

2005-01-01

The construction of shared meanings in play, pretense enactment, internal state language, and sibling relationship quality were investigated in 40 kindergarteners with an older (M age = 7.10 years) or younger (M age = 3.6 years) sibling. Dyadic strategies to construct shared meanings (e.g., extensions, building on) were positively associated with…

Arguments and Relationships within the Family: Differences in Young Children's Disputes with Mother and Sibling.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slomkowski, Cheryl L.; Dunn, Judy

1992-01-01

A study of 33-month-old children, their mothers, and their older siblings concentrated on arguments used when 2 family members were in conflict with a third. There were some direct relationships between partners' arguments. Arguments children used with their mothers differed from those they used with their siblings. (BG)

The Drift toward Problem Behavior during the Transition to Adolescence: The Contributions of Youth Disclosure, Parenting, and Older Siblings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Low, Sabina; Snyder, James; Shortt, Joann Wu

2012-01-01

Prospective associations of mothers' parenting processes, youth disclosure, and youth problem behavior were examined in a longitudinal design following 244 adolescent sibling dyads over a 3-year period. For both siblings, authoritative parenting was positively associated with youth disclosure and was negatively related to problem behavior, and…

Siblings' Understanding of Teaching in Early and Middle Childhood: "Watch Me and You'll Know How to Do It'"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abuhatoum, Shireen; Howe, Nina; Della Porta, Sandra; Recchia, Holly; Ross, Hildy

2016-01-01

This study examined siblings' knowledge about the teaching concept during naturalistic teaching contexts, wherein children's communicative interactions were used as a gateway to their social understanding (Turnbull, Carpendale, & Racine, 2009). Participants included 39 sibling dyads (older age group, M[subscript age] = 6;4; younger age group,…

Trajectories of Antisocial Behaviour towards Siblings Predict Antisocial Behaviour towards Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ensor, Rosie; Marks, Alex; Jacobs, Lorna; Hughes, Claire

2010-01-01

Background: Young siblings' antisocial behaviour is common yet its impact has received relatively little research attention. Methods: We examined trajectories of antisocial behaviour for a socially diverse sample (n = 99, 58 boys and 41 girls) who were filmed with their older siblings (52 boys and 47 girls) at ages 3 and 6 and with unfamiliar…

Risk Factors for Behavioral and Emotional Difficulties in Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walton, Katherine M.

2016-01-01

This study examined risk factors for behavioral and emotional problems in 1973 siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Results revealed six correlates of sibling internalizing and externalizing problems: male gender, smaller family size, older age of the child with ASD, lower family income, child with ASD behavior problems, and…

Sibling death and death fear in relation to depressive symptomatology in older adults.

PubMed

Cicirelli, Victor G

2009-01-01

Previously overlooked factors in elders' depressive symptomatology were examined, including death fear, sibling death, and sibling closeness. Participants were 150 elders (61 men, 89 women) aged 65-97 years with at least one sibling. Measures were proportion of deceased siblings, sibling closeness, the Death Fear Subscale of the Death Attitude Profile-Revised, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (20-item adult form). Age and education were exogenous variables in a structural equation model. Death fear, sibling closeness, and proportion of dead siblings were directly related to depression, with path coefficients of .42, -.24, and .13, respectively. Proportion of dead siblings had indirect effects on depression, as did age and education. Depressive symptomatology in old age is influenced by death fear related to sibling death as well as by poor relationships with them; it must be understood within a situational context including death fear and sibling relationships.

Kids first?

PubMed

Sharfstein, J

2000-01-01

Nearly 20 years afer the licensure of a vaccine against the hepatitis B virus, an estimated 300,000 U.S. residents still become infected with the potentially fatal liver virus every year. One major reason for the persistence of hepatitis B is that few adolescents and adults whose sexual and drug-using behavior places them in danger of infection are able to obtain the vaccine. Public health authorities and legislators have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to vaccinate low-risk but politically popular babies, while largely ignoring high-risk older siblings, parents, aunts, and uncles. Now this strategy, chosen in part for political reasons, is unwittingly fueling anti-vaccine efforts. The United States' poor use of the hepatitis B vaccine will surely cast a shadow over efforts to prevent HIV, a disease with remarkably similar transmission patterns.

Siblings versus parents and friends: longitudinal linkages to adolescent externalizing problems

PubMed Central

Defoe, Ivy N; Keijsers, Loes; Hawk, Skyler T; Branje, Susan; Dubas, Judith Semon; Buist, Kirsten; Frijns, Tom; van Aken, Marcel AG; Koot, Hans M; van Lier, Pol AC; Meeus, Wim

2013-01-01

Background: It is well documented that friends’ externalizing problems and negative parent–child interactions predict externalizing problems in adolescence, but relatively little is known about the role of siblings. This four-wave, multi-informant study investigated linkages of siblings’ externalizing problems and sibling–adolescent negative interactions on adolescents’ externalizing problems, while examining and controlling for similar linkages with friends and parents. Methods: Questionnaire data on externalizing problems and negative interactions were annually collected from 497 Dutch adolescents (M = 13.03 years, SD = 0.52, at baseline), as well as their siblings, mothers, fathers, and friends. Results: Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed modest unique longitudinal paths from sibling externalizing problems to adolescent externalizing problems, for male and female adolescents, and for same-sex and mixed-sex sibling dyads, but only from older to younger siblings. Moreover, these paths were above and beyond significant paths from mother–adolescent negative interaction and friend externalizing problems to adolescent externalizing problems, 1 year later. No cross-lagged paths existed between sibling–adolescent negative interaction and adolescent externalizing problems. Conclusions: Taken together, it appears that especially older sibling externalizing problems may be a unique social risk factor for adolescent externalizing problems, equal in strength to significant parents’ and friends’ risk factors. PMID:23398022

Family influences on the cognitive development of profoundly deaf children: exploring the effects of socioeconomic status and siblings.

PubMed

Macaulay, Catrin E; Ford, Ruth M

2013-10-01

We evaluated the cognitive development of 48 profoundly deaf children from hearing families (born 1994-2002, mean age M = 8.0 years at time of test, none of whom had received early auditory-verbal therapy) as a function of family socioeconomic status and number of siblings. Overall, the deaf children matched a younger group of 47 hearing controls (M = 4.6 years) on verbal ability, theory of mind, and cognitive inhibition. Partial correlations (controlling for age) revealed positive relations in the hearing group between maternal education and inhibition, between number of younger siblings and references to emotions, and between number of close-in-age siblings and references to desires and false beliefs. In the deaf group, there were positive relations between household income and memory span, between maternal education and references to false beliefs, and between number of younger siblings and nonverbal ability. In contrast, deaf children with a greater number of older siblings aged ≤12 years showed inferior memory span, inhibition, belief understanding, picture-sequencing accuracy, and mental-state language, suggesting that they failed to compete successfully with older siblings for their parents' attention and material resources. We consider the implications of the findings for understanding birth-order effects on deaf and language-impaired children.

Child behavior and sibling relationship quality: A cross-lagged analysis.

PubMed

Pike, Alison; Oliver, Bonamy R

2017-03-01

Bidirectional associations between sibling relationships and children's problem behaviors are robust, and links with prosocial behavior have also been reported. Using cross-lagged models, we were able to conservatively test temporal directions of links between positive and negative aspects of sibling relationships and children's prosocial behavior and conduct problems across a 3-year time span in middle childhood. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/researchers/data-access/data-dictionary/) is an ongoing population-based study designed to investigate the effects of a wide range of factors on children's health and development. For the purposes of the current analyses, we included 2,043 ALSPAC families who had just 1 older sibling as well as the target child, with an age gap of no more than 5 years. Mothers reported about the quality of the sibling relationship and both children's prosocial behavior and conduct problems when the target child was 4 years of age and again when the target child was 7 years old. Confirming our hypothesis, individual child behavior was predictive of sibling relationship quality, and sibling relationship quality was predictive of later child behavior, providing robust evidence of bidirectionality for both prosocial behavior and conduct problems. It would be consistent to expect that an improvement in either sibling relationship quality or individual children's behavior could have a positive spill over effect. We also found evidence of older sibling dominance in the domain of prosocial behavior and the positive aspects of sibling interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Child Behavior and Sibling Relationship Quality: A Cross-Lagged Analysis

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Bidirectional associations between sibling relationships and children’s problem behaviors are robust, and links with prosocial behavior have also been reported. Using cross-lagged models, we were able to conservatively test temporal directions of links between positive and negative aspects of sibling relationships and children’s prosocial behavior and conduct problems across a 3-year time span in middle childhood. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/researchers/data-access/data-dictionary/) is an ongoing population-based study designed to investigate the effects of a wide range of factors on children’s health and development. For the purposes of the current analyses, we included 2,043 ALSPAC families who had just 1 older sibling as well as the target child, with an age gap of no more than 5 years. Mothers reported about the quality of the sibling relationship and both children’s prosocial behavior and conduct problems when the target child was 4 years of age and again when the target child was 7 years old. Confirming our hypothesis, individual child behavior was predictive of sibling relationship quality, and sibling relationship quality was predictive of later child behavior, providing robust evidence of bidirectionality for both prosocial behavior and conduct problems. It would be consistent to expect that an improvement in either sibling relationship quality or individual children’s behavior could have a positive spill over effect. We also found evidence of older sibling dominance in the domain of prosocial behavior and the positive aspects of sibling interaction. PMID:27797540

Sibling configuration predicts individual and descendant socioeconomic success in a modern post-industrial society.

PubMed

Lawson, David W; Makoli, Arijeta; Goodman, Anna

2013-01-01

Growing up with many siblings, at least in the context of modern post-industrial low fertility, low mortality societies, is predictive of relatively poor performance on school tests in childhood, lower levels of educational attainment, and lower income throughout adulthood. Recent studies further indicate these relationships hold across generations, so that the descendants of those who grow up with many siblings are also at an apparent socioeconomic disadvantage. In this paper we add to this literature by considering whether such relationships interact with the sex and relative age of siblings. To do this we utilise a unique Swedish multigenerational birth cohort study that provides sibling configuration data on over 10,000 individuals born in 1915-1929, plus all their direct genetic descendants to the present day. Adjusting for parental and birth characteristics, we find that the 'socioeconomic cost' of growing up in a large family is independent of both the sex of siblings and the sex of the individual. However, growing up with several older as opposed to several younger siblings is predictive of relatively poor performance on school tests and a lower likelihood of progression to tertiary education. This later-born disadvantage also holds across generations, with the children of those with many older siblings achieving lower levels of educational attainment. Despite these differences, we find that while individual and descendant income is negatively related to the number of siblings, it is not influenced by the relative age of siblings. Thus, our findings imply that the educational disadvantage of later-born children, demonstrated here and in numerous other studies, does not necessarily translate into reduced earnings in adulthood. We discuss potential explanations for this pattern of results, and consider some important directions for future research into sibling configuration and wellbeing in modern societies.

Brief Report: Early Social Communication Behaviors in the Younger Siblings of Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldberg, Wendy A.; Jarvis, Kelly L.; Osann, Kathryn; Laulhere, Tracy M.; Straub, Carol; Thomas, Erin; Filipek, Pauline; Spence, M. Anne

2005-01-01

The early social and communicative development of very young siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the focus of the current study. Three groups of children were included: (1) young children diagnosed with ASD, (2) younger siblings in families with a somewhat older child with ASD, and (3) young typically developing children.…

"The teaching and the enjoyment and being together...": Sibling Teaching in the Family of a Puerto Rican Kindergartner.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volk, Dinah

1999-01-01

Analyzed strategies used by older siblings to teach school-related knowledge and skills to a kindergartner in a Puerto Rican home, comparing these strategies to those used by the child's bilingual kindergarten teacher. Found that siblings taught within a context of learning and togetherness established by the parents and grounded in Latino…

Alternate Models of Sibling Status Effects on Health in Later Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falbo, Toni; Kim, Sunghun; Chen, Kuan-yi

2009-01-01

Although siblings are thought to be influential in child development, little is known about the influence of sibling status on the health of older adults. Using structural equation modeling, the authors created and tested a series of models with data from a sample (N = 3,968) of 1957 high school graduates from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. The…

Parent-Adolescent Conflict in African American Families.

PubMed

Skinner, Olivenne D; McHale, Susan M

2016-10-01

Parent-adolescent conflict is frequent in families and has implications for youth adjustment and family relationships. Drawing on a family systems perspective, we examined mothers', fathers', and two adolescent-aged siblings' (50.5 % females) reports of parent-adolescent conflict in 187 African American families. Using latent profile analysis in the context of an ethnic homogeneous design, we identified three family types based on levels of and differences between parent and youth conflict reports: low conflict, father high conflict, and younger sibling high conflict. Compared to low conflict families, youth in younger sibling high conflict families reported more depressive symptoms and risky behaviors. The results for parents' acceptance revealed that, in comparison to low conflict families, older siblings in father high conflict families reported lower acceptance from mothers, and mothers in these families reported lower acceptance of their children; further, older siblings in younger sibling high conflict families reported less acceptance from fathers, and fathers in these families reported less acceptance of their children. Results underscore the significance of levels of and both differences between and direction of differences in parents' and youth's reports of their "shared" experiences, as well as the importance of examining the larger family contexts of dyadic parent-relationships.

The Educational and Career Adjustment of Mexican-Origin Youth in the Context of the 2007/2008 Economic Recession

PubMed Central

Wheeler, Lorey A.; Rodríguez De Jesús, Sue A.; Updegraff, Kimberly A.; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana Y.

2017-01-01

Youth's transition out of high school is a complex process that is informed by youth's awareness of available opportunities and resources, social norms, and social belonging and responsibility. Using a quasi-experimental design, this study examined the educational and career adjustment (i.e., college attendance status, post-secondary education type, work status, and work quality) of Mexican-origin siblings who made the transition out of high school before (i.e., 2005 or earlier) or during the economic recession (i.e., 2007 or after). Participants were 246 Mexican-origin mothers, fathers, older siblings (50% female; 38% U.S. born), and younger siblings (51% female; 47% U.S. born). Our results showed that, even though siblings grew up in similar family environments, 2007 graduates (younger siblings) were less likely to attend college, be enrolled in a university compared to a community college, and reported working in lower quality jobs as compared to 2005 graduates (older siblings). Results also showed that high economic hardship reduced the adverse association between perceived discrimination and youth educational and career adjustment, and reduced the protective effect of family obligation values on youth adjustment. PMID:29081532

Psychosocial Adjustment and Sibling Relationships in Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Risk and Protective Factors.

PubMed

Walton, Katherine M; Ingersoll, Brooke R

2015-09-01

This study compared sibling adjustment and relationships in siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD-Sibs; n = 69) and siblings of children with typical development (TD-Sibs; n = 93). ASD-Sibs and TD-Sibs demonstrated similar emotional/behavioral adjustment. Older male ASD-Sibs were at increased risk for difficulties. Sibling relationships of ASD-Sibs involved less aggression, less involvement, and more avoidance than those of TD-Sibs. Partial support for a diathesis-stress conceptualization of sibling difficulties was found for ASD-Sibs. For TD-Sibs, broader autism phenotype (BAP) was related to psychosocial difficulties regardless of family stressors. For ASD-Sibs, BAP was related to difficulties only when family stressors were present. This suggests that having a sibling with ASD may be a protective factor that attenuates the negative impact of sibling BAP.

Longitudinal direct and indirect pathways linking older sibling competence to the development of younger sibling competence.

PubMed

Brody, Gene H; Kim, Sooyeon; Murry, Velma McBride; Brown, Anita C

2003-05-01

A 4-wave longitudinal model tested direct and indirect links between older sibling (OS; M = 11.7 years) and younger sibling (YS; M = 9.2 years) competence in 152 rural African American families. Data were collected at 1-year intervals. At each wave, different teachers assessed OS competence, YS competence, and YS self-regulation. Mothers reported their own psychological functioning; mothers and YSs reported parenting practices toward the YS. OS competence was stable across time and was linked with positive changes in mothers' psychological functioning from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Mothers' Wave 2 psychological functioning was associated with involved-supportive parenting of the YS at Wave 3. OS Wave 2 competence and Wave 3 parenting were indirectly linked with Wave 4 YS competence, through Wave 3 YS self-regulation. Structural equation modeling controlled for Wave 1 YS competence; thus, the model accounted for change in YS competence across 3 years.

Family Resource Allocation after Firstborns Leave Home: Implications for Secondborns' Academic Functioning.

PubMed

Jensen, Alexander C; Whiteman, Shawn D; Bernard, Julia M; McHale, Susan M

2017-09-01

This study assessed secondborn adolescents' perceptions of changes in the allocation of family resources following their firstborn siblings' departure from home after high school, and whether perceived changes were related to changes over 1 year in secondborns' academic functioning. Participants were secondborn siblings (mean age = 16.58, SD = 0.91) from 115 families in which the older sibling had left the family home in the previous year. Allocation of resources was measured via coded qualitative interviews. Most (77%) secondborns reported increases in at least one type of family resource (i.e., parental companionship, attention, material goods), and many reported an increase in multiple types of resources in the year following their older sibling's departure. Consistent with resource dilution theory, perceptions of increases in fathers' companionship, fathers' attention, and mothers' companionship were related to improvements over time in secondborns' academic functioning. © 2015 Family Process Institute.

Siblings' mediated learning strategies in families with and without children with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Tzuriel, David; Hanuka-Levy, Dikla

2014-11-01

Dyads of siblings in which the younger sibling had an intellectual disability (ID, n  =  25) were videotaped interacting. The ID group was compared with typically developing sibling dyads matched on mental age (n  =  25) and chronological age (n  =  25). We observed the mediation strategies, activation, and antimediation behaviors of older siblings and younger siblings' responsiveness to mediation. Mediation strategies were analyzed by the Observation of Mediation Interaction scale. The ID group scored highest on mediation strategies and lowest on activation and antimediation behaviors. Younger siblings' responsiveness to mediation was highest among the ID group. Mediation for Intentionality and Reciprocity and Meaning were positively associated with the verbal responsiveness of the younger siblings. Activation and antimediation behaviors were negatively associated with the verbal responsiveness.

Sibship structure and risk of infectious mononucleosis: a population-based cohort study.

PubMed

Rostgaard, Klaus; Nielsen, Trine Rasmussen; Wohlfahrt, Jan; Ullum, Henrik; Pedersen, Ole; Erikstrup, Christian; Nielsen, Lars Peter; Hjalgrim, Henrik

2014-10-01

Present understanding of increased risk of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related infectious mononucleosis among children of low birth order or small sibships is mainly based on old and indirect evidence. Societal changes and methodological limitations of previous studies call for new data. We used data from the Danish Civil Registration System and the Danish National Hospital Discharge Register to study incidence rates of inpatient hospitalizations for infectious mononucleosis before the age of 20 years in a cohort of 2,543,225 Danes born between 1971 and 2008, taking individual sibship structure into account. A total of 12,872 cases of infectious mononucleosis were observed during 35.3 million person-years of follow-up. Statistical modelling showed that increasing sibship size was associated with a reduced risk of infectious mononucleosis and that younger siblings conferred more protection from infectious mononucleosis than older siblings. In addition to this general association with younger and older siblings, children aged less than 4 years transiently increased their siblings’ infectious mononucleosis risk. Our results were confirmed in an independent sample of blood donors followed up retrospectively for self-reported infectious mononucleosis. Younger siblings, and to a lesser degree older siblings, seem to be important in the transmission of EBV within families. Apparently the dogma of low birth order in a sibship as being at the highest risk of infectious mononucleosis is no longer valid.

Parents' first concerns about toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: effect of sibling status.

PubMed

Herlihy, Lauren; Knoch, Kelley; Vibert, Bethany; Fein, Deborah

2015-01-01

Symptoms of autism spectrum disorders may appear as early as 6 months, but parent concern, which can precipitate evaluation, often lags significantly. The presence of typical or atypical older siblings can change parents' sensitivity to departures from typical development. This study investigated type and age of parent's first concerns in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder, prior to diagnosis. Participants had (1) at least one older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (Sibs-ASD); (2) only typically developing older siblings (Sibs-TD), or (3) were only/oldest (No-Sibs). Specific autism spectrum disorder diagnoses and symptom severity were similar among groups. Developmentally, No-Sibs showed the largest delays, followed by Sibs-TD, followed by Sibs-ASD. Mean age of first concern was 16 months for No-Sibs, 14 months for Sibs-TD, and 10 months for Sibs-ASD. Age of first concern differed significantly by group, even after controlling for mother's age and education. Concern about language was prevalent in all groups. Thus, the presence of an older child with typical or, especially, atypical development was associated with earlier concerns for the affected child, despite milder developmental delays. These findings underscore the importance of encouraging parents to report concerns to pediatricians, routine standardized screening for autism spectrum disorder, and the need for pediatrician vigilance, especially for only or oldest children. © The Author(s) 2013.

Association Between 17q12-21 Variants and Asthma in Japanese Women: rs11650680 Polymorphism as Potential Genetic Marker for Asthma

PubMed Central

Tanaka, Keiko; Arakawa, Masashi

2014-01-01

Epidemiological evidence on the relationship between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs7216389 and rs11650680 on chromosome 17q12-21 and asthma is inconsistent. We examined this issue in young adult Japanese women. Case subjects were 202 women who had been diagnosed with asthma by a doctor, while 1290 women without doctor-diagnosed asthma served as control subjects. Adjustments were made for age and the presence of older siblings. There were no significant associations between SNP rs7216389 and asthma. Compared with the CC genotype of SNP rs11650680, the CT genotype, but not the TT genotype, was significantly inversely associated with asthma: the adjusted odds ratio for the CT genotype was 0.67 (95% confidence interval: 0.46–0.96). This inverse relationship was significant in women with late-onset asthma, but not in those with early-onset asthma. Under the dominant model, a significant inverse association was found between rs11650680 and asthma in women without older siblings, but not in those with older siblings; the interaction, however, was not significant. This is the first study to show that the CT genotype of SNP rs11650680 was significantly inversely associated with asthma, especially adult-onset asthma. We could not find evidence for interactions between rs11650680 and older siblings affecting asthma. PMID:24735179

Peer relationships of bereaved siblings and comparison classmates after a child's death from cancer.

PubMed

Gerhardt, Cynthia A; Fairclough, Diane L; Grossenbacher, Julie C; Barrera, Maru; Gilmer, Mary Jo; Foster, Terrah L; Compas, Bruce E; Davies, Betty; Hogan, Nancy S; Vannatta, Kathryn

2012-03-01

To compare peer relationships among bereaved siblings and matched classmates, and to examine gender, grade level, and time since death as moderators. Families were recruited from cancer registries at four hospitals 3-12 months after a child's death. Measures of social behavior and peer acceptance were completed by children in the classrooms of 105 bereaved siblings (ages 8-17 years). Teachers also reported on children's social behavior. Three classmates were matched for gender, race, and age to each bereaved sibling to form a comparison group (n = 311). Teachers reported bereaved siblings were more prosocial than comparison classmates. Peers perceived bereaved boys as more sensitive-isolated and victimized, while bereaved siblings in elementary grades were perceived by peers as less prosocial, more sensitive-isolated, less accepted, and as having fewer friends. Peers and teachers viewed bereaved siblings in middle/high school grades as higher on leadership-popularity. Bereaved siblings who were male and in elementary grades were more vulnerable to social difficulties, while those in middle/high school may exhibit some strengths. Ongoing research to inform the development of interventions for bereaved siblings is warranted.

Fraternal Birth Order, Family Size, and Male Homosexuality: Meta-Analysis of Studies Spanning 25 Years.

PubMed

Blanchard, Ray

2018-01-01

The fraternal birth order effect is the tendency for older brothers to increase the odds of homosexuality in later-born males. This study compared the strength of the effect in subjects from small versus large families and in homosexual subjects with masculine versus feminine gender identities. Meta-analyses were conducted on 30 homosexual and 30 heterosexual groups from 26 studies, totaling 7140 homosexual and 12,837 heterosexual males. The magnitude of the fraternal birth order effect was measured with a novel variable, the Older Brothers Odds Ratio, computed as (homosexuals' older brothers ÷ homosexuals' other siblings) ÷ (heterosexuals' older brothers ÷ heterosexuals' other siblings), where other siblings = older sisters + younger brothers + younger sisters. An Older Brothers Odds Ratio of 1.00 represents no effect of sexual orientation; values over 1.00 are positive evidence for the fraternal birth order effect. Evidence for the reliability of the effect was consistent. The Older Brothers Odds Ratio was significantly >1.00 in 20 instances, >1.00 although not significantly in nine instances, and nonsignificantly <1.00 in 1 instance. The pooled Older Brothers Odds Ratio for all samples was 1.47, p < .00001. Subgroups analyses showed that the magnitude of the effect was significantly greater in the 12 feminine or transgender homosexual groups than in the other 18 homosexual groups. There was no evidence that the magnitude of the effect differs according to family size.

Siblings in dyads: relationships among perceptions and behavior.

PubMed

Graham-Bermann, S A

1991-06-01

The ways in which middle-childhood siblings perceive themselves as similar or different was assessed with a sample of 40 pairs of 9- to 11-year-old (younger) and 12- to 14-year-old (older) siblings. Each child was interviewed and completed a card sort procedure and a measure of self-competence. Sibling pairs participated in three behavioral tasks coded for cooperation and conflict. Self-ratings, self-perceptions, and sibling behavior were analyzed for their association with the perceived similarity construct. Siblings perceived themselves as being more like one another than did their mothers. Forty-one percent of the variance in their perceived similarity was accounted for by paired self-cooperation ratings, social competence, and behavioral task scores.

Siblings of children with cystic fibrosis: quality of life and the impact of illness.

PubMed

Havermans, T; Wuytack, L; Deboel, J; Tijtgat, A; Malfroot, A; De Boeck, C; Proesmans, M

2011-03-01

To asses self-reported quality of life (QoL) and perception of impact of illness on siblings of children with cystic fibrosis (CF). The Child Health Questionnaire was used to assess QoL. The Sibling Perception Questionnaire was used to assess impact of illness. Siblings of children with CF (n= 39) rated their QoL higher than siblings of healthy children on most QoL domains (e.g. Physical Functioning, Behavior, Mental Health). Siblings older than the child with CF reported a higher impact of CF than younger siblings. Perceived impact of illness was higher when the child with CF had been hospitalized or was intermittent or chronically infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Siblings of children with CF reported a good QoL. QoL and impact of illness were related to indices of CF severity. Insight into sibling-issues helps CF teams to provide family-oriented care. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Coresidence duration and cues of maternal investment regulate sibling altruism across cultures.

PubMed

Sznycer, Daniel; De Smet, Delphine; Billingsley, Joseph; Lieberman, Debra

2016-08-01

Genetic relatedness is a fundamental determinant of social behavior across species. Over the last few decades, researchers have been investigating the proximate psychological mechanisms that enable humans to assess their genetic relatedness to others. Much of this work has focused on identifying cues that predicted relatedness in ancestral environments and examining how they regulate kin-directed behaviors. Despite progress, many basic questions remain unanswered. Here we address three of these questions. First, we examine the replicability of the effect of two association-based cues to relatedness-maternal perinatal association (MPA) and coresidence duration-on sibling-directed altruism. MPA, the observation of a newborn being cared for by one's mother, strongly signals relatedness, but is only available to the older sibling in a sib-pair. Younger siblings, to whom the MPA cue is not available, appear to fall back on the duration of their coresidence with an older sibling. Second, we determine whether the effects of MPA and coresidence duration on sibling-directed altruism obtain across cultures. Last, we explore whether paternal perinatal association (PPA) informs sibship. Data from six studies conducted in California, Hawaii, Dominica, Belgium, and Argentina support past findings regarding the role of MPA and coresidence duration as cues to siblingship. By contrast, PPA had no effect on altruism. We report on levels of altruism toward full, half, and step siblings, and discuss the role alternate cues might play in discriminating among these types of siblings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal associations between sibling relationship quality, parental differential treatment, and children's adjustment.

PubMed

Richmond, Melissa K; Stocker, Clare M; Rienks, Shauna L

2005-12-01

This study examined associations between changes in sibling relationships and changes in parental differential treatment and corresponding changes in children's adjustment. One hundred thirty-three families were assessed at 3 time points. Parents rated children's externalizing problems, and children reported on sibling relationship quality, parental differential treatment, and depressive symptoms. On average, older siblings were 10, 12, and 16 years old, and younger siblings were 8, 10, and 14 years old at Waves 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Results from hierarchical linear modeling indicated that as sibling relationships improved over time, children's depressive symptoms decreased over time. In addition, as children were less favored over their siblings over time, children's externalizing problems increased over time. Findings highlight the developmental interplay between the sibling context and children's adjustment. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceived support in sibling relationships and adolescent adjustment.

PubMed

Branje, Susan J T; van Lieshout, Cornelis F M; van Aken, Marcel A G; Haselager, Gerbert J T

2004-11-01

Siblings may support each other, but also reveal fierce rivalry and mutual aggression. Supportive sibling relationships have been linked to the development of psychosocial competence of children. In the present longitudinal study, we will focus on the development of perceived support in sibling dyads and on the influence of sibling support and sibling problem behavior on psychosocial adjustment in adolescence. In a three-wave longitudinal sample of 285 Dutch families with two adolescent children (11- to 15-year-olds), these two siblings judged the support perceived from each other. In addition, they themselves and their parents judged their internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. The relation of sibling support and sibling problem behavior with internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors was examined while controlling for support from parents and friends and, over time, controlling for the autoregressive effects of problem behavior. Support perceived from a sibling is mostly negatively related to externalizing problems; sibling problem behavior is strongly related to internalizing problems. Differential developmental trajectories of adolescents' adjustment are associated with siblings' support and problem behavior. The results indicate that adolescents' relationships with both older and younger siblings are characterized by modeling processes.

Predictors of Helping Profession Choice and Volunteerism among Siblings of Adults with Mild Intellectual Deficits

PubMed Central

Taylor, Julie Lounds; Shivers, Carolyn M.

2013-01-01

This study examined aspects of the sibling relationship that predicted altruistic behaviors in siblings of individuals with mild intellectual deficits at three time points in adulthood: in their mid 30s, early 50s, and mid 60s. We identified 393 such siblings from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, a prospective longitudinal study that followed participants from ages 18 to 64. Being an only sibling, being older than the brother or sister with mild intellectual deficits, as well as having more contact with and feeling closer to the brother or sister predicted more altruistic behavior in adulthood for female siblings, but not for males. Earlier measures of contact and closeness between siblings were better indicators of altruistic behaviors than concurrent measures. PMID:21740255

Striatal necrosis in type 1 glutaric aciduria: Different stages in two siblings.

PubMed

Sen, Anitha; Pillay, Rajesh Subramonia

2011-07-01

Two siblings born of a consanguineous marriage with history of neurologic deterioration were imaged. Imaging features are classical of glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA-1), acute (striatal necrosis) stage in younger sibling, and chronic stage in older sibling. GA-1 is an autosomal recessive disease with typical imaging features. Greater awareness about this condition among clinicians and radiologists is essential for early diagnosis and prevention of its catastrophic consequences. Striatal necrosis with stroke-like signal intensity on imaging correlates with clinical stage of patients.

Striatal necrosis in type 1 glutaric aciduria: Different stages in two siblings

PubMed Central

Sen, Anitha; Pillay, Rajesh Subramonia

2011-01-01

Two siblings born of a consanguineous marriage with history of neurologic deterioration were imaged. Imaging features are classical of glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA-1), acute (striatal necrosis) stage in younger sibling, and chronic stage in older sibling. GA-1 is an autosomal recessive disease with typical imaging features. Greater awareness about this condition among clinicians and radiologists is essential for early diagnosis and prevention of its catastrophic consequences. Striatal necrosis with stroke-like signal intensity on imaging correlates with clinical stage of patients. PMID:22408669

Israeli Kindergarten Children's Gender Constancy for Others' Counter-Stereotypic Toy Play and Appearance: The Role of Sibling Gender and Relative Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karniol, Rachel

2009-01-01

To test divergent theoretical predictions as to the impact of having a younger or older, same-sex sibling or opposite-sex sibling on other gender constancy, Israeli kindergarten children in two-child families responded to a gender constancy task in which a male and female picture target engaged in counter-stereotypic toy play and adopted…

Preservation of cognitive and functional ability as markers of longevity.

PubMed

Schupf, Nicole; Costa, Rosann; Tang, Ming-Xin; Andrews, Howard; Tycko, Benjamin; Lee, Joseph H; Mayeux, Richard

2004-10-01

Longevity is a complex biological process for which the phenotypes have not been established. Preservation of cognitive and physical function may be important and preservation of these functions is, in part, inherited. We investigated the relation between rate of change in cognitive and functional abilities in probands and risk of death in their siblings. Probands were classified as showing no decline, slow, medium, or rapid rate of decline, based on the slope of change in cognitive and physical/functional factors over three or more assessments. Siblings of probands who did not decline on measures of memory, visuospatial/cognitive function or ADL skills were approximately half as likely to die as siblings of probands who had the most rapid decline. The reduction in risk of death in siblings of probands who did not decline in was primarily observed among siblings of probands who were older than 75 years, suggesting that genetic influences on life span may be greater at older ages. There was no association between probands' rate of change in language, IADL skills, upper or lower extremity mobility and risk of death in siblings. The results of the present study identify phenotypes associated with preserved cognitive and functional abilities which may serve as markers for longevity.

Longitudinal Associations Between Sibling Relational Aggression and Adolescent Adjustment.

PubMed

Gallagher, Annabella M; Updegraff, Kimberly A; Padilla, Jenny; McHale, Susan M

2018-06-20

Sibling relational aggression is an important but understudied dimension of sibling relationships that has potential implications for adolescents' adjustment. This study examined the longitudinal associations between being the target of sibling relational aggression and adolescent adjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms, risky behavior, self-worth, and romantic competence) among younger and older siblings over a three-year period in adolescence. The moderating roles of birth order, sibling gender, and sibling dyad gender constellation also were tested. Participants were 196 European American adolescent (firstborn-secondborn) sibling pairs who were 16.47 years (SD = 0.80) and 13.88 years (SD = 1.15) of age, respectively, at the onset of this study. Data were collected separately from each sibling during home interviews. Multilevel models revealed that being the target of sibling relational aggression was associated with all four adjustment outcomes at the between-person level, and with risky behavior and romantic competence at the within-person level. However, some of these effects were moderated by sibling dyad characteristics. Although often overlooked in the literature on adolescence, sibling relationship dynamics play a key role in youth development and adjustment.

The role of economic strain on adolescent delinquency: a microsocial process model.

PubMed

Low, Sabina; Sinclair, Ryan; Shortt, Joann Wu

2012-08-01

The current study examines the role of economic strain as a moderator of the microsocial processes influencing younger siblings' delinquency (externalizing behavior and substance use) in a longitudinal design. The younger siblings (122 younger brothers and 122 younger sisters) were from 244 families with same-sex biological siblings. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine a process model whereby mothers' harsh/inconsistent parenting and older sibling delinquency influence younger siblings' delinquent behavior via sibling aggression and delinquent peer affiliation. Findings suggest that indirect mechanisms vary as a function of economic strain, with sibling aggression having a stronger, more detrimental effect on adolescent delinquency in economically strained families. Data suggest that familial economic conditions contextualize the relative roles of parenting, sibling, and peer processes in the transmission of risk to adolescent delinquency. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Problem solving, contention, and struggle: how siblings resolve a conflict of interests.

PubMed

Ram, A; Ross, H S

2001-01-01

In a laboratory setting, 48 sibling dyads age 4 and 6 or 6 and 8 years negotiated the division of six toys. Findings revealed that, in general, children reached divisions while using a preponderance of constructive problem-solving strategies, rather than contentious tactics. The degree of conflict of interests and the quality of sibling relationships predicted the children's use of problem-solving and contentious negotiation strategies, and was related to the types of resolutions achieved. Dyads experiencing low conflict of interests resolved their differences quickly. High conflict of interests coupled with positive relationships and constructive negotiation resulted in longer negotiations and creative, agreeable resolutions. High conflict of interests coupled with more negative relationships and destructive negotiations resulted in children's failures to reach agreement. Developmental differences indicated that older siblings within the pairs took the lead in negotiation, and benefited slightly more from the divisions. Furthermore, children in older dyads were more sophisticated and other oriented in their negotiations.

Determinants and Heritability of Intraocular Pressure and Cup-to-Disc Ratio in a Defined Older Population

PubMed Central

Chang, Ta C.; Congdon, Nathan G.; Wojciechowski, Robert; Muñoz, Beatriz; Gilbert, Donna; Chen, Ping; Friedman, David S.; West, Sheila K.

2011-01-01

Purpose To investigate the heritability of intraocular pressure (IOP) and cup-to-disc ratio (CDR) in an older well-defined population. Design Family-based cohort study. Participants Through the population-based Salisbury Eye Evaluation study, we recruited 726 siblings (mean age, 74.7 years) in 284 sibships. Methods Intraocular pressure and CDR were measured bilaterally for all participants. The presence or absence of glaucoma was determined by a glacuoma specialist for all probands on the basis of visual field, optic nerve appearance, and history. The heritability of IOP was calculated as twice the residual between-sibling correlation of IOP using linear regression and generalized estimating equations after adjusting for age, gender, mean arterial pressure, race, self-reported diabetes status, and history of systemic steroid use. The heritability of CDR was calculated using the same model and adjustments as above, while also adjusting for IOP. Main Outcome Measures Heritability and determinants of IOP and CDR, and impact of siblings’ glaucoma status on IOP and CDR. Results We estimated the heritability to be 0.29 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.12–0.46) for IOP and 0.56 (95% CI, 0.35–0.76) for CDR in this population. Mean IOP in siblings of glaucomatous probands was statistically significantly higher than in siblings of normal probands (mean difference, 1.02 mmHg; P = 0.017). The mean CDR in siblings of glaucomatous probands was 0.07 (or 19%) larger than in siblings of glaucoma suspect referrals (P = 0.045) and siblings of normal probands (P = 0.004). Conclusions In this elderly population, we found CDR to be highly heritable and IOP to be moderately heritable. On average, siblings of glaucoma patients had higher IOPs and larger CDRs than siblings of nonglaucomatous probands. PMID:15939473

Within-family environmental transmission of drug abuse: a Swedish national study.

PubMed

Kendler, Kenneth S; Ohlsson, Henrik; Sundquist, Kristina; Sundquist, Jan

2013-02-01

CONTEXT Drug abuse (DA) strongly runs in families. Does this result solely from genetic factors or does the family environment contribute? OBJECTIVE To determine the familial environmental contribution to the risk for DA. DESIGN Follow-up in 9 public databases (1961-2009) in siblings and spouses. SETTING Sweden. PARTICIPANTS A total of 137 199 sibling pairs and 7561 spousal pairs containing a proband with DA and matched control probands. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Drug abuse recorded in medical, legal, or pharmacy registry records. RESULTS In the best-fit model, which contained significant linear, quadratic, and cubic effects, among full sibling pairs containing a proband with DA, the relative risk for DA in the sibling declined from more than 6.0 for siblings born within 2 years of each other to less than 4.5 when born 10 years apart. Controlling for age differences in full sibling pairs, the hazard rate for DA in a sibling when the affected proband was older vs younger was 1.42 (95% CI, 1.31-1.54). In the best-fit model, which contained significant linear, quadratic, and cubic effects, among spousal pairs containing a proband with DA, the relative risk for DA in the spouse declined from more than 25.0 within 1 year of proband DA registration to 6.0 after 5 years. CONCLUSIONS Controlling for genetic effects by examining only full siblings, sibling resemblance for the risk for DA was significantly greater in pairs closer vs more distant in age. Older siblings more strongly transmitted the risk for DA to their younger siblings than vice versa. After one spouse is registered for DA, the other spouse has a large short-lived increase in DA risk. These results support strong familial environmental influences on DA at various life stages. A complete understanding of the familial transmission of DA will require knowledge of how genetic and familial environmental risk factors act and interact over development.

Sibling Configuration Predicts Individual and Descendant Socioeconomic Success in a Modern Post-Industrial Society

PubMed Central

Lawson, David W.; Makoli, Arijeta; Goodman, Anna

2013-01-01

Growing up with many siblings, at least in the context of modern post-industrial low fertility, low mortality societies, is predictive of relatively poor performance on school tests in childhood, lower levels of educational attainment, and lower income throughout adulthood. Recent studies further indicate these relationships hold across generations, so that the descendants of those who grow up with many siblings are also at an apparent socioeconomic disadvantage. In this paper we add to this literature by considering whether such relationships interact with the sex and relative age of siblings. To do this we utilise a unique Swedish multigenerational birth cohort study that provides sibling configuration data on over 10,000 individuals born in 1915–1929, plus all their direct genetic descendants to the present day. Adjusting for parental and birth characteristics, we find that the ‘socioeconomic cost’ of growing up in a large family is independent of both the sex of siblings and the sex of the individual. However, growing up with several older as opposed to several younger siblings is predictive of relatively poor performance on school tests and a lower likelihood of progression to tertiary education. This later-born disadvantage also holds across generations, with the children of those with many older siblings achieving lower levels of educational attainment. Despite these differences, we find that while individual and descendant income is negatively related to the number of siblings, it is not influenced by the relative age of siblings. Thus, our findings imply that the educational disadvantage of later-born children, demonstrated here and in numerous other studies, does not necessarily translate into reduced earnings in adulthood. We discuss potential explanations for this pattern of results, and consider some important directions for future research into sibling configuration and wellbeing in modern societies. PMID:24040031

Observed sensitivity during family interactions and cumulative risk: A study of multiple dyads per family.

PubMed

Browne, Dillon T; Leckie, George; Prime, Heather; Perlman, Michal; Jenkins, Jennifer M

2016-07-01

The present study sought to investigate the family, individual, and dyad-specific contributions to observed cognitive sensitivity during family interactions. Moreover, the influence of cumulative risk on sensitivity at the aforementioned levels of the family was examined. Mothers and 2 children per family were observed interacting in a round robin design (i.e., mother-older sibling, mother younger-sibling and sibling-dyad, N = 385 families). Data were dyadic, in that there were 2 directional scores per interaction, and were analyzed using a multilevel formulation of the Social Relations Model. Variance partitioning revealed that cognitive sensitivity is simultaneously a function of families, individuals and dyads, though the importance of these components varies across family roles. Cognitive sensitivity for mothers was primarily attributable to individual differences, whereas cognitive sensitivity for children was predominantly attributable to family and dyadic differences, especially for youngest children. Cumulative risk explained family and individual variance in cognitive sensitivity, particularly when actors were older or in a position of relative competence or authority (i.e., mother to children, older to younger siblings). Overall, this study demonstrates that cognitive sensitivity operates across levels of family organization, and is negatively impacted by psychosocial risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

False Belief Performance of Children Adopted Internationally.

PubMed

Hwa-Froelich, Deborah A; Matsuo, Hisako; Jacobs, Kristal

2017-02-01

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships among adoption, individual, and family variables on false belief performance of children adopted internationally (CAI). Using a quasiexperimental design, thirty-five 4-year-old children adopted from Asian and Eastern European countries before age 2 years were compared with a U.S. group of 33 nonadopted 4-year-old children on a standardized English-language measure, 3 false belief tasks, and a go/no-go inhibition measure. The adopted group differed significantly from the U.S. nonadopted group in expressive language and false belief performance. For the adopted group, inhibition measures were significantly correlated with core language scores. Core language scores and number of older siblings predicted false belief performance. Similar to children who are not adopted, language competence and living with older siblings positively influenced social understanding in CAI. Because CAI experience interrupted language acquisition and live with fewer older siblings, they are at risk of having weaker language competence and social understanding in their adopted language. When working with CAI, practitioners should assess social communication, language competence, and inhibition skills. They should assist adoptive families in providing socially mentored opportunities for their children to observe and interact with older children.

Siblings and childhood mental health: evidence for a later-born advantage.

PubMed

Lawson, David W; Mace, Ruth

2010-06-01

The social and health sciences have often emphasised the negative impacts of large sibship size and late birth order on childhood. For example, it is now well established that, other things being equal, children in large families and/or with many older siblings, receive lower allocations of care time from both parents, are more likely to grow up in conditions of economic hardship, and, as a likely consequence, exhibit relatively poor educational and physical health outcomes. Few researchers have, however, quantitatively assessed how siblings may influence indicators of mental health, where it is conceivable that social interactions with siblings may have a positive influence. Here, using data from a large British cohort survey (the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children), we explored the effects of sibling configuration on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, as a multidimensional index for mental health problems. We demonstrate a significant socio-economic gradient in mental health between the ages of three and nine years, but little evidence for negative effects of large sibship size. Rerunning this analysis to examine birth order, a much clearer pattern emerged; the presence of older siblings was associated with relatively good mental health, while the presence of younger siblings was associated with relatively poor mental health. This suggests that being born into a large family, providing the child is not joined by subsequent siblings, may carry important benefits unconsidered by past research. We discuss possible interpretations of this pattern and the wider implications for understanding the family context of child development. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Home and parenting resources available to siblings depending on their birth intention status.

PubMed

Barber, Jennifer S; East, Patricia L

2009-01-01

This study examines the differential availability of family and parenting resources to children depending on their birth planning status. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data were analyzed, 3,134 mothers and their 5,890 children (M = 7.1 years, range = 1 month-14.8 years), of whom 63% were intended at conception, 27% were mistimed, and 10% were unwanted. Fixed-effects models show that unwanted and mistimed children had fewer resources than intended siblings. Parents' emotional resources to older children decreased after the birth of a mistimed sibling. Findings suggest that cognitive and emotional resources are differentially available to children within a family depending on intention status and that unintended births lead to decreased parental resources for older children in the household.

Preparing kids for the new baby.

PubMed

Storr, G B; Robinson, P

1998-03-01

Sibling prenatal classes are a natural extension of nursing's interest and expertise in childbirth preparation for expectant couples. From parents' perspective, these classes have the potential to decrease sibling rivalry and facilitate parental coping with older children's concerns about a new baby. From a nurse educator's perspective, sibling prenatal classes offer a rich learning experience for students by providing an opportunity to integrate knowledge about pregnancy and birth with communication skills and child development knowledge.

Sibling jealousy and aesthetic ambiguity in Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

PubMed

Hanly, Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick

2009-04-01

Jane Austen's most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice (1813), illuminates and is illuminated by psychoanalytic aesthetics. When Austen dramatizes unconscious oedipal/sibling rivalries, irony acts as a type of aesthetic ambiguity (E. Kris 1952). A psychoanalytic perspective shows that Austen uses a grammar of negatives (negation, denial, minimization) to achieve the dual meanings of irony, engaging the reader's unconscious instinctual satisfactions, while at the same time protecting the reader from unpleasant affects. Austen's plot, which portrays regressions driven by sibling jealousy, reveals that a new tolerance of remorse and depression in her heroine and hero leads to psychic growth.

The siblings relationship of adolescents with and without intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Begum, Gazi; Blacher, Jan

2011-01-01

The sibling relationship of adolescents with and without intellectual disabilities was examined. Participants were 70 sibling dyads--each dyad was comprised of one 12-year old adolescent with (N=23) or without intellectual disabilities (N=47). Sibling relationships, behavior problems, and social skills were assessed using mother reports. Results revealed three findings. First, for typically developing adolescents, mothers reported more warmth in the sibling relationship for opposite sex dyads. For adolescents with intellectual disabilities, mothers reported more warmth in the sibling relationship for same-sex dyads. Second, for typically developing adolescents, mothers reported more status/power differences when the sibling was younger than when the sibling was older. For adolescents with intellectual disabilities, birth order did not affect status/power in the sibling relationship. Third, for typically developing adolescents, conflict was related to internalizing behavior problems. For adolescents with intellectual disabilities, conflict was related to externalizing behavior problems. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sibling composition, executive function, and children's thinking about mental diversity.

PubMed

Kennedy, Katie; Lagattuta, Kristin Hansen; Sayfan, Liat

2015-04-01

Prior investigations of relations between sibling composition and theory of mind have focused almost exclusively on false belief understanding in children 6 years of age and younger. The current work expands previous research by examining whether sibling composition predicts 4- to 11-year-olds' (N=192) more advanced mental state reasoning on interpretive theory of mind tasks. Even when controlling for age and executive function, children with a greater number of older siblings or with more same-sex siblings demonstrated stronger knowledge in both their predictions and explanations that people with different past experiences can have diverse interpretations of ambiguous stimuli. These data provide some of the first documentation of sibling constellations that predict individual differences in theory of mind during middle childhood. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gesture Development in Toddlers with an Older Sibling with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LeBarton, Eve Sauer; Iverson, Jana M.

2016-01-01

Background: Nonverbal communication deficits are characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and have been reported in some later-born siblings of children with ASD (heightened-risk (HR) children). However, little work has investigated gesture as a function of language ability, which varies greatly in this population. Aims: This longitudinal…

Siblings and Gender Differences in African-American College Attendance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loury, Linda Datcher

2004-01-01

Differences in college enrollment growth rates for African-American men and women have resulted in a large gender gap in college attendance. This paper shows that, controlling for spurious correlation with unobserved variables, having more college-educated older siblings raises rather than lowers the likelihood of college attendance for…

Sibling Temperaments and Maternal and Paternal Perceptions of Marital, Family, and Personal Functioning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoneman, Zolinda; And Others

1989-01-01

Examined contemporaneous associations between child temperament and marital and family functioning in 2-child families. Mothers and fathers in 70 families completed measures of marital satisfaction, family climate, spousal conflict, depression, and ratings of older and younger sibling temperament. Found strong associations between active-emotional…

Environmental influences on familial resemblance for drug abuse in first-cousin pairs: a Swedish national study.

PubMed

Kendler, K S; Ohlsson, H; Sundquist, K; Sundquist, J

2014-01-01

Using three independent methods, prior studies in Swedish sibling pairs indicate that environmental factors contribute substantially to familial aggregation for drug abuse (DA). Could we replicate these results in cousin pairs? Using multiple Swedish public databases (1964-2011), we defined DA using medical, legal or pharmacy registry records and examined concordance in full cousin pairs as a function of age differences, younger-older relationships and geographical proximity while growing up. Replicating prior results in siblings, cousin pairs were significantly more similar in their history of DA if they were (i) closer versus more distant in age and (ii) grew up in high versus low geographical proximity to one another. Furthermore, controlling for background factors, having an older cousin with DA conveys a greater risk for DA than having a younger drug-abusing cousin. The greater transmission of DA from older to younger versus younger to older cousin was more prominent in pairs who grew up close to one another. In age difference and geographical proximity analyses, effects were consistently strongest in male-male cousin pairs. In analyses of older → younger versus younger → older transmission, effects were stronger in male-male and male-female than in female-female or female-male relative pairs. In accord with prior results in siblings, environmental factors contribute substantially to the familial aggregation of DA in cousins and these effects are, in general, stronger in males than in females.

Sibling composition during childhood and adult blood pressure among native Amazonians in Bolivia.

PubMed

Zeng, Wu; Undurraga, Eduardo A; Nyberg, Colleen; Eisenberg, Dan T A; Parida, Sabita; Zycherman, Ariela; Magvanjav, Oyunbileg; Reyes-García, Victoria; Tanner, Susan; Godoy, Ricardo

2013-07-01

Sibling configuration, including birth order, or the number, age, and sex of siblings is associated with parental resource allocation between children and is thus associated with a person's well-being. Little is known about the association between specific types of siblings and adult health outcomes. Here we test several hypotheses about sibling composition (number of older brothers, older sisters, younger sisters, younger brothers) and adult blood pressure in a foraging-farming society of native Amazonians in Bolivia (Tsimane'). We collected data in 2007 from 374 adults (16-60years of age) from 196 households in 13 villages. Household random-effects multiple regressions were run using systolic (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) as outcomes; covariates included the four sibling categories and control variables (e.g., sex, age, education, body mass index [BMI]). Mean SBP and DBP were 114 (SD=14) and 66 (SD=11)mmHg. The prevalence of hypertension was 5.08%. Having an additional younger brother bore a small (3.3-5.9%) positive association with both SBP and DBP, with the effect weakening as people aged. Having an additional younger sister was associated with a small (3.8%) increase in SBP among women, with the magnitude shrinking as people aged. In a large family, the number of younger brothers may exert an impact on an individual's blood pressure. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Moving beyond the mother-child dyad: exploring the link between maternal sensitivity and siblings' attachment styles.

PubMed

Kennedy, Mark; Betts, Lucy R; Underwood, Jean D M

2014-01-01

Attachment theory asserts that secure attachment representations are developed through sensitive and consistent caregiving. If sensitive caregiving is a constant characteristic of the parent, then siblings should have concordant attachment classifications. The authors explored maternal attachment quality assessed by the Attachment Q-Set, maternal sensitivity, and specific mother-child interactions between siblings. Hour-long observations took place in the homes of 9 preschool sibling pairs and their immediate caregivers. The interactions were analyzed using a modified version of Bales' Small Group Analysis. The results reveal attachment discordance in a third of sibling pairs. While maternal sensitivity was higher with older siblings and mothers displayed more positive emotions when interacting with their younger siblings, attachment quality was not associated with birth order. Therefore, a shift toward a more contextual, family-based perspective of attachment is recommended to further understand how attachment strategies are created and maintained within the child's everyday context.

Feelings of attachment to siblings and well-being in later life.

PubMed

Cicirelli, V G

1989-06-01

On the basis of an adult model of sibling attachment, I hypothesized that the well-being of older persons depends on their perception of the closeness of the sibling bond, on their perception of any disruption of that bond, and on the sex combination of the siblings being considered. In all, 83 persons, aged 61 to 91 years, were interviewed about their relationships with each of their living siblings. They rated their feelings of closeness, conflict or rivalry, and indifference to the sibling. A measure of depression was used as the indicator of well-being. Separate correlational analyses were carried out for the four sex combinations of siblings. Closeness of the bond to a sister (by both men and women) was related to less depression. Also, women's perceptions of conflict and indifference in their relationships with sisters were related to increased depression. Findings are interpreted in terms of attachment theory and sex role expectations.

Sibling relationship quality moderates the associations between parental interventions and siblings' independent conflict strategies and outcomes.

PubMed

Recchia, Holly E; Howe, Nina

2009-08-01

This study extends research on sibling conflict strategies and outcomes by examining unique and interactive associations with age, relative birth order, sibling relationship quality, and caregivers' interventions into conflict. Each of 62 sibling dyads (older sibling mean age = 8.39 years; younger sibling mean age = 6.06 years) discussed 1 recurring conflict alone (dyadic negotiation) and a 2nd conflict with their primary parental caregiver (triadic negotiation). Negotiations were coded for children's conflict strategies, outcomes, and caregiver interventions; each family member provided ratings of sibling relationship quality. Results revealed that age was associated with siblings' constructive strategies, particularly in the dyadic negotiation. With age controlled, younger siblings referred more frequently to their own perspective. Caregivers' future orientation in the triadic negotiation was associated with children's future orientation in the dyadic negotiation; however, this association was most evident when sibling relationship quality was high. Similarly, caregivers' past orientation was positively associated with dyadic compromise, especially when relationship quality was high. Results reveal the value of simultaneously considering associations among parental, affective, and developmental correlates of sibling conflict strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Group intervention for siblings of children with disabilities: a pilot study in a clinical setting.

PubMed

Granat, Tina; Nordgren, Ingrid; Rein, George; Sonnander, Karin

2012-01-01

To study the effectiveness of a group intervention in a clinical setting designed to increase knowledge of disability and improve sibling relationship among siblings of children with disabilities. A self-selected sample of 54 younger and older siblings with typical development (ages 8-12 years) of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (9), Asperger syndrome (7), autistic disorder (13), physical disability (8) and intellectual disability (17) participated in collateral sibling groups. The Sibling Knowledge Interview (SKI) and Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) were administered pre- and post-intervention. SKI scores increased (p < 0.001) from pre- to post-intervention when merged diagnostic groups were compared. Comparisons of SRQ pre- and post-intervention scores across diagnostic sibling groups showed significantly different (p < 0.05) score patterns. The results were encouraging and contribute to further development of interventions meeting the needs of siblings of children with disabilities. In view of the limited empirical research on group interventions for siblings of children with disabilities future work is needed to investigate the effectiveness of such interventions. Particular attention should be given to siblings of children with autism and siblings of children with intellectual disability.

First-born siblings show better second language skills than later born siblings

PubMed Central

Keller, Karin; Troesch, Larissa M.; Grob, Alexander

2015-01-01

We examined the extent to which three sibling structure variables number of siblings, birth order, and presence of an older sibling at school age are linked to the second language skills of bilingual children. The research questions were tested using an ethnically heterogeneous sample of 1209 bilingual children with German as a second language. Controlling for children’s age, sex, nationality, number of children’s books at home, family language and parental German language skills, hierarchical regression analyses showed an inverse relationship between the number of siblings and second language skills: the more siblings a child had, the lower was his/her second language proficiency. This relationship was mediated by attendance in early education institutions. Moreover, first-born siblings showed better second language skills than later born siblings. The current study revealed that the resource dilution model, i.e., the decrease in resources for every additional sibling, holds for second language acquisition. Moreover, the results indicate that bilingual children from families with several children benefit from access to early education institutions. PMID:26089806

Associations between adolescent siblings' relationship quality and similarity and differences in values.

PubMed

Kretschmer, Tina; Pike, Alison

2010-08-01

Theoretically framed by a self-determination perspective on value acquisition and taking into account research into sibling similarity and differences, the current study examined links between sibling relationship quality and adolescents' intrinsic values (benevolence and universalism) and extrinsic values (power, achievement, and materialism). Positive sibling experiences were expected to be positively linked to intrinsic values and negatively linked to extrinsic values, and negative experiences were hypothesized to fuel extrinsic values and thwart intrinsic values. Using a sample of 205 adolescent sibling pairs (older children M = 17.61 years, younger children M = 14.63 years) and multilevel modeling, we assessed within- and between-dyads differences to identify whether the sibling relationship functions as a correlate of values in a similar or different way for 2 siblings. Although siblings were not very similar in their values, sibling competition predicted sibling similarity in higher levels of extrinsic values and lower levels of intrinsic values. Implications for value acquisition research that so far has focused almost solely on parents and failed to acknowledge other processes within families are discussed.

Sibling Relationships and Adolescent Adjustment: Longitudinal Associations in Two-Parent African American Families.

PubMed

Whiteman, Shawn D; Solmeyer, Anna R; McHale, Susan M

2015-11-01

Sibling relationships have been described as love-hate relationships by virtue of their emotional intensity, but we know little about how sibling positivity and negativity operate together to affect youth adjustment. Accordingly, this study charted the course of sibling positivity and negativity from age 10 to 18 in African American sibling dyads and tested whether changes in relationship qualities were linked to changes in adolescents' internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Participants were consecutively-born siblings [at Time 1, older siblings averaged 14.03 (SD = 1.80) years of age, 48 % female; younger siblings averaged 10.39 (SD = 1.07) years of age, 52 % female] and two parents from 189 African American families. Data were collected via annual home interviews for 3 years. A series of multi-level models revealed that sibling positivity and sibling negativity declined across adolescence, with no significant differences by sibling dyad gender constellation. Controlling for age-related changes as well as time-varying parent-adolescent relationship qualities, changes in sibling negativity, but not positivity, were positively related to changes in adolescents' depressive symptoms and risky behaviors. Like parent-adolescent relationships, sibling relationships displayed some distancing across adolescence. Nevertheless, sibling negativity remained a uniquely important relational experience for African American adolescents' adjustment.

Sibling Relationships and Adolescent Adjustment: Longitudinal Associations in Two-Parent African American Families

PubMed Central

Whiteman, Shawn D.; Solmeyer, Anna R.; McHale, Susan M.

2015-01-01

Sibling relationships have been described as love-hate relationships by virtue of their emotional intensity, but we know little about how sibling positivity and negativity operate together to affect youth adjustment. Accordingly, this study charted the course of sibling positivity and negativity from age 10 to 18 in African American sibling dyads and tested whether changes in relationship qualities were linked to changes in adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Participants were consecutively-born siblings (at Time 1, older siblings averaged 14.03 (SD = 1.80) years of age, 48% female; younger siblings averaged 10.39 (SD = 1.07) years of age, 52% female) and two parents from 189 African American families. Data were collected via annual home interviews for three years. A series of multi-level models revealed that sibling positivity and sibling negativity declined across adolescence, with no significant differences by sibling dyad gender constellation. Controlling for age-related changes as well as time-varying parent-adolescent relationship qualities, changes in sibling negativity, but not positivity, were positively related to changes in adolescents’ depressive symptoms and risky behaviors. Like parent-adolescent relationships, sibling relationships displayed some distancing across adolescence. Nevertheless, sibling negativity remained a uniquely important relational experience for African American adolescents’ adjustment. PMID:25893573

Do juveniles help or hinder? Influence of juvenile offspring on maternal behavior and reproductive outcomes in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

PubMed

Stanton, Margaret A; Lonsdorf, Elizabeth V; Pusey, Anne E; Murray, Carson M

2017-10-01

Compared to great apes, humans maintain a relatively rapid reproductive pace despite long periods of dependency. This seemingly contradictory set of traits is made possible by weaning offspring before nutritional independence and alloparents who help provide care. In traditional societies, this help may be provided to mothers in part by their juvenile offspring who carry, supervise, or provision younger siblings. In contrast to humans, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are nutritionally independent after weaning, yet juveniles continue to travel with their mother and younger sibling for an additional 4-5 years. This continued association could be costly to the mother if she continues to invest in weaned offspring. Alternately, while juvenile chimpanzees do not typically provision younger siblings, their presence and social interaction with infants may allow mothers to focus on other tasks. In this study, we investigate the costs and benefits to mothers of continued association with juveniles in wild chimpanzees. Using 26 years of long-term behavioral data we examined how maternal activity budgets varied based on the presence of a dependent juvenile offspring. We found that continued social interaction between mothers and juveniles does not influence the mother's time allocated to interacting with the younger infant, her feeding, resting, or travel time, or time socializing with other community members. Instead, mothers may benefit from the additional social interaction and/or relationship with their older offspring. Using 45 years of demographic data we found that those offspring who had an older sibling tended to be more likely to survive each year from birth to 8 years than those without an older sibling. Additionally, interbirth intervals were more likely to end when the female had an older offspring present. A mutually beneficial mother-juvenile dynamic in great apes provides insight into continued association between mothers and offspring after nutritional independence and the emergence of juvenile helping during hominin evolution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Infant - newborn development

MedlinePlus

... and cupboard safety latches. Post the national poison control number -- 1-800-222-1222 -- near the phone. DO NOT allow older infants to crawl or walk around in the kitchen while adults or older siblings are cooking. Block the kitchen ...

Birth order rank as a moderator of the relation between behavior problems among children with an autism spectrum disorder and their siblings.

PubMed

Tomeny, Theodore S; Barry, Tammy D; Bader, Stephanie H

2014-02-01

Variability within the literature investigating typically-developing siblings of children with an autism spectrum disorder suggests that the quality of sibling outcomes may depend on specific factors. For this study, 42 parents of a child with an autism spectrum disorder and a typically- developing sibling provided data via online questionnaires. Birth order rank of the child with an autism spectrum disorder significantly moderated the relation between externalizing behaviors in children with an autism spectrum disorder and externalizing behaviors in their typically-developing siblings. Children with an autism spectrum disorder and higher levels of behavior problems had typically-developing siblings with higher levels of behavior problems only when the child with an autism spectrum disorder was older. These results provide a hint of clarification about the complex nature of sibling relations, but a great deal more research is needed to further examine outcomes of typically-developing siblings of children with an autism spectrum disorder.

Saving or Subordinating Life? Popular Views in Israel and Germany of Donor Siblings Created through PGD.

PubMed

Raz, Aviad; Schües, Christina; Wilhelm, Nadja; Rehmann-Sutter, Christoph

2017-06-01

To explore how cultural beliefs are reflected in different popular views of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis for human leukocyte antigen match (popularly known as "savior siblings"), we compare the reception and interpretations, in Germany and Israel, of the novel/film My Sister's Keeper. Qualitative analysis of reviews, commentaries and posts is used to classify and compare normative assessments of PGD for HLA and how they reproduce, negotiate or oppose the national policy and its underlying cultural and ethical premises. Four major themes emanated from the comparison: loss of self-determination and autonomy; loss of dignity through instrumentalization; eugenics and euthanasia; and saving life. In both countries, most commentaries represented a dominant position, with a few negotiated positions. We also highlight the decoding of a relatively less explored bioethical aspect of My Sister's Keeper's narrative, namely the meaning of euthanasia. We conclude by discussing how the findings relate to attempts of providing cultural explanations for the regulation of HLA-PGD.

The Role of Economic Strain on Adolescent Delinquency: A Microsocial Process Model

PubMed Central

Low, Sabina; Sinclair, Ryan; Shortt, Joann Wu

2013-01-01

The current study examines the role of economic strain as a moderator of the microsocial processes influencing younger siblings’ delinquency (externalizing behavior and substance use) in a longitudinal design. The younger siblings (122 younger brothers and 122 younger sisters) were from 244 families with same-sex biological siblings. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine a process model whereby mothers’ harsh/inconsistent parenting and older sibling delinquency influence younger siblings’ delinquent behavior via sibling aggression and delinquent peer affiliation. Findings suggest that indirect mechanisms vary as a function of economic strain, with sibling aggression having a stronger, more detrimental effect on adolescent delinquency in economically strained families. Data suggest that familial economic conditions contextualize the relative roles of parenting, sibling, and peer processes in the transmission of risk to adolescent delinquency. PMID:22709262

Parents and Siblings As Early Resources for Young Children's Learning in Mexican-Descent Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez-Granados, Deanne R.; Callanan, Maureen A.

1997-01-01

Interviews with parents from 50 Mexican-descent families revealed that parents encouraged their preschool children to ask questions about science and causal relationships; older and younger siblings learned different skills from one another; and children learned through observation and imitation. Discusses issues of "match" between home…

Rural/Urban Elderly and Siblings: Their Value Consensus.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suggs, Patricia K.; Kivett, Vira R.

Consensus has been identified as a dimension of family solidarity with important implications for the family network. To investigate the factors contributing to consensus between older adults and their sibling of most contact, 275 adults (173 females, 102 males), with a mean age of 74 years, were interviewed using a questionnaire covering work and…

Siblings as Communication Trainers for Prelinguistic Infants with Down Syndrome.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richard, Nancy B.

The study examined effects of training older siblings (ages 6-8) of six 1- to 3-year-old infants and toddlers with Down syndrome to employ social communication strategies in play sessions. Three secondary purposes included evaluating effects of intervention upon the communication skills of the Down syndrome children, effects of intervention on…

Direct and Moderating Effects of Social Affordances on School Involvement and Delinquency among Young Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yu, Jeong Jin; Gamble, Wendy C.

2010-01-01

Using social control theory and attachment theory as guides, this study examined how qualities of young adolescents' social relationships (i.e., mother, sibling, and friend) and dynamic interactions among characteristics of those relationships are associated with school involvement and delinquency. The participants included older siblings (M age =…

Relationship of Order and Number of Siblings to Perceived Parental Attitudes in Childhood.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kitamura, Toshinori; Sugawara, Masumi; Shima, Satoru; Toda, Mari A.

1998-01-01

Explores the relationship between numbers and sexes of siblings and perceived rearing practices. Uses the Parental Bonding Instrument to rate responses of 1,145 pregnant Japanese women. Determines participants with more older sisters felt their parents were less caring; participants with more brothers, specifically younger, saw their parents as…

Relational aggression and psychological control in the sibling relationship: mediators of the association between maternal psychological control and adolescents' emotional adjustment.

PubMed

Campione-Barr, Nicole; Lindell, Anna K; Greer, Kelly Bassett; Rose, Amanda J

2014-08-01

The association between mothers' psychological control and their children's emotional adjustment problems is well documented. However, processes that may explain this association are not well understood. The present study tested the idea that relational aggression and psychological control within the context of the sibling relationship may help to account for the relation between mothers' psychological control and adolescents' internalizing symptoms. Older (M = 16.46, SD = 1.35 years) and younger (M = 13.67, SD = 1.56 years) siblings from 101 dyads rated the psychological control they received from mothers and siblings, and the relational aggression they received from siblings. Despite some similarities between psychological control and relational aggression, confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence that the two sibling processes are distinct. Maternal psychological control was related to psychological control and relational aggression within the sibling relationship, which were related to adolescents' anxiety and depressed mood. In addition, sibling relational aggression was a more powerful mediator of the relationship between maternal psychological control and adolescent adjustment than sibling psychological control.

Psychological functioning of siblings in families of children with chronic health conditions: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Vermaes, Ignace P R; van Susante, Anna M J; van Bakel, Hedwig J A

2012-03-01

The aim of this meta-analysis was to provide an up-to-date review of the literature to enhance our understanding of how chronic health conditions (CHCs) affect siblings, both positively and negatively. PsycINFO and Medline were systematically searched. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (a) peer-reviewed, empirical research report; (b) sample n ≥ 10; and (c) reports statistics on siblings' internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and/or positive self-attributes. Overall, there was a significant small negative effect of CHCs on siblings (d(+) = -.10). Siblings of children with CHCs had more internalizing problems (d(+) = .17), more externalizing problems (d(+) = .08), and less positive self-attributes (d(+) = -.09) than comparisons. Older siblings and siblings of children with life-threatening and/or highly intrusive CHCs were more at risk for psychological problems. This study identified several mechanisms through which CHCs affect siblings. Future research should focus on parent-child dynamics and the longitudinal development of positive self-attributes and internalizing problems as well as on identifying what works in services for siblings of children with CHCs.

Birth-order differences can drive natural selection on aging.

PubMed

Gillespie, Duncan O S; Trotter, Meredith V; Krishna-Kumar, Siddharth; Tuljapurkar, Shripad D

2014-03-01

Senescence-the deterioration of survival and reproductive capacity with increasing age-is generally held to be an evolutionary consequence of the declining strength of natural selection with increasing age. The diversity in rates of aging observed in nature suggests that the rate at which age-specific selection weakens is determined by species-specific ecological factors. We propose that, in iteroparous species, relationships between parental age, offspring birth order, and environment may affect selection on senescence. Later-born siblings have, on average, older parents than do first borns. Offspring born to older parents may experience different environments in terms of family support or inherited resources, factors often mediated by competition from siblings. Thus, age-specific selection on parents may change if the environment produces birth-order related gradients in reproductive success. We use an age-and-stage structured population model to investigate the impact of sibling environmental inequality on the expected evolution of senescence. We show that accelerated senescence evolves when later-born siblings are likely to experience an environment detrimental to lifetime reproduction. In general, sibling inequality is likely to be of particular importance for the evolution of senescence in species such as humans, where family interactions and resource inheritance have important roles in determining lifetime reproduction. © 2013 The Author(s). Evolution © 2013 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

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

PubMed

Witte, Susanne; Fegert, Jörg M; Walper, Sabine

2018-02-01

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. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Siblings, asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema: a worldwide perspective from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood

PubMed Central

Strachan, D P; Aït-Khaled, N; Foliaki, S; Mallol, J; Odhiambo, J; Pearce, N; Williams, H C

2015-01-01

Background Associations of larger families with lower prevalences of hay fever, eczema and objective markers of allergic sensitization have been found fairly consistently in affluent countries, but little is known about these relationships in less affluent countries. Methods Questionnaire data for 210 200 children aged 6–7 years from 31 countries, and 337 226 children aged 13–14 years from 52 countries, were collected by Phase Three of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Associations of disease symptoms and labels of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema were analysed by numbers of total, older and younger siblings, using mixed (multi-level) logistic regression models to adjust for individual covariates and at the centre level for region, language and national affluence. Results In both age groups, inverse trends (P < 0.0001) were observed for reported ‘hay fever ever’ and ‘eczema ever’ with increasing numbers of total siblings, and more specifically older siblings. These inverse associations were significantly (P < 0.005) stronger in more affluent countries. In contrast, symptoms of severe asthma and severe eczema were positively associated (P < 0.0001) with total sibship size in both age groups. These associations with disease severity were largely independent of position within the sibship and national GNI per capita. Conclusions These global findings on sibship size and childhood asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema suggest at least two distinct trends. Inverse associations with older siblings (observations which prompted the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ for allergic disease) are mainly a phenomenon of more affluent countries, whereas greater severity of symptoms in larger families is globally more widespread. PMID:24912652

Facial emotion perception in Chinese patients with schizophrenia and non-psychotic first-degree relatives.

PubMed

Li, Huijie; Chan, Raymond C K; Zhao, Qing; Hong, Xiaohong; Gong, Qi-Yong

2010-03-17

Although there is a consensus that patients with schizophrenia have certain deficits in perceiving and expressing facial emotions, previous studies of facial emotion perception in schizophrenia do not present consistent results. The objective of this study was to explore facial emotion perception deficits in Chinese patients with schizophrenia and their non-psychotic first-degree relatives. Sixty-nine patients with schizophrenia, 56 of their first-degree relatives (33 parents and 23 siblings), and 92 healthy controls (67 younger healthy controls matched to the patients and siblings, and 25 older healthy controls matched to the parents) completed a set of facial emotion perception tasks, including facial emotion discrimination, identification, intensity, valence, and corresponding face identification tasks. The results demonstrated that patients with schizophrenia performed significantly worse than their siblings and younger healthy controls in accuracy in a variety of facial emotion perception tasks, whereas the siblings of the patients performed as well as the corresponding younger healthy controls in all of the facial emotion perception tasks. Patients with schizophrenia also showed significantly reduced speed than younger healthy controls, while siblings of patients did not demonstrate significant differences with both patients and younger healthy controls in speed. Meanwhile, we also found that parents of the schizophrenia patients performed significantly worse than the corresponding older healthy controls in accuracy in terms of facial emotion identification, valence, and the composite index of the facial discrimination, identification, intensity and valence tasks. Moreover, no significant differences were found between the parents of patients and older healthy controls in speed after controlling the years of education and IQ. Taken together, the results suggest that facial emotion perception deficits may serve as potential endophenotypes for schizophrenia. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quality of maternal and paternal care predicts later stress reactivity in the cooperatively-breeding marmoset (Callithrix geoffroyi).

PubMed

Birnie, Andrew K; Taylor, Jack H; Cavanaugh, Jon; French, Jeffrey A

2013-12-01

Variation in the early postnatal social environment can have lasting effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress responses. Both rats and macaque monkeys subjected to low quality or abusive maternal care during the early postnatal period have more pronounced HPA responses to environmental stressors throughout development and into adulthood compared to animals reared in higher quality early maternal environments. However, little is known about the relative contributions to HPA stress response styles in developing offspring in species in which offspring care is routinely provided by group members other than the mother, such as in cooperatively breeding mammals. Marmoset monkeys exhibit cooperative offspring rearing, with fathers and older siblings providing care in addition to that provided by the mother. We evaluated the effects of early maternal, paternal, and older sibling care on HPA responses to social separation across development in captive white-faced marmoset offspring (Callithrix geoffroyi). We monitored offspring care by mothers, fathers, and older siblings in marmosets for the first 60 days of life. Later in development, each marmoset experienced three standardized social separation/novelty exposure stressors at 6, 12, and 18 months of age. During separation, we collected urine samples and analyzed them via enzyme immunoassay for cortisol levels. Infants that received higher rates of rejections from the entire family group showed higher cortisol responses to social separation. This relationship was found when mothers, fathers, and older siblings, were analyzed separately as well. No differences in cortisol responses were found between offspring that received high and low rates of carrying or high and low rates of licking and grooming by any group member. In the cooperatively breeding marmoset, early social cues from multiple classes of caregivers may influence HPA stress responses throughout the lifespan. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Quality of Maternal and Paternal Care Predicts Later Stress Reactivity in the Cooperatively-Breeding Marmoset (Callithrix geoffroyi)

PubMed Central

Birnie, Andrew K.; Taylor, Jack H.; Cavanaugh, Jon; French, Jeffrey A.

2013-01-01

Variation in the early postnatal social environment can have lasting effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress responses. Both rats and macaque monkeys subjected to low quality or abusive maternal care during the early postnatal period have more pronounced HPA responses to environmental stressors throughout development and into adulthood compared to animals reared in higher quality early maternal environments. However, little is known about the relative contributions to HPA stress response styles in developing offspring in species in which offspring care is routinely provided by group members other than the mother, such as in cooperatively breeding mammals. Marmoset monkeys exhibit cooperative offspring rearing, with fathers and older siblings providing care in addition to that provided by the mother. We evaluated the effects of early maternal, paternal, and older sibling care on HPA responses to social separation across development in captive white-faced marmoset offspring (Callithrix geoffroyi). We monitored offspring care by mothers, fathers, and older siblings in marmosets for the first 60 days of life. Later in development, each marmoset experienced three standardized social separation/novelty exposure stressors at 6, 12, and 18 months of age. During separation, we collected urine samples and analyzed them via enzyme immunoassay for cortisol levels. Infants that received higher rates of rejections from the entire family group showed higher cortisol responses to social separation. This relationship was found when mothers, fathers, and older siblings, were analyzed separately as well. No differences in cortisol responses were found between offspring that received high and low rates of carrying or high and low rates of licking and grooming by any group member. In the cooperatively breeding marmoset, early social cues from multiple classes of caregivers may influence HPA stress responses throughout the lifespan. PMID:24099861

Birth order and sibling sex ratio of children and adolescents referred to a gender identity service.

PubMed

Vanderlaan, Doug P; Blanchard, Ray; Wood, Hayley; Zucker, Kenneth J

2014-01-01

In adult male samples, homosexuality is associated with a preponderance of older brothers (i.e., the fraternal birth order effect). In several studies comparing gender dysphoric youth, who are likely to be homosexual in adulthood, to clinical or non-clinical control groups, the findings have been consistent with the fraternal birth order effect in males; however, less is known about unique sibship characteristics of gender dysphoric females. The current study investigated birth order and sibling sex ratio in a large sample of children and adolescents referred to the same Gender Identity Service (N = 768). Probands were classified as heterosexual males, homosexual males, or homosexual females based on clinical diagnostic information. Groups differed significantly in age and sibship size, and homosexual females were significantly more likely to be only children. Subsequent analyses controlled for age and for sibship size. Compared to heterosexual males, homosexual males had a significant preponderance of older brothers and homosexual females had a significant preponderance of older sisters. Similarly, the older sibling sex ratio of homosexual males showed a significant excess of brothers whereas that of homosexual females showed a significant excess of sisters. Like previous studies of gender dysphoric youth and adults, these findings were consistent with the fraternal birth order effect. In addition, the greater frequency of only children and elevated numbers of older sisters among the homosexual female group adds to a small literature on sibship characteristics of potential relevance to the development of gender identity and sexual orientation in females.

Parents' First Concerns about Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Effect of Sibling Status

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herlihy, Lauren; Knoch, Kelley; Vibert, Bethany; Fein, Deborah

2015-01-01

Symptoms of autism spectrum disorders may appear as early as 6 months, but parent concern, which can precipitate evaluation, often lags significantly. The presence of typical or atypical older siblings can change parents' sensitivity to departures from typical development. This study investigated type and age of parent's first concerns in toddlers…

Imitation by Second-Borns in Adult-Sibling Dyads.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodapp, Albert F.; LaVoie, Joseph C.

Five- to seven-year-old second-born children from white, middle-class, intact families were the subjects for this study. Older siblings served as role model for each child, and the parent surrogate models were selected from a pool and trained to act as the child's real parent. The imitation task emphasized verbal, postural, and motor responses of…

The Effect of Siblings' Education on School-Entry in the Ethiopian Highlands

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindskog, Annika

2013-01-01

The effects of sisters' and brothers' education on the annual school entry probability of boys and girls in rural Amhara are estimated, using within-household variation. There are negative effects of younger siblings' school attendance on girls' school entry, and positive effects of older brothers' literacy only when they have left school. This is…

Sibling Caretaking Among Mexican American Youth: Conditions That Promote and Hinder Personal and School Success

PubMed Central

East, Patricia L.; Hamill, Sharon B.

2013-01-01

This study examined how Mexican American youths’ extent of sibling caretaking is related to their personal and school adjustment, and whether mothers’ gender-role attitudes and youths’ familistic beliefs moderate these associations. One hundred and ninety-five Mexican American youth (M age 14.8 years; 64% girls) and their mothers participated in the study. Youth completed questionnaires about their extent of sibling caretaking, their educational aspirations, school involvement, school absences, grades, and their prosocial tendencies. Results indicated that, when examined singly, frequent sibling caretaking was related to youths’ higher educational aspirations, greater prosocial tendencies, and more school engagement for older youth, but also to more school absences. When extensive sibling care was coupled with mothers’ sex-stereotyped attitudes, youth experienced poorer outcomes. Youth who held strong familistic beliefs and were highly involved in sibling care reported lower educational aspirations, particularly girls. Findings underscore the importance of considering socialization influences when evaluating associations between sibling caretaking and youths’ development. PMID:24353372

Similarities and Differences in Adolescent Siblings’ Alcohol-Related Attitudes, Use, and Delinquency: Evidence for Convergent and Divergent Influence Processes

PubMed Central

Whiteman, Shawn D.; Jensen, Alexander C.; Maggs, Jennifer L.

2013-01-01

A growing body of research indicates that siblings influence each other’s risky and deviant behaviors during adolescence. Guided by research and theory on sibling similarities and differences, this study examined the operation and implications of three different influence processes--social learning, shared friends, and sibling differentiation--during adolescence. Participants included one parent and two adolescent siblings (earlier born age: M = 17.17 years, SD = 0.94; later born age: M = 14.52 years, SD = 1.27) from 326 families. Data were collected via telephone interviews. Using reports from both older and younger siblings, two-stage cluster analyses revealed three influence profiles: mutual modeling and shared friends, younger sibling admiration, and differentiation. Additional analyses revealed that mutual modeling and shared friends as well as younger sibling admiration were linked to similarities in brothers’ and sisters’ health-risk behaviors and attitudes, whereas differentiation processes were associated with divergence in siblings’ characteristics. The discussion focuses on refining the study of sibling influence, with particular attention paid to the operation and implications of both convergent and divergent influence processes. PMID:23765197

Cardiovascular disease risk profiles among 'healthy' siblings of patients with early-onset cardiovascular disease: application of the new SCORE system.

PubMed

Horan, Paul G; Kamaruddin, Muhammad S; Moore, Michael J; McCarty, David; Spence, Mark S; McGlinchey, Paul G; Murphy, Gillian; Jardine, Tracy C L; Patterson, Chris C; McKeown, Pascal P

2007-08-01

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) occurs more frequently in individuals with a family history of premature CVD. Within families the demographics of CVD are poorly described. We examined the risk estimation based on the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) system and the Joint British Guidelines (JBG) for older unaffected siblings of patients with premature CVD (onset

How Do Growth and Sibling Competition Affect Telomere Dynamics in the First Month of Life of Long-Lived Seabird?

PubMed Central

Mizutani, Yuichi; Niizuma, Yasuaki; Yoda, Ken

2016-01-01

Telomeres are nucleotide sequences located at the ends of chromosomes that promote genome stability. Changes in telomere length (dynamics) are related to fitness or life expectancy, and telomere dynamics during the development phase are likely to be affected by growth and stress factors. Here, we examined telomere dynamics of black-tailed gull chicks (Larus crassirostris) in nests with and without siblings. We found that the initial telomere lengths of singletons at hatching were longer than those of siblings, indicating that singletons are higher-quality chicks than siblings in terms of telomere length. Other factors likely affecting individual quality (i.e., sex, laying date, laying order of eggs, and clutch size) were not related to telomere lengths. Within broods, initial telomere lengths were longer in older chicks than in younger chicks, suggesting that maternal effects, which vary with laying sequence, influence the initial lengths. Additionally, telomeres of chicks with a sibling showed more attrition between hatching and fledging than those of singleton chicks, suggesting that being raised with siblings can cause a sustained competitive environment that leads to telomere loss. High growth rates were associated with a low degree of telomere shortening observed in older siblings, perhaps because slower growth reflects higher food stress and/or higher aerobic metabolism from increased begging effort. Our results show that developmental telomere attrition was an inevitable consequence in two-chick nests in the pre- and post-hatching microenvironments due to the combination of social stress within the nest and maternal effects. The results of our study shed light on telomere dynamics in early life, which may represent an important physiological undercurrent of life-history traits. PMID:27902754

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

PubMed

Piotrowski, Caroline C; Tailor, Ketan; Cormier, Damien C

2014-01-01

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. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relative Importance and Additive Effects of Maternal and Infant Risk Factors on Childhood Asthma

PubMed Central

Rosas-Salazar, Christian; James, Kristina; Escobar, Gabriel; Gebretsadik, Tebeb; Li, Sherian Xu; Carroll, Kecia N.; Walsh, Eileen; Mitchel, Edward; Das, Suman; Kumar, Rajesh; Yu, Chang; Dupont, William D.; Hartert, Tina V.

2016-01-01

Background Environmental exposures that occur in utero and during early life may contribute to the development of childhood asthma through alteration of the human microbiome. The objectives of this study were to estimate the cumulative effect and relative importance of environmental exposures on the risk of childhood asthma. Methods We conducted a population-based birth cohort study of mother-child dyads who were born between 1995 and 2003 and were continuously enrolled in the PRIMA (Prevention of RSV: Impact on Morbidity and Asthma) cohort. The individual and cumulative impact of maternal urinary tract infections (UTI) during pregnancy, maternal colonization with group B streptococcus (GBS), mode of delivery, infant antibiotic use, and older siblings at home, on the risk of childhood asthma were estimated using logistic regression. Dose-response effect on childhood asthma risk was assessed for continuous risk factors: number of maternal UTIs during pregnancy, courses of infant antibiotics, and number of older siblings at home. We further assessed and compared the relative importance of these exposures on the asthma risk. In a subgroup of children for whom maternal antibiotic use during pregnancy information was available, the effect of maternal antibiotic use on the risk of childhood asthma was estimated. Results Among 136,098 singleton birth infants, 13.29% developed asthma. In both univariate and adjusted analyses, maternal UTI during pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18, 1.25; adjusted OR [AOR] 1.04, 95%CI 1.02, 1.07 for every additional UTI) and infant antibiotic use (OR 1.21, 95%CI 1.20, 1.22; AOR 1.16, 95%CI 1.15, 1.17 for every additional course) were associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma, while having older siblings at home (OR 0.92, 95%CI 0.91, 0.93; AOR 0.85, 95%CI 0.84, 0.87 for each additional sibling) was associated with a decreased risk of childhood asthma, in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with vaginal delivery, C-section delivery increased odds of childhood asthma by 34% (OR 1.34, 95%CI 1.29, 1.39) in the univariate analysis and 11% after adjusting for other environmental exposures and covariates (AOR 1.11, 95%CI 1.06, 1.15). Maternal GBS was associated with a significant increased risk of childhood asthma in the univariate analysis (OR 1.27, 95%CI 1.19, 1.35), but not in the adjusted analysis (AOR 1.03, 95%CI 0.96, 1.10). In the subgroup analysis of children whose maternal antibiotic use information was available, maternal antibiotic use was associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma in a similar dose-dependent manner in the univariate and adjusted analyses (OR 1.13, 95%CI 1.12, 1.15; AOR 1.06, 95%CI 1.05, 1.08 for every additional course). Compared with infants with the lowest number of exposures (no UTI during pregnancy, vaginal delivery, at least five older siblings at home, no antibiotics during infancy), infants with the highest number of exposures (at least three UTIs during pregnancy, C-section delivery, no older siblings, eight or more courses of antibiotics during infancy) had a 7.77 fold increased odds of developing asthma (AOR: 7.77, 95%CI: 6.25, 9.65). Lastly, infant antibiotic use had the greatest impact on asthma risk compared with maternal UTI during pregnancy, mode of delivery and having older siblings at home. Conclusion Early-life exposures, maternal UTI during pregnancy (maternal antibiotic use), mode of delivery, infant antibiotic use, and having older siblings at home, are associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma in a cumulative manner, and for those continuous variables, a dose-dependent relationship. Compared with in utero exposures, exposures occurring during infancy have a greater impact on the risk of developing childhood asthma. PMID:27002979

Relative Importance and Additive Effects of Maternal and Infant Risk Factors on Childhood Asthma.

PubMed

Wu, Pingsheng; Feldman, Amy S; Rosas-Salazar, Christian; James, Kristina; Escobar, Gabriel; Gebretsadik, Tebeb; Li, Sherian Xu; Carroll, Kecia N; Walsh, Eileen; Mitchel, Edward; Das, Suman; Kumar, Rajesh; Yu, Chang; Dupont, William D; Hartert, Tina V

2016-01-01

Environmental exposures that occur in utero and during early life may contribute to the development of childhood asthma through alteration of the human microbiome. The objectives of this study were to estimate the cumulative effect and relative importance of environmental exposures on the risk of childhood asthma. We conducted a population-based birth cohort study of mother-child dyads who were born between 1995 and 2003 and were continuously enrolled in the PRIMA (Prevention of RSV: Impact on Morbidity and Asthma) cohort. The individual and cumulative impact of maternal urinary tract infections (UTI) during pregnancy, maternal colonization with group B streptococcus (GBS), mode of delivery, infant antibiotic use, and older siblings at home, on the risk of childhood asthma were estimated using logistic regression. Dose-response effect on childhood asthma risk was assessed for continuous risk factors: number of maternal UTIs during pregnancy, courses of infant antibiotics, and number of older siblings at home. We further assessed and compared the relative importance of these exposures on the asthma risk. In a subgroup of children for whom maternal antibiotic use during pregnancy information was available, the effect of maternal antibiotic use on the risk of childhood asthma was estimated. Among 136,098 singleton birth infants, 13.29% developed asthma. In both univariate and adjusted analyses, maternal UTI during pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18, 1.25; adjusted OR [AOR] 1.04, 95%CI 1.02, 1.07 for every additional UTI) and infant antibiotic use (OR 1.21, 95%CI 1.20, 1.22; AOR 1.16, 95%CI 1.15, 1.17 for every additional course) were associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma, while having older siblings at home (OR 0.92, 95%CI 0.91, 0.93; AOR 0.85, 95%CI 0.84, 0.87 for each additional sibling) was associated with a decreased risk of childhood asthma, in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with vaginal delivery, C-section delivery increased odds of childhood asthma by 34% (OR 1.34, 95%CI 1.29, 1.39) in the univariate analysis and 11% after adjusting for other environmental exposures and covariates (AOR 1.11, 95%CI 1.06, 1.15). Maternal GBS was associated with a significant increased risk of childhood asthma in the univariate analysis (OR 1.27, 95%CI 1.19, 1.35), but not in the adjusted analysis (AOR 1.03, 95%CI 0.96, 1.10). In the subgroup analysis of children whose maternal antibiotic use information was available, maternal antibiotic use was associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma in a similar dose-dependent manner in the univariate and adjusted analyses (OR 1.13, 95%CI 1.12, 1.15; AOR 1.06, 95%CI 1.05, 1.08 for every additional course). Compared with infants with the lowest number of exposures (no UTI during pregnancy, vaginal delivery, at least five older siblings at home, no antibiotics during infancy), infants with the highest number of exposures (at least three UTIs during pregnancy, C-section delivery, no older siblings, eight or more courses of antibiotics during infancy) had a 7.77 fold increased odds of developing asthma (AOR: 7.77, 95%CI: 6.25, 9.65). Lastly, infant antibiotic use had the greatest impact on asthma risk compared with maternal UTI during pregnancy, mode of delivery and having older siblings at home. Early-life exposures, maternal UTI during pregnancy (maternal antibiotic use), mode of delivery, infant antibiotic use, and having older siblings at home, are associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma in a cumulative manner, and for those continuous variables, a dose-dependent relationship. Compared with in utero exposures, exposures occurring during infancy have a greater impact on the risk of developing childhood asthma.

Gender Differences in Children's Nurturant Interactions with Their Infant Siblings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blakemore, Judith E. Owen

The research focused on the exploration of gender differences in interaction with infant siblings in the home and the maternal socialization of baby care in girls as opposed to boys. Observations were made of 20 families, each with 2 parents, an infant under the age of 12 months, and an older child between the ages of 46 and 102 months. Five…

Co-occurring Down syndrome and SUCLA2-related mitochondrial depletion syndrome.

PubMed

Couser, Natario L; Marchuk, Daniel S; Smith, Laurie D; Arreola, Alexandra; Kaiser-Rogers, Kathleen A; Muenzer, Joseph; Pandya, Arti; Gucsavas-Calikoglu, Muge; Powell, Cynthia M

2017-10-01

Mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome 5 (MIM 612073) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by homozygous or compound heterozygous pathogenic variants in the beta subunit of the succinate-CoA ligase gene located within the 13q14 band. We describe two siblings of Hispanic descent with SUCLA2-related mitochondrial depletion syndrome (encephalomyopathic form with methylmalonic aciduria); the older sibling is additionally affected with trisomy 21. SUCLA2 sequencing identified homozygous p.Arg284Cys pathogenic variants in both patients. This mutation has previously been identified in four individuals of Italian and Caucasian descent. The older sibling with concomitant disease has a more severe phenotype than what is typically described in patients with either SUCLA2-related mitochondrial depletion syndrome or Down syndrome alone. The younger sibling, who has a normal female chromosome complement, is significantly less affected compared to her brother. While the clinical and molecular findings have been reported in about 50 patients affected with a deficiency of succinate-CoA ligase caused by pathogenic variants in SUCLA2, this report describes the first known individual affected with both a mitochondrial depletion syndrome and trisomy 21. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Older-sibling and younger-sibling sex ratios in Frisch and Hviid's (2006) national cohort study of two million Danes.

PubMed

Blanchard, Ray

2007-12-01

Frisch and Hviid (2006) recently reported a study of variables that predicted heterosexual and homosexual marriage in a national cohort of Danish men and women. They found no evidence that older brothers increase the probability that a man will legally marry another man. They concluded that their data raise questions about the universality of the widely confirmed finding that older brothers increase the probability that a man will be sexually oriented towards other men (the fraternal birth order effect). In the present article, Frisch and Hviid's data were reanalyzed using one of the procedures that have been used in prior studies of fraternal birth order. The results showed that the sex ratio of older brothers to older sisters was significantly higher than the expected value of 106 in all four of their study groups (heterosexually married men, homosexually married men, heterosexually married women, and homosexually married women). In contrast, the sex ratio of younger brothers to younger sisters approximated 106 in all four groups. According to this analysis, the only group whose data resembled data from previous studies was the homosexually married males. The writer concluded that one cannot interpret findings about the correlates of heterosexual and homosexual marriage as if they were findings about the correlates of heterosexual and homosexual orientation, and that this is underscored by comparing the markedly different older-sibling sex ratios obtained from heterosexually married persons (in the Danish study) and those obtained from heterosexually oriented persons (in previous studies). It is unclear what implications, if any, Frisch and Hviid's findings have for the study of sexual orientation in general.

Family Characteristics as Risk Factors for Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

PubMed Central

Zwahlen, Marcel; Brazzola, Pierluigi; Niggli, Felix; Kuehni, Claudia

2010-01-01

Background To date, few risk factors for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have been confirmed and the scientific literature is full of controversial “evidence.” We examined if family characteristics, particularly maternal and paternal age and number of older siblings, were risk factors for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methodology/Principal Findings In this population-based nationwide matched case-control study, patients 0–14 years of age with ALL diagnosed 1991–2006 and registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry were linked with their census records of 1990 and 2000. Eight controls per case were selected from the census. The association between family characteristics and ALL was analyzed by conditional logistic regressions. We found that increasing maternal age was associated with incidence of ALL in the offspring (OR per 5-year increase in maternal age 1.18, 95% CI 1.05–1.31; p = 0.004), remaining stable (trend OR 1.14, 95% CI 0.99–1.31; p = 0.060) after adjustment for other risk factors. The association with paternal age was weaker (OR per 5-year increase 1.14, 95% CI 1.01–1.28, p = 0.032) and disappeared after adjustments. Number of older siblings was not associated with risk of ALL in the overall group of children aged 0–14 years at diagnosis. However, we found a negative trend between number of older siblings and ALL diagnosed at age 0–4 years (OR per sibling 0.85, 95% CI 0.68–1.06; p = 0.141) and a positive trend for ALL diagnosed at age 5–9 (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.05–1.72; p = 0.019), with some evidence for an effect modification (p-value for interaction  = 0.040). Conclusions As in other studies, increasing maternal, but not paternal age was associated with risk of ALL. We found only a weak association with the number of older siblings, suggesting a delay in disease manifestation rather than a decrease in incidence. PMID:20957179

A child-centred exploration of the relevance of family and friends to theory of mind development.

PubMed

Wright, Barlow C; Mahfoud, Janina

2012-02-01

Theory of Mind (ToM) is said to develop at around 4 years old. But some studies suggest it develops considerably earlier than this, with others suggesting it develops much later. Although several recent studies have found that social factors (like gender, family size, number of siblings, and number of friends) can impact on ToM, other studies contradict those findings. We wondered whether addressing several procedural issues and ensuring the task concerns real protagonists in real time, would bear on the above issues. Here, 114 children of 3-6 years completed four ToM tasks incorporating controls from experimental psychology, including randomly varying the order of ToM and non-ToM questions across participants. Now, children passed ToM tasks from around 5 years old, rather than 4 years or earlier. Girls did not develop ToM any earlier than boys. There was clear correlational evidence for the older-sibling effect and effects of friends but no reliable effects of nuclear or extended family. However, when these factors were set in the context of one another, the sibling effect was driven by a negative influence from younger siblings (as opposed to older siblings) and the friends effect was driven by friends at school (as opposed to friends at home). Finally, "friends" was a stronger predictor than siblings but memory (a cognitive factor) and age (a maturational factor) were the strongest predictors of all. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Birth Order and Sibling Sex Ratio of Children and Adolescents Referred to a Gender Identity Service

PubMed Central

VanderLaan, Doug P.; Blanchard, Ray; Wood, Hayley; Zucker, Kenneth J.

2014-01-01

In adult male samples, homosexuality is associated with a preponderance of older brothers (i.e., the fraternal birth order effect). In several studies comparing gender dysphoric youth, who are likely to be homosexual in adulthood, to clinical or non-clinical control groups, the findings have been consistent with the fraternal birth order effect in males; however, less is known about unique sibship characteristics of gender dysphoric females. The current study investigated birth order and sibling sex ratio in a large sample of children and adolescents referred to the same Gender Identity Service (N = 768). Probands were classified as heterosexual males, homosexual males, or homosexual females based on clinical diagnostic information. Groups differed significantly in age and sibship size, and homosexual females were significantly more likely to be only children. Subsequent analyses controlled for age and for sibship size. Compared to heterosexual males, homosexual males had a significant preponderance of older brothers and homosexual females had a significant preponderance of older sisters. Similarly, the older sibling sex ratio of homosexual males showed a significant excess of brothers whereas that of homosexual females showed a significant excess of sisters. Like previous studies of gender dysphoric youth and adults, these findings were consistent with the fraternal birth order effect. In addition, the greater frequency of only children and elevated numbers of older sisters among the homosexual female group adds to a small literature on sibship characteristics of potential relevance to the development of gender identity and sexual orientation in females. PMID:24651045

Enhanced ERPs to visual stimuli in unaffected male siblings of ASD children.

PubMed

Anzures, Gizelle; Goyet, Louise; Ganea, Natasa; Johnson, Mark H

2016-01-01

Autism spectrum disorders are characterized by deficits in social and communication abilities. While unaffected relatives lack severe deficits, milder impairments have been reported in some first-degree relatives. The present study sought to verify whether mild deficits in face perception are evident among the unaffected younger siblings of children with ASD. Children between 6-9 years of age completed a face-recognition task and a passive viewing ERP task with face and house stimuli. Sixteen children were typically developing with no family history of ASD, and 17 were unaffected children with an older sibling with ASD. Findings indicate that, while unaffected siblings are comparable to controls in their face-recognition abilities, unaffected male siblings in particular show relatively enhanced P100 and P100-N170 peak-to-peak amplitude responses to faces and houses. Enhanced ERPs among unaffected male siblings is discussed in relation to potential differences in neural network recruitment during visual and face processing.

An Exploratory Study of Selected Aspects of the Relationship Between Family Interaction and Language Development in Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubbell, Robert Denton

Sixteen middle class, four-person families were used in a study comparing communicative behavior of parents interacting with a younger child (3 or 4 years old) whose language skills were developing, and with an older child (6 or 7 years old) whose basic language skills were established. Combinations of sex of siblings and sibling position were…

From Using Tools to Using Language in Infant Siblings of Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sparaci, Laura; Northrup, Jessie B.; Capirci, Olga; Iverson, Jana M.

2018-01-01

Forty-one high-risk infants (HR) with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were observed longitudinally at 10, 12, 18 and 24 months of age during a tool use task in a play-like scenario. Changes in grasp types and functional actions produced with a spoon were assessed during elicited tool use. Outcome and vocabulary measures were…

Changes in the effects of living with no siblings or living with grandparents on overweight and obesity in children: Results from a national cohort study in Japan

PubMed Central

Fuse, Kana; Nishi, Nobuo

2017-01-01

Effects of living without siblings and living with grandparents on overweight and obesity may change with child’s age. We aimed to examine these effects from early childhood to school age at the national level in Japan. Subjects were 43,046 children born in Japan during two weeks in 2001 who were followed annually from 2.5 to 13 years of age in the Longitudinal Survey of Newborns in the 21st Century. We used measured body height and weight reported by participants at each survey and followed the criteria of the International Obesity Task Force to define overweight and obesity. Random-effects logit models by sex, adjusted for time-varying and time-invariant covariates, assessed odds ratios of overweight and obesity for living without siblings and for living with grandparents at each age. The likelihood of overweight and obesity was significantly higher at 8 years and older among children living without siblings, compared with those living with siblings, and odds ratios were highest at 11 years of age in boys (1.87, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.49, 2.33) and at 10 and 13 years of age in girls (1.75 [95% CI: 1.36, 2.23] and 1.73 [95% CI: 1.30, 2.31], respectively). It was also significantly higher at 5.5 years and older among children living with grandparents, compared with those living without grandparents, and odds ratios were highest at 10 and 13 years of age in boys (1.53 [95% CI: 1.30, 1.80] and 1.54 [95% CI: 1.27, 1.86], respectively) and at 11 years of age in girls (1.51, 95% CI: 1.24, 1.84). In Japan, living without siblings and living with grandparents may increase the likelihood of overweight and obesity at 8 and 5.5 years and older, respectively. Child’s age should be considered during formulation of strategies for prevention of overweight and obesity in these groups. PMID:28414810

Changes in the effects of living with no siblings or living with grandparents on overweight and obesity in children: Results from a national cohort study in Japan.

PubMed

Ikeda, Nayu; Fuse, Kana; Nishi, Nobuo

2017-01-01

Effects of living without siblings and living with grandparents on overweight and obesity may change with child's age. We aimed to examine these effects from early childhood to school age at the national level in Japan. Subjects were 43,046 children born in Japan during two weeks in 2001 who were followed annually from 2.5 to 13 years of age in the Longitudinal Survey of Newborns in the 21st Century. We used measured body height and weight reported by participants at each survey and followed the criteria of the International Obesity Task Force to define overweight and obesity. Random-effects logit models by sex, adjusted for time-varying and time-invariant covariates, assessed odds ratios of overweight and obesity for living without siblings and for living with grandparents at each age. The likelihood of overweight and obesity was significantly higher at 8 years and older among children living without siblings, compared with those living with siblings, and odds ratios were highest at 11 years of age in boys (1.87, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.49, 2.33) and at 10 and 13 years of age in girls (1.75 [95% CI: 1.36, 2.23] and 1.73 [95% CI: 1.30, 2.31], respectively). It was also significantly higher at 5.5 years and older among children living with grandparents, compared with those living without grandparents, and odds ratios were highest at 10 and 13 years of age in boys (1.53 [95% CI: 1.30, 1.80] and 1.54 [95% CI: 1.27, 1.86], respectively) and at 11 years of age in girls (1.51, 95% CI: 1.24, 1.84). In Japan, living without siblings and living with grandparents may increase the likelihood of overweight and obesity at 8 and 5.5 years and older, respectively. Child's age should be considered during formulation of strategies for prevention of overweight and obesity in these groups.

Adult sibling experience, roles, relationships and future concerns - a review of the literature in learning disabilities.

PubMed

Davys, Deborah; Mitchell, Duncan; Haigh, Carol

2011-10-01

This paper provides a review of the literature related to adult siblings of learning-disabled people. Siblings of learning-disabled people are often looked upon as next of kin when older parents die; however, there is little research regarding sibling views and wishes. A literature review of published peer-reviewed empirical research was undertaken. Electronic databases and citation tracking were used to collate data using key terms such as adult siblings and learning disability. Relevant articles were analysed, compared and contrasted. Six key themes emerged suggesting a varied impact of learning disability upon sibling lives in areas that include life choices, relationships, identity and future plans. Some siblings report a positive impact upon life, others state their lives are comparable with other adults who do not have a learning-disabled sibling and others still report a negative impact. Sibling roles and relationships are varied. Evidence suggests that sibling roles, relationships and experience are affected by life stage. Parents often have a primary care role for the disabled person, whilst siblings perform a more distant role; however, sibling involvement often rises when parents are no longer able to provide previous levels of support. Many factors appear to affect the sibling experience and uptake of roles including gender, life stage and circumstances, level of disability, health status and relationships between family members. Siblings are concerned about the future, particularly when parents are no longer able to provide support, and many appear to have expectations of future responsibilities regarding their disabled sibling. As siblings of people who have a learning disability are often expected by society to provide support, it is important that health and social care practitioners are aware of issues that may impact on this relationship. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Are there shared environmental influences on adolescent behavior? Evidence from a study of adoptive siblings.

PubMed

Buchanan, Jacob P; McGue, Matt; Keyes, Margaret; Iacono, William G

2009-09-01

The failure to identify specific non-shared environmental influences on behavior coupled with the belief that shared environmental factors contribute minimally to individual differences in behavior has led to the concern that major environmental determinants of behavior may be idiosyncratic, and therefore undetectable. We used data on adoptive (N = 246) and biologically related (N = 130) same-sex sibling pairs (mean ages = 16.1 years older sibling; 13.8 years younger sibling) from the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study (SIBS) to determine whether non-idiosyncratic environmental factors shared by siblings contributed to individual differences in a diverse set of behavioral outcomes. Evidence for shared environmental influence was sought for eight composite measures covering a wide array of adolescent functioning: Academic Achievement, Total IQ, Substance Use Disorders, Externalizing Disorders, Internalizing Disorders, Peer Groups, Disinhibited Personality, and Negative Emotionality. For six of eight composites, significant shared environmental effects, accounting for 14-22% of the variance, were observed for these same-sex sibling pairs. These findings support the use of adoptive sibling designs to directly estimate shared environmental effects and implicate the existence of systematic environmental influences on behavior that are potentially detectable.

Care work versus career work: sibling conflict over getting priorities right.

PubMed

Lashewicz, Bonnie

2011-01-01

As the average age of the Canadian population continues to increase, and providing care at home to frail older adults becomes ever more prevalent, support for family and friend caregivers remains a key social policy issue. Economic support is an important consideration given the impact of caregiving on labour force participation. Yet the caregiving/paid work relationship is not always straightforward. While caregiving often restricts employment, limited attachment to employment may also influence the decision to provide care. Isabel's story, collected as part of a study of sibling views of fairness in sharing parent care as well as parent assets, provides a case study in how siblings give different priority to care work versus career work and what support needs arise including those related to sibling conflict over differing priorities. Isabel claims she sacrificed her career to care for her ailing mother while her siblings argue that through caregiving, Isabel was sheltered from the paid workforce.

Caregiving, Perceptions of Maternal Favoritism, and Tension Among Siblings

PubMed Central

Suitor, J. Jill; Gilligan, Megan; Johnson, Kaitlin; Pillemer, Karl

2014-01-01

Purpose: Studies of later-life families have revealed that sibling tension often increases in response to parents’ need for care. Both theory and research on within-family differences suggest that when parents’ health declines, sibling relations may be affected by which children assume care and whether siblings perceive that the parent favors some offspring over others. In the present study, we explore the ways in which these factors shape sibling tension both independently and in combination during caregiving. Design and Methods: In this article, we use data collected from 450 adult children nested within 214 later-life families in which the offspring reported that their mothers needed care within 2 years prior to the interview. Results: Multilevel analyses demonstrated that providing care and perceiving favoritism regarding future caregiving were associated with sibling tension following mothers’ major health events. Further, the effects of caregiving on sibling tension were greater when perceptions of favoritism were also present. Implications: These findings shed new light on the conditions under which adult children are likely to experience high levels of sibling tension during caregiving. Understanding these processes is important because siblings are typically the individuals to whom caregivers are most likely to turn for support when assuming care of older parents, yet these relationships are often a major source of interpersonal stress. PMID:23811753

Similarities in Adolescent Siblings’ Substance Use: Testing Competing Pathways of Influence

PubMed Central

Whiteman, Shawn D.; Jensen, Alexander C.; Maggs, Jennifer L.

2013-01-01

Objective: An accumulating body of work indicates that siblings uniquely influence each other’s alcohol and substance use behaviors during adolescence. The mechanisms underlying these associations, however, are unknown because most studies have not measured sibling influence processes. The present study addressed this gap by exploring the links between multiple influence processes and sibling similarities in alcohol and substance use. Method: The sample included one parent and two adolescent siblings (earlier born age: M = 17.17 years, SD = 0.94; later born age: M = 14.52 years, SD = 1.27) from 326 families. Data were collected via telephone interviews with parents and the two siblings. Results: A series of logistic regressions revealed that, after parents’ and peers’ use as well as other variables including parenting was statistically controlled for, older siblings’ alcohol and other substance use was positively associated with younger siblings’ patterns of use. Furthermore, sibling modeling and shared friends were significant moderators of these associations. For adolescents’ alcohol use, the links between sibling modeling and shared peer networks were interactive, such that the associations between modeling and similarity in alcohol use were stronger when siblings shared friends. Conclusions: Future research should continue to investigate the ways in which siblings influence each other because such processes are emerging targets for intervention and prevention efforts. PMID:23200155

Who Provides Care? A Prospective Study of Caregiving Among Adult Siblings

PubMed Central

Pillemer, Karl; Suitor, J. Jill

2014-01-01

Purpose: We use data from a longitudinal, within-family study to identify factors that predict which adult siblings assumed caregiving responsibilities to older mothers over a 7-year period. Design and Methods: Data for the study were collected from 139 older mothers at 2 points 7 years apart regarding their expectations and experiences of care from 537 adult children. Results: Children whom mothers identified at T1 as their expected future caregivers were much more likely to provide care when a serious illness occurred. Caregiving offspring were also more likely at T1 to have shared their mothers’ values, lived in proximity, and to be daughters. Implications: The findings indicate the degree to which a mother’s expectations for care predict actual caregiving by that child. Practitioners working with older adults should explore parents’ expectations for future care that involves their adult children. PMID:23840019

Early childhood environment related to microbial exposure and the occurrence of atopic disease at school age.

PubMed

de Meer, G; Janssen, N A H; Brunekreef, B

2005-05-01

There is a growing body of evidence that the early childhood environment with respect to day care attendance, older siblings, pet ownership, and early life airway infections may protect from developing atopic disease. Few studies have distinguished between atopic sensitization and symptoms, and none have evaluated independent contributions for all of these different environmental conditions. Examine independent effects on atopic sensitization and symptoms of day care attendance, older siblings, pet ownership, and early infancy's airway disease. A cross-sectional survey among 8-13-year-old school children with complete data for 1555 children. After adjustment for confounders, atopic sensitization occurred less frequently in children that had attended a day care centre (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.55-0.98) or had a cat or dog before 2 years of age (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.61-0.99). Having older siblings yielded a nonsignificant trend towards protection (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.70-1.11). For symptoms, there was no relation with having older sibs, day care attendance and pet ownership, although there was a trend towards protection for the combination of atopy and symptoms. In contrast, children with doctors' treated airway disease before age 2, more frequently reported recent symptoms of wheeze, asthma, rhinitis, or dermatitis (all P < 0.05). Early life environmental exposure to day care, or pets may protect against atopic sensitization. Protection against symptoms only occurred if atopic sensitization was present as well.

Body Talk: Siblings' Use of Positive and Negative Body Self-Disclosure and Associations with Sibling Relationship Quality and Body-Esteem.

PubMed

Greer, Kelly Bassett; Campione-Barr, Nicole; Lindell, Anna K

2015-08-01

The sibling relationship has been deemed the quintessential "love-hate relationship." Sibling relationships have also been found to have both positive and negative impacts on the adjustment of youth. Unlike previous research, however, the present study examined the associations between siblings' positive and negative body-related disclosures with relationship quality and body-esteem. Additionally, ordinal position, individual sex, and sibling sex composition were tested as moderators. Participants included 101 predominantly White and middle class adolescent sibling dyads (54 % female adolescents, with relatively equal sibling gender compositions). Older siblings were, on average, 16.46 (SD = 1.35) years old with younger siblings an average of 13.67 (SD = 1.56) years. Adolescents completed questionnaires and data were analyzed using Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling, which focused on disclosure to and from dyad members. In general, sibling body-related disclosure was positive for the quality of the sibling relationship, regardless of the valance of disclosure. Also, adolescents' body esteem was greater when adolescents reported disclosing (i.e., actor-effects) about positive or negative body issues to their siblings (particularly for females). Conversely, when adolescents received positive or negative body-related disclosures from their siblings (i.e., partner-effects), adolescents reported lower levels of body esteem (particularly for girls and younger siblings). Thus, the impact of body-related disclosure on adolescents' feelings of body esteem appear to be associated more with whether they are the discloser or the one being disclosed to, while the impact on the quality of the relationship has simply more to do with whether or not they are generally disclosing to one another.

Health Education through Interactive Radio: A Child-to-Child Project in Bolivia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fryer, Michelle L.

1991-01-01

Because older children in developing countries often assume responsibility for the care of their younger siblings, health education programs are aimed to these older children. An interactive radio health curriculum was developed in Bolivia that includes lessons on personal hygiene, rehydration, home sanitation, and nutrition. (JOW)

Helping patterns and reproductive success in Aymara communities.

PubMed

Crognier, E; Villena, M; Vargas, E

2002-01-01

"Helpers at the nest," young adults remaining in their parents home to take care of younger siblings, are known in many species of birds and mammals. Similar behaviors are occasionally observed in human societies but their frequency and significance for parental reproductive success are still not fully appraised. This study was designed to document this issue in a traditional Aymara peasant society of the Bolivian Altiplano, It is based on 359 reproductive life histories of women 45 years of age or older and on a survey of children's workload in 1998 and 1999. The presence of "potential helpers" in the household is significantly associated with higher fertility and with improved survival of siblings to sexual maturity. Caretaking is not particularly assigned to older daughters. The positive relationship between the availability of offspring help and reproductive success does not demonstrate a causal role for child caretaking because, in contrast with nonhuman helpers, workloads of children range from housekeeping to agricultural tasks, instead of being focused on feeding or protecting younger siblings. Correlation and multiple regression analyses, however, suggest that the total amount of care given by the older offspring and the amount of care received by each recipient are, along with offspring contribution to household economy, among the determinants of parental reproductive success. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Sibship size, birth order and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and infectious mononucleosis: a nationwide study in Sweden.

PubMed

Liu, Zhiwei; Fang, Fang; Chang, Ellen T; Adami, Hans-Olov; Ye, Weimin

2016-06-01

The aetiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains enigmatic in endemic and non-endemic areas. Early-life infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may predispose to NPC development, whereas delayed primary infection with EBV may cause infectious mononucleosis (IM). We used Swedish population and health registers to investigate whether potential indicators of early EBV infection, such as birth order, sibship size, maternal age and paternal age, are related to the subsequent risks for NPC and IM. We conducted two nested case-control studies, one for each health outcome, based on 251 NPC case patients, 11 314 IM case patients and five population control subjects per case matched by birth year and sex. We used conditional logistic regression modelling to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for NPC and IM. The multivariate-adjusted ORs of developing NPC increased with number of siblings; the ORs associated with having one, two and three or more siblings, compared with none, were 1.59 (95% CI = 0.97, 2.62), 1.94 (95% CI = 1.17, 3.22), and 2.03 (95% CI = 1.23, 3.35), respectively (Ptrend = 0.006). This increased risk of NPC was explained mainly by having older rather than younger siblings. In contrast, lower risks of IM were observed among individuals with an increasing number of older siblings, younger siblings and total siblings. Early-life social environment, possibly related to EBV infection, contributes to NPC pathogenesis in non-endemic areas. This hypothesis is further supported by the clearly contrasting findings between NPC and IM. © The Author 2015; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

Fertility is reduced in women and in men with type 1 diabetes: results from the Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium (T1DGC).

PubMed

Wiebe, Julia C; Santana, Angelo; Medina-Rodríguez, Nathan; Hernández, Marta; Nóvoa, Javier; Mauricio, Dídac; Wägner, Ana M

2014-12-01

A recent Finnish study described reduced fertility in patients with childhood-onset type 1 diabetes. The Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium (T1DGC) is an international programme studying the genetics and pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes that includes families with the disease. Our aim was to assess fertility, defined as number of offspring, in the affected and unaffected siblings included in the T1DGC. Clinical information from participants aged ≥18 years at the time of examination was included in the present analysis. The number of offspring of affected and unaffected siblings was compared (in families including both) and the influence of birth year, disease duration and age of onset was assessed, the last in affected siblings only, using Poisson regression models. A total of 3010 affected and 801 unaffected adult siblings that belonged to 1761 families were assessed. The mean number of offspring was higher in the unaffected than in the affected individuals, and the difference between the two groups was more pronounced in women than men. Poisson regression analysis showed that both sex and birth cohort significantly affected the differences between groups. In the affected siblings, adult onset (≥18 years), female sex and older birth cohort were associated with higher fertility. Patients with type 1 diabetes have fewer children than their unaffected siblings. This effect is more evident in women and in older birth cohorts. Onset of type 1 diabetes as an adult rather than a child is associated with a higher number of offspring, even after accounting for birth cohort and disease duration.

Birth order and sibling sex ratio in homosexual transsexual South Korean men: Effects of the male-preference stopping rule.

PubMed

Zucker, Kenneth J; Blanchard, Ray; Kim, Tae-Suk; Pae, Chi-Un; Lee, Chul

2007-10-01

Two biodemographic variables - birth order and sibling sex ratio - have been examined in several Western samples of homosexual transsexual men. The results have consistently shown that homosexual transsexuals have a later birth order and come from sibships with an excess of brothers to sisters; the excess of brothers has been largely driven by the number of older brothers and hence has been termed the fraternal birth order effect. In the present study the birth order and sibling sex ratio were examined in an Asian sample of 43 homosexual transsexual men and 49 heterosexual control men from South Korea. Although the transsexual men had a significantly late birth order, so did the control men. Unlike Western samples, the Korean transsexuals had a significant excess of sisters, not brothers, as did the control men, and this was largely accounted for by older sisters. It is concluded that a male-preference stopping rule governing parental reproductive behavior had a strong impact on these two biodemographic variables. Future studies that examine birth order and sibling sex ratio in non-Western samples of transsexuals need to be vigilant for the influential role of stopping rules, including the one identified in the present study.

Psychosocial adjustment in siblings of young people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

PubMed

Read, Joy; Kinali, Maria; Muntoni, Francesco; Garralda, M Elena

2010-07-01

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive, impairing, life-limiting disorder of childhood. Little is known about how siblings adapt to this. The aim of this study is to document psychosocial adjustment in siblings of patients with DMD. Healthy siblings (11-18 years old) of young people with DMD attending a specialist paediatric centre and their parent/main carer took part. Parents, siblings and teachers completed a battery of questionnaires: (i) to assess psychiatric risk the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); (ii) to measure general wellbeing: SF-36; (iii) to document DMD illness disability: Functional Disability Inventory (FDI); (iv) to assess family function and life stresses for the unaffected sibling: Family Assessment Device (FAD), Family Burden Interview Schedule and Life Events Checklist. Forty six/77 eligible siblings (24 females/22 males); (mean age 14 years (SD 2.3)) took part. Although their mean psychological functioning and wellbeing questionnaire scores were comparable to normative data, there was a trend for more siblings scoring at high-risk for psychological (mainly emotional) problems. Weak/moderate associations with psychological symptoms in siblings varied according to informant and included the following factors: closeness in age to the affected sibling; older sibling age; extent of wheelchair use, burden of illness on family interactions, and siblings reporting high impact of illness on their lives. Psychological symptoms were also associated with less sibling involvement in patient care, with broader psychosocial and family disadvantage and with life stresses. Siblings have an increased risk for emotional problems, which appears influenced by specific illness factors. Copyright (c) 2009 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prenatal influences on sexual orientation: digit ratio (2D:4D) and number of older siblings.

PubMed

Kangassalo, Katariina; Pölkki, Mari; Rantala, Markus J

2011-10-10

Prenatal androgen levels are suggested to influence sexual orientation in both sexes. The 2D:4D digit ratio has been found to associate with sexual orientation, but published findings have often been contradictory, which may partly be due to the large ethnic diversity between and within studied populations. In men, number of older brothers has been found to correlate positively with homosexuality. This phenomenon has been explained with a maternal immune reaction, which is provoked only by male fetuses and which gets stronger after each pregnancy. Here we assessed the relationship of sexual orientation to 2D:4D ratios and number of older siblings in Finland, where the population is found to be genetically relatively homogeneous. As in many previous studies, heterosexual men had lower 2D:4D than non-heterosexual men, which supports the notion that non- heterosexual men experience higher androgen levels in utero than population norms. Contrary to previous reports, non-heterosexual women had higher 2D:4D than heterosexual women. Non-heterosexual men had more older brothers and older sisters than heterosexual men. The greater number of older sisters in non-heterosexual men indicates that there are other factors that contribute to the higher birth order of homosexual men than the maternal immunization.

Psychological Functioning, Post-Traumatic Growth, and Coping in Parents and Siblings of Adolescent Cancer Survivors.

PubMed

Turner-Sack, Andrea M; Menna, Rosanne; Setchell, Sarah R; Maan, Cathy; Cataudella, Danielle

2016-01-01

To examine psychological functioning, post-traumatic growth (PTG), coping, and cancer-related characteristics of adolescent cancer survivors' parents and siblings.
. Descriptive, correlational.
. Children's Hospital of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.
. Adolescents who finished cancer treatment 2-10 years prior (n = 31), as well as their parents (n = 30) and siblings (n = 18). 
. Participants completed self-report measures of psychological distress, PTG, life satisfaction, coping, and cancer-related characteristics.
. Psychological functioning, PTG, and coping.
. Parents' and siblings' PTG levels were similar to survivors' PTG levels; however, parents reported higher PTG than siblings. Parents who used less avoidant coping, were younger, and had higher life satisfaction experienced less psychological distress. Parents whose survivor children used more active coping reported less psychological distress. Siblings who were older used more active coping, and the longer it had been since their brother or sister was diagnosed, the less avoidant coping they used. 
. Childhood and adolescent cancer affects survivors' siblings and parents in unique ways.
. Relationship to the survivor, use of coping strategies, life satisfaction, and time since diagnosis affect family members' postcancer experiences.

"No! The lambs can stay out because they got cozies": constructive and destructive sibling conflict, pretend play, and social understanding.

PubMed

Howe, Nina; Rinaldi, Christina M; Jennings, Melissa; Petrakos, Harriet

2002-01-01

Associations among constructive and destructive sibling conflict, pretend play, internal state language, and sibling relationship quality were investigated in 40 middle-class dyads with a kindergarten-age child (M age = 5.7 years). In 20 dyads the sibling was older (M age = 7.1 years) and in 20 dyads the sibling was younger (M age = 3.6 years). Dyads were videotaped playing with a farm set for 15 min; transcribed sessions were coded for (1) five types of conflict issues; (2) constructive, destructive, and passive resolution strategies; and (3) verbal and physical aggression. Measures of pretend play enactment, low- and high-level pretense negotiation strategies, and internal state language were also based on the transcripts. The Sibling Behavior and Feelings Questionnaire was used to assess both siblings' perceptions of sibling relationship quality. Findings revealed that conflict issues, aggression, and internal state language were associated with specific resolution strategies. Associations were evident between conflict issues and resolutions. Moreover, conflict issues and resolutions were associated with (1) relationship quality, (2) high-level pretense negotiation, and (3) internal state language employed in both play and conflict. Findings are discussed in light of recent theory on developmental processes operating within children's relationships.

Adolescents' Experiences 7 and 13 Months Following the Death of a Brother or Sister.

PubMed

Brooten, Dorothy; Youngblut, JoAnne M; Roche, Rosa M

2017-06-01

This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to describe adolescents' responses at 7 and 13 months to siblings' NICU/PICU/ED death. At 7 months, adolescents were asked about events around the sibling's death; at 7 and 13 months, about concerns/fears, feelings, and life changes. Seventeen adolescents participated (13-18 years; M=15); 65% Black, 24% Hispanic, 11% White. Themes included death circumstances, burial events, thinking about the deceased sibling, fears, and life changes. Adolescents reported shock and disbelief that the sibling died; 80% knew the reason for the death; many had difficulty getting through burials; all thought about the sibling. From 7 - 13 months fears increased including losing someone and thoughts of dying. Adolescents reported more changes in family life and greater life changes in them (more considerate, mature) by 13 months; some felt friends abandoned them after the sibling's death. Girls had more fears and changes in family life and themselves. Adolescent's responses to sibling death may not be visually apparent. One recommendation from this study is to ask adolescents how they are doing separately from parents since adolescents may hide feelings to protect their parents, especially their mothers. Older adolescents (14-18 years) and girls may have more difficulty after sibling death.

Proactive and reactive sibling aggression and adjustment in adolescence.

PubMed

Tucker, Corinna Jenkins; Van Gundy, Karen T; Wiesen-Martin, Desireé; Hiley Sharp, Erin; Rebellon, Cesar J; Stracuzzi, Nena F

2015-03-01

Existing research on aggression tends to narrowly focus on peers; less is known about sibling aggression, most likely due to its historical acceptance. Aggression is characterized by its forms (i.e., physical vs. social or relational aggression) and its functions (i.e., the motivations behind the aggressive act and categorized as proactive vs. reactive aggression). We use data from a two-wave study of middle (n = 197; M age = 12.63 years at Wave 1) and older (n = 159; M age = 16.50 years at Wave 1) adolescents to assess the extent to which proactive and reactive functions of sibling aggression make unique or conditional contributions to adolescent adjustment (i.e., depression, delinquency, and substance use). We find that proactive sibling aggression increases risk for problem substance use and delinquent behavior, reactive sibling aggression increases risk for depressed mood and delinquent behavior, and such results are observed even with statistical adjustments for sociodemographic and family variables, stressful life events, and prior adjustment. Few conditional effects of proactive or reactive sibling aggression by sex or grade are observed; yet, for all three outcomes, the harmful effects of reactive sibling aggression are strongest among adolescents who report low levels of proactive sibling aggression. The results speak to the importance of understanding the proactive and reactive functions of sibling aggressive behaviors for adolescent adjustment. © The Author(s) 2014.

Pretense of parentage by siblings in immigration: Polesky's paradox reconsidered.

PubMed

Wenk, Robert E; Shao, Alison

2014-02-01

Older and younger siblings occasionally attempt to impersonate parent and child to expedite immigration under US family-based visa policies. The rate with which full siblings escape detection by current relationship tests is unknown. Retrospective study of full-sibling immigrant pairs was undertaken to determine the proportion that show insufficient genetic evidence to exclude parentage. Sibship and parentage indices (SI and PI) were compared/case in unexcluded sibling cases and true parent-child cases. Alleles shared per short-tandem-repeat locus were compared in sibling and parent-child pairs. The proportion of successful parentage fraud by siblings was estimated from the parentage exclusion rate among immigrants and the proportion of sibships without genetic inconsistencies (GIs). When 11 to 25 independent loci were tested per two-sibling case to verify or refute parentage, tests failed to demonstrate any GI in 9% and PI was greater than SI in seven of 10 of these cases. Another 29% of full-sibling pairs demonstrated insufficient evidence (fewer than two GIs) to exclude parentage. Thus, 0.4% of sibling pairs could falsely claim a parent-child relationship and show no GIs. Another 1.4% could make that false claim and not present sufficient evidence to be excluded. At present, with no evidence of parentage exclusion in a full-sibling pair, the relative magnitudes of PI and SI are misleading relationship indicators because too few loci are examined and rates of sharing one and two alleles/locus vary greatly in parentage and sibling pairs. Only evidence of exclusion ascertains false parentage claims by siblings. Nevertheless, the expected rate of successful fraud is quite low. © 2013 American Association of Blood Banks.

Dynamic and heterogeneous effects of sibling death on children's outcomes.

PubMed

Fletcher, Jason; Vidal-Fernandez, Marian; Wolfe, Barbara

2018-01-02

This paper explores the effects of experiencing the death of a sibling on children's developmental outcomes. Recent work has shown that experiencing a sibling death is common and long-term effects are large. We extend understanding of these effects by estimating dynamic effects on surviving siblings' cognitive and socioemotional outcomes, as well as emotional and cognitive support by parents. Using the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (CNLSY79), we find large initial effects on cognitive and noncognitive outcomes that decline over time. We also provide evidence that the effects are larger if the surviving child is older and less prominent if the deceased child was either disabled or an infant, suggesting sensitive periods of exposure. Auxiliary results show that parental investments in the emotional support of surviving children decline following the death of their child.

Home and Parenting Resources Available to Siblings Depending on Their Birth Intention Status

PubMed Central

Barber, Jennifer S.; East, Patricia L.

2011-01-01

This study examines the differential availability of family and parenting resources to children depending on their birth planning status. It uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) that assessed family and HOME resources for 3,134 mothers and their 5,890 children, of whom 63% were reported as intended at conception, 27% as mistimed, and 10% as unwanted. Results confirm previous findings that children born as a result of unintended pregnancies (both mistimed and unwanted) have fewer total resources and fewer cognitive and emotional supports than children born as a result of intended pregnancies, net of family background controls. Fixed effects (within-mother) models show that unwanted and mistimed children had fewer parental resources than their intended siblings. Our results also indicate decreases in parental emotional resources to an older child after the birth of a mistimed younger sibling. Findings suggest that cognitive and emotional resources are differentially available to children within a family depending on their intention status, and that unintended births may lead to a decrease in parental resources for older children in the household. PMID:19489912

Sibling sex ratio and sexual orientation in men and women: new tests in two national probability samples.

PubMed

Bogaert, Anthony F

2005-02-01

One line of research on the etiology of sexual orientation has examined sibling sex ratio, the ratio of brothers to sisters collectively reported by a group of individuals, but this research has only used clinical and/or convenience samples. In the present study, homosexual men and women's sibling sex ratio was examined in two national probability samples. Results indicated that homosexual men had a sex ratio of 129.54 male live births to 100 female live births. This ratio was within the range of elevated sex ratios found in some previous studies of homosexual men, although it was only marginally significant (p = .09) relative to the known human sex ratio with regard to live births. Additional analyses indicated that this effect was likely the result of a high fraternal birth order (i.e., an elevated number of older brothers) in homosexual men. The sibling sex ratio for lesbians was 122.58 male live births to 100 female live births, which did not significantly differ from the known human sex ratio with regard to live births. The results for lesbians, however, should be interpreted with caution because the sample size (and resulting power) was low. The results in men add to research suggesting that homosexual men, unselected for gender identity or gender role behavior, do not have elevated sibling sex ratios. These results also suggest that research should concentrate on finding the cause(s) of the fraternal birth order effect, the consistent finding that homosexual men have an elevated number of older brothers.

Clericuzio-type Poikiloderma with Neutropenia Syndrome in a Turkish Family: a Three Report of Siblings with Mutation in the C16orf57 gene.

PubMed

Patiroglu, Turkan; Akar, H Haluk

2015-06-01

Clericuzio-type poikiloderma with neutropenia (PN) is characterized by poikiloderma, non-cyclic neutropenia, recurrent sinopulmonary infections, pachyonychia, and palmo-plantar hyperkeratosis. Mutations in the C16orf57 gene, which is located on chromosome 16q13, have been identified as the cause of PN. PN was first described by Clericuzio in Navajo Indians. Herein, we reported the clinical presentations and laboratory investigations of PN in three siblings from Turkey. The older siblings presented with typical cutaneous poikiloderma, plantar keratoderma, pachyonychia of toenails, and recurrent upper respiratory infections. As the most affected patient, in addition to classic manifestations, the youngest sibling had recurrent pneumonia, hepatosplenomegaly, dental caries, failure to thrive, and hand malformation. Genetic study revealed a homozygous mutation (c.531delA) in the C16orf57 gene in siblings. With the presented study, we aimed to draw attention to PN which can be a predisposing factor to malignancies.

Sibling effects on nutritional status: Intersections of cooperation and competition across development.

PubMed

Helfrecht, Courtney; Meehan, Courtney L

2016-01-01

Examination of sibling effects on nutritional status is complicated by siblings being both alloparents and resource competitors, as well as the extensive changes children undergo across development. To evaluate sibling nutritional effects with consideration of these opposing roles, we use an evolutionary framework rooted in human ontogeny and cooperative breeding. Anthropometric data were collected from 113 Ngandu horticulturalist children (birth-<18 years old).We generated weight-for-age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ), and BMI-for-age (BMIZ) z-scores. Nutritional status across developmental risk periods (<2.5, 2.5-<5, 5-<10, and ≥10 years) was assessed using one-way ANOVAs. OLS regression was used to examine interactions between presence of siblings and risk periods. A considerable percentage of Ngandu children are suffering from stunting, underweight, or caloric deficiencies, but many fall within healthy ranges for WAZ (65%), HAZ (60%), and BMIZ (88%). Siblings have significant impacts on children's nutritional status, but their impacts vary by risk period. In general, older siblings (≥5 years old) have positive effects on their same-aged siblings, while younger siblings (<5) negatively affect those between 2.5 and <10 years old. Closely aged siblings do not always represent competitors. In this ecocultural context, those aged ≥5 years old appear to cooperate to improve their siblings' nutritional status. By evaluating the effects of siblings during specific risk periods, we offer a strategy to untangle the intersections of cooperation and competition. Our results add to the growing body of evidence showing benefits to allocare and further demonstrate that even children target their assistance toward vulnerable periods in development. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effect of household size on mental problems in children: results from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study.

PubMed

Grinde, Bjørn; Tambs, Kristian

2016-06-02

Most people in industrialized societies grow up in core (parents only) families with few if any siblings. Based on an evolutionary perspective, it may be argued that this environment reflects a mismatch, in that the tribal setting offered a larger number of close affiliates. The present project examined whether this mismatch may have a negative impact on mental health. We used data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), which includes 114 500 children. The mothers were recruited during pregnancy and followed up with questionnaires as the infants grew older. Correlates between number and type of people living in the household and questions probing mental health were corrected for likely confounders. The number of household members correlated with scores on good mental health at all ages tested (3, 5 and 8 years). The effects were distinct, highly significant, and present regardless of how mental issues were scored. The outcome could be attributed to having older siblings, rather than adults beyond parents. The more siblings, and the closer in age, the more pronounced was the effect. Living with a single mother did not make any difference compared to two parents. Girls were slightly more responsive to the presence of siblings than boys. Household pets did not have any appreciable impact. A large household is associated with fewer mental problems in children.

Pretend Play and Social Engagement in Toddlers at High and Low Genetic Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Leezenbaum, Nina B.; Mahoney, Amanda S.; Moore, Elizabeth L.; Brownell, Celia A.

2016-01-01

Toddlers with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and low risk (LR) toddlers with typically-developing older siblings were observed during free play with a parent and elicited pretend with an examiner at 22-months. Functional and pretend play, children’s social engagement, and parent sensitivity were assessed during free play. Complexity of play was assessed during the elicited pretend task. Toddlers with an ASD diagnosis showed less pretend play across contexts and less social engagement with parents or the examiner than either LR toddlers or high risk toddlers without a diagnosis (HR-noASD). Lower levels of pretend play and social engagement were associated with symptom severity within the high risk group, reflecting emerging ASD in toddlerhood. PMID:26931334

Concern for another’s distress in toddlers at high and low genetic risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Campbell, Susan B.; Leezenbaum, Nina B.; Schmidt, Emily N.; Day, Taylor N.; Brownell, Celia A.

2016-01-01

We examined concern for others in 22-month-old toddlers with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and low risk typically-developing toddlers with older siblings. Responses to a crying infant and an adult social partner who pretended to hurt her finger were coded. Children with a later diagnosis of ASD showed limited empathic concern in either context compared to low risk toddlers. High risk toddlers without a later diagnosis fell between the ASD and low risk groups. During the crying baby probe the low risk and high risk toddlers without a diagnosis engaged their parent more often than the toddlers with ASD. Low levels of empathic concern and engagement with parents may signal emerging ASD in toddlerhood. PMID:26093390

Land inheritance establishes sibling competition for marriage and reproduction in rural Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Gibson, Mhairi A.; Gurmu, Eshetu

2011-01-01

Intergenerational transfer of wealth has been proposed as playing a pivotal role in the evolution of human sibling relationships. Sibling rivalry is assumed to be more marked when offspring compete for limited heritable resources, which are crucial for reproductive success (e.g., land and livestock); whereas in the absence of heritable wealth, related siblings may cooperate. To date, comparative studies undertaken to support this evolutionary assumption have been confounded by other socioecological factors, which vary across populations, e.g., food sharing and intergroup conflict. In this article we explore effects of sibling competition and cooperation for agricultural resources, marriage, and reproduction in one contemporary Ethiopian agropastoralist society. Here recent changes in land tenure policy, altering transfers of land from parents to offspring, present a unique framework to test the importance of intergenerational transfers of wealth in driving sibling competition, while controlling for socioeconomic biases. In households where land is inherited, the number of elder brothers reduces a man's agricultural productivity, marriage, and reproductive success, as resources diminish and competition increases with each additional sibling. Where land is not inherited (for males receiving land directly from the government and all females) older siblings do not have a competitive effect and in some instances may be beneficial. This study has wider implications for the evolution of human family sizes. Recent changes in wealth transfers, which have driven sibling competition, may be contributing to an increased desire for smaller family sizes. PMID:21262826

Land inheritance establishes sibling competition for marriage and reproduction in rural Ethiopia.

PubMed

Gibson, Mhairi A; Gurmu, Eshetu

2011-02-08

Intergenerational transfer of wealth has been proposed as playing a pivotal role in the evolution of human sibling relationships. Sibling rivalry is assumed to be more marked when offspring compete for limited heritable resources, which are crucial for reproductive success (e.g., land and livestock); whereas in the absence of heritable wealth, related siblings may cooperate. To date, comparative studies undertaken to support this evolutionary assumption have been confounded by other socioecological factors, which vary across populations, e.g., food sharing and intergroup conflict. In this article we explore effects of sibling competition and cooperation for agricultural resources, marriage, and reproduction in one contemporary Ethiopian agropastoralist society. Here recent changes in land tenure policy, altering transfers of land from parents to offspring, present a unique framework to test the importance of intergenerational transfers of wealth in driving sibling competition, while controlling for socioeconomic biases. In households where land is inherited, the number of elder brothers reduces a man's agricultural productivity, marriage, and reproductive success, as resources diminish and competition increases with each additional sibling. Where land is not inherited (for males receiving land directly from the government and all females) older siblings do not have a competitive effect and in some instances may be beneficial. This study has wider implications for the evolution of human family sizes. Recent changes in wealth transfers, which have driven sibling competition, may be contributing to an increased desire for smaller family sizes.

Caregiving, perceptions of maternal favoritism, and tension among siblings.

PubMed

Suitor, J Jill; Gilligan, Megan; Johnson, Kaitlin; Pillemer, Karl

2014-08-01

Studies of later-life families have revealed that sibling tension often increases in response to parents' need for care. Both theory and research on within-family differences suggest that when parents' health declines, sibling relations may be affected by which children assume care and whether siblings perceive that the parent favors some offspring over others. In the present study, we explore the ways in which these factors shape sibling tension both independently and in combination during caregiving. In this article, we use data collected from 450 adult children nested within 214 later-life families in which the offspring reported that their mothers needed care within 2 years prior to the interview. Multilevel analyses demonstrated that providing care and perceiving favoritism regarding future caregiving were associated with sibling tension following mothers' major health events. Further, the effects of caregiving on sibling tension were greater when perceptions of favoritism were also present. These findings shed new light on the conditions under which adult children are likely to experience high levels of sibling tension during caregiving. Understanding these processes is important because siblings are typically the individuals to whom caregivers are most likely to turn for support when assuming care of older parents, yet these relationships are often a major source of interpersonal stress. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Association between number of siblings and nervous system tumors suggests an infectious etiology.

PubMed

Altieri, Andrea; Castro, Felipe; Bermejo, Justo Lorenzo; Hemminki, Kari

2006-12-12

To estimate the effect of the number of siblings on the risk of histopathologic subtypes of tumors of the nervous system using large population-based data. The Swedish Family-Cancer Database comprises 13,613 diagnoses of nervous system tumors with histopathologic information. We analyzed the data using Poisson regression models taking into account potential confounding effects of age, birth cohort, socioeconomic status, and family history of cancer. The rate ratios (RR) for having four or more siblings vs none were significantly increased for hemangioblastoma (RR = 1.68), childhood neuroblastoma (RR = 2.01), and ependymoma (RR = 1.83, p trend < 0.01). For age at diagnosis < or =15 years, the RRs for individuals with three or more younger siblings compared to none were 1.34 for astrocytoma, 2.30 for medulloblastoma, 2.61 for ependymoma, 3.71 for meningioma, and 2.13 for neuroblastoma, with significant trends in risk. Non-significant decreased risks were found between the number of older siblings and nervous system tumors. We provide the first reliable quantification of the effects of number of siblings on the risk of nervous system tumors. Sibship size and number of younger siblings correlate with the incidence of childhood nervous system tumors, suggesting a role of infectious agents in the etiology of the disease.

Impact of early screening for reflux in siblings on the detection of renal damage.

PubMed

Houle, Anne-Marie; Cheikhelard, Alaa; Barrieras, Diego; Rivest, Marie-Christine; Gaudreault, Valérie

2004-07-01

To assess the impact of screening siblings after detecting significant vesico-ureteric reflux (VUR) and renal scarring, as such screening might identify patients with VUR before urinary tract infections develop, but might also detect clinically insignificant VUR. We used a previously reported screening protocol to assess the clinical characteristics of patients, including the incidence of renal scarring, and their siblings, and compared the results. In all, 123 children were screened and 44 (36%) had VUR on voiding cystography. The median (range) age at screening was 9 (1-90) months. The grades of VUR detected were < III in 61% and > or = III in 39%; VUR was bilateral in 48%. In all, 37 siblings with VUR were assessed by ultrasonography; 70% were normal, including 12 (32%) children with VUR of grade > or = III. When used, renal scintigraphy was normal in 74% of siblings, vs 18% of index patients. However, when screened after 2 years old, siblings had twice the risk of already having renal damage on renal scintigraphy (P = 0.04). Early screening (< or = 2 years) appears to be more protective for avoiding renal damage than screening older patients. Thus we propose early screening in asymptomatic siblings to detect VUR before it becomes clinically significant.

Household siblings and nasal and fecal microbiota in infants.

PubMed

Hasegawa, Kohei; Linnemann, Rachel W; Mansbach, Jonathan M; Ajami, Nadim J; Espinola, Janice A; Fiechtner, Lauren G; Petrosino, Joseph F; Camargo, Carlos A

2017-04-01

Early-life exposure to older siblings is associated with a lower risk of asthma. To date, no study has addressed the impact of having siblings on both the airway and fecal microbiota during infancy. The aim of this study was therefore to profile the nasal airway and fecal microbiota in infants, and to examine the association between having siblings and microbiota profile. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 105 healthy infants (aged <1 year). Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and an unbiased clustering approach to the nasal airway and fecal samples, we identified microbiota profiles and then determined the association between having siblings and microbiome profile. Overall, the median age was 3.4 months (IQR, 2.0-4.7 months); 43% had siblings in the household. Unbiased clustering of nasal airway microbiota identified three profiles: Moraxella dominant (43%), Corynebacterium/Dolosigranulum dominant (36%), and mixed (21%). Infants with siblings were more likely to have a Moraxella-dominant profile than Corynebacterium/Dolosigranulum-dominant profile (76% vs 18%), while those without siblings had the opposite pattern (18% vs 50%; P < 0.001, multivariable-adjusted). Fecal microbiota consisted of three profiles: Bifidobacterium dominant (39%), Escherichia dominant (31%), and Enterobacter dominant (30%). Infants with siblings were more likely to have a Bifidobacterium-dominant profile than Escherichia-dominant profile (49% vs 24%) while those without siblings had the opposite pattern (32% vs 37%; P = 0.04, multivariable-adjusted). In this cross-sectional study, infants with siblings were more likely to have a Moraxella-dominant nasal microbiota profile and Bifidobacterium-dominant fecal microbiota profile. These findings should facilitate further investigation of the interplay between early-life environmental exposure, the microbiome, and childhood asthma. © 2016 Japan Pediatric Society.

Umbilical cord blood androgen levels and ASD-related phenotypes at 12 and 36 months in an enriched risk cohort study.

PubMed

Park, Bo Y; Lee, Brian K; Burstyn, Igor; Tabb, Loni P; Keelan, Jeff A; Whitehouse, Andrew J O; Croen, Lisa A; Fallin, Margaret D; Hertz-Picciotto, Irva; Montgomery, Owen; Newschaffer, Craig J

2017-01-01

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects more than 1% of children in the USA. The male-to-female prevalence ratio of roughly 4:1 in ASD is a well-recognized but poorly understood phenomenon. An explicit focus on potential etiologic pathways consistent with this sex difference, such as those involving prenatal androgen exposure, may help elucidate causes of ASD. Furthermore, the multi-threshold liability model suggests that the genetic mechanisms in females with ASD may be distinct and may modulate ASD risk in families with female ASD in the pedigree. We examined umbilical cord blood from 137 children in the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI) cohort. EARLI is an ASD-enriched risk cohort with all children having an older sibling already diagnosed with ASD. Fetal testosterone (T), androstenedione (A4), and dehyroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels were measured in cord blood using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Robust linear regression models were used to determine associations between cord blood androgen levels and 12-month Autism Observation Scales for Infants (AOSI) scores and 36-month Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores adjusting for potential confounders. Increasing androgens were not associated with increasing 12-month AOSI score or 36-month total SRS score in either boys or girls. However, the association between T and autistic traits among subjects with a female older affected sibling was greater at 12 months (test of interaction, P  = 0.008) and deficits in reciprocal social behavior at 36 months were also greater (test of interaction, P  = 0.006) than in subjects whose older affected sibling was male. While increased prenatal testosterone levels were not associated with autistic traits at 12 or 36 months, our findings of a positive association in infants whose older ASD-affected siblings were female suggests an androgen-related mechanism that may be dependent on, or related to, genetic liability factors present more often in families containing female ASD cases. However, this initial finding, based on a small subgroup of our sample, should be interpreted with considerable caution.

Tracking an Elusive Population: Family Carers of Older Adults with Intellectual Disabilities in Romandy (Switzerland)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jecker-Parvex, Maurice; Breitenbach, Nancy

2012-01-01

Despite a long-standing tradition of institutional placement in Switzerland, many older adults with intellectual disabilities continue to be supported by aging parents and siblings. For various reasons, these carers and the adults concerned have been overlooked up to now. To find out how many such families are providing housing and care of this…

Sarcolemmal alpha and gamma sarcoglycan protein deficiencies in Turkish siblings with a novel missense mutation in the alpha sarcoglycan gene.

PubMed

Diniz, Gulden; Tosun Yildirim, Hulya; Akinci, Gulcin; Hazan, Filiz; Ozturk, Aysel; Yararbas, Kanay; Tukun, Ajlan

2014-06-01

The sarcoglycan alpha gene, also known as the adhalin gene, is located on chromosome 17q21; mutations in this gene are associated with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2D. We describe two Turkish siblings with findings consistent with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2D. The evaluation excluded a dystrophinopathy, which is the most common form of muscular dystrophy. Both siblings had very high levels of creatinine phosphokinase and negative molecular tests for deletions and duplications of the dystrophin gene. The older boy presented at 8 years of age with an inability to climb steps and an abnormal gait. His younger brother was 5 years old and had similar symptoms. The muscle biopsy evaluation was performed only in the older brother. The muscle biopsy showed dystrophic features as well as a deficiency in the expression of two different glycoproteins: the alpha sarcoglycan and the gamma sarcoglycan. Sarcolemmal expressions of dystrophin and other sarcoglycans (beta and delta) were diffusely present. DNA analysis demonstrated the presence of previously unknown homozygous mutations [c.226 C > T (p.L76 F)] in exon 3 in the sarcoglycan alpha genes of both siblings. Similar heterozygous point mutations at the same locus were found in both parents, but the genes of beta, delta, and gamma sarcoglycan were normal in the remaining family members. We describe two siblings with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2D with a novel missense mutation. These patients illustrate that the differential diagnosis of muscular dystrophies is impossible with clinical findings alone. Therefore, a muscle biopsy and DNA analysis remain essential methods for diagnosis of muscle diseases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reducing Sibling Conflict in Maltreated Children Placed in Foster Homes

PubMed Central

Linares, L. Oriana; Jimenez, Jessica; Nesci, Cristina; Pearson, Eva; Beller, Sarah; Edwards, Nancy; Levin-Rector, Alison

2016-01-01

Sibling aggression among maltreated children placed in foster homes is linked to other externalizing problems and placement disruption. The reduction of sibling conflict and aggression may be achieved via a multicomponent ecologically focused intervention for families in the foster care system. The focus of the study is to evaluate the feasibility and short-term effectiveness of a transtheoretical intervention model targeting sibling pairs and their foster parent that integrates family systems, social learning theory, and a conflict mediation perspective. In this pilot study, sibling pairs (N=22) and their foster parent were randomized into a three-component intervention (n=13) or a comparison (n=9) group. Promoting Sibling Bonds (PSB) is an 8-week prevention intervention targeting maltreated sibling pairs ages 5–11 years placed together in a foster home. The Siblings, Parent, and Joint components were delivered in a program package at the foster agency by a trained two-clinician team. Average attendance across program components was 73%. Outcomes in four areas were gathered at pre-and post-intervention: observed sibling interaction quality (positive and negative) including conflict during play, and foster parent reports of mediation strategies and sibling aggression in the foster home. At post-intervention, adjusting for baseline scores and child age, intervention pairs showed higher positive (p<.001) and negative (p<.05) interaction quality, and lower sibling conflict during play (p <.01) than comparison pairs. Foster parents in the intervention group reported a higher number of conflict mediation strategies than those in the comparison group (p <.001). Foster parents in the intervention group reported lower sibling physical aggression from the older toward the younger child than those in the comparison group (p <.05). Data suggest that the PSB intervention is a promising approach to reduce conflict and promote parental mediation which together may reduce sibling aggression in the foster home. PMID:24585072

Reducing sibling conflict in maltreated children placed in foster homes.

PubMed

Linares, L Oriana; Jimenez, Jessica; Nesci, Cristina; Pearson, Eva; Beller, Sarah; Edwards, Nancy; Levin-Rector, Alison

2015-02-01

Sibling aggression among maltreated children placed in foster homes is linked to other externalizing problems and placement disruption. The reduction of sibling conflict and aggression may be achieved via a multicomponent ecologically focused intervention for families in the foster care system. The focus of the study is to evaluate the feasibility and short-term effectiveness of a transtheoretical intervention model targeting sibling pairs and their foster parent that integrates family systems, social learning theory, and a conflict mediation perspective. In this pilot study, sibling pairs (N = 22) and their foster parent were randomized into a three-component intervention (n = 13) or a comparison (n = 9) group. Promoting Sibling Bonds (PSB) is an 8-week prevention intervention targeting maltreated sibling pairs ages 5-11 years placed together in a foster home. The siblings, parent, and joint components were delivered in a program package at the foster agency by a trained two-clinician team. Average attendance across program components was 73 %. Outcomes in four areas were gathered at pre- and postintervention: observed sibling interaction quality (positive and negative) including conflict during play, and foster parent reports of mediation strategies and sibling aggression in the foster home. At postintervention, adjusting for baseline scores and child age, intervention pairs showed higher positive (p < 0.001) and negative (p < 0.05) interaction quality and lower sibling conflict during play (p < 0.01) than comparison pairs. Foster parents in the intervention group reported a higher number of conflict mediation strategies than those in the comparison group (p < 0.001). Foster parents in the intervention group reported lower sibling physical aggression from the older toward the younger child than those in the comparison group (p < 0.05). Data suggest that the PSB intervention is a promising approach to reduce conflict and promote parental mediation, which together may reduce sibling aggression in the foster home.

The Only Child. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steiner, Karen

Smaller families in general (including the one-child option) are becoming more popular. This ERIC Digest focuses on changing trends in family size, reasons for choosing to have only one child, differences between only children and those with siblings, and the advantages of being an only child. Changing family patterns, economic concerns, and new…

32 CFR 724.115 - Next of kin.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... precedence over natural parent); siblings (whole or half) age 18 years or older in descending precedence by... the civil law of descent of the deceased former member's state of domicile at time of death). ...

32 CFR 724.115 - Next of kin.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... precedence over natural parent); siblings (whole or half) age 18 years or older in descending precedence by... the civil law of descent of the deceased former member's state of domicile at time of death). ...

32 CFR 724.115 - Next of kin.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... precedence over natural parent); siblings (whole or half) age 18 years or older in descending precedence by... the civil law of descent of the deceased former member's state of domicile at time of death). ...

Effects of Adolescent Childbearing on Latino Siblings: Changes in Family Dynamics and Feelings Toward the Teen Mother

PubMed Central

East, Patricia L.; Slonim, Ashley; Horn, Emily J.; Reyes, Barbara T.

2013-01-01

Latinos have had the highest teenage birthrate of any racial or ethnic group in the United States for the past 15 years, yet little is known about how Latino families are affected by a teenage daughter’s childbearing. In-depth interviews were conducted with 32 Mexican American younger siblings of parenting teens to discern how their sister’s childbearing had affected them and their families. The most commonly reported negative effects were increased family stress and conflict, more arguments with the parenting older sister, and less time spent with family members. Regarding benefits, all youth described a loving bond with their sister’s baby, two thirds described their family becoming closer, and 81% felt closer to their older sister. The implications of these effects for Mexican American families are discussed. PMID:24285914

Parent and child cigarette use: a longitudinal, multigenerational study.

PubMed

Vuolo, Mike; Staff, Jeremy

2013-09-01

Using longitudinal data from the multigenerational Youth Development Study (YDS), this article documents how parents' long-term smoking trajectories are associated with adolescent children's likelihood of smoking. Prospective data from the parents (from age 14-38 years) enable unique comparisons of the parents' and children's smoking behavior, as well as that of siblings. Smoking trajectories are constructed using latent class analysis for the original YDS cohort (n = 1010). Multigenerational longitudinal data from 214 parents and 314 offspring ages 11 years and older are then analyzed by using logistic regression with cluster-corrected SEs. Four latent smoking trajectories emerged among the original cohort: stable nonsmokers (54%), early-onset light smokers who quit/reduce (16%), late-onset persistent smokers (14%), and early-onset persistent heavy smokers (16%). Although 8% of children of stable nonsmokers smoked in the last year, the other groups' children had much higher percentages, ranging from 23% to 29%. Multivariate logistic regression models confirm that these significant differences were robust to the inclusion of myriad child- and parent-level measures (for which child age and grade point average [GPA] are significant predictors). Older sibling smoking, however, mediated the link between parental heavy smoking and child smoking. Even in an era of declining rates of teenage cigarette use in the United States, children of current and former smokers face an elevated risk of smoking. Prevention efforts to weaken intergenerational associations should consider parents' long-term cigarette use, as well as the smoking behavior of older siblings in the household.

Long-term psychosocial outcomes among bereaved siblings of children with cancer.

PubMed

Rosenberg, Abby R; Postier, Andrea; Osenga, Kaci; Kreicbergs, Ulrika; Neville, Bridget; Dussel, Veronica; Wolfe, Joanne

2015-01-01

The death of a child from cancer affects the entire family. Little is known about the long-term psychosocial outcomes of bereaved siblings. To describe 1) the prevalence of risky health behaviors, psychological distress, and social support among bereaved siblings and 2) potentially modifiable factors associated with poor outcomes. Bereaved siblings were eligible for this dual-center, cross-sectional, survey-based study if they were 16 years or older and their parents had enrolled in one of three prior studies about caring for children with cancer at the end of life. Linear regression models identified associations between personal perspectives before, during, and after the family's cancer experience and outcomes (health behaviors, psychological distress, and social support). Fifty-eight siblings completed surveys (62% response rate). They were approximately 12 years bereaved, with a mean age of 26 years at the time of the survey (SD 7.8). Anxiety, depression, and illicit substance use increased during the year after their brother/sister's death but then returned to baseline. Siblings who reported dissatisfaction with communication, poor preparation for death, missed opportunities to say goodbye, and/or a perceived negative impact of the cancer experience on relationships tended to have higher distress and lower social support scores (P < 0.001-0.031). Almost all siblings reported that their loss still affected them; half stated that the experience impacted current educational and career goals. How siblings experience the death of a child with cancer may impact their long-term psychosocial well-being. Sibling-directed communication and concurrent supportive care during the cancer experience and the year after the sibling death may mitigate poor long-term outcomes. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sibship size and self-reported inhalant allergy among adult women. ALSPAC Study Team.

PubMed

Strachan, D P; Harkins, L S; Golding, J

1997-02-01

An association of allergic sensitization with small families and low birth order has been described and attributed to a protective effect of early infection. The influence of like-sex and unlike-sex siblings has not been investigated, although the severity of viral infections may be greater if acquired from unlike-sex siblings. To investigate the association of self-reported inhalant allergy with family composition. Reports of allergy to grass, dust or cats by 11042 pregnant women recruited to a longitudinal study of pregnancy and childhood in Avon, UK, were analysed in relation to respondent's age, maternal age and sibship composition (older and younger brothers and sisters) by multiple logistic regression. The prevalence of self-reported inhalant allergy decreased with increasing numbers of brothers (test for trend: P < 0.0001), but was unrelated to the number of sisters. The unadjusted prevalences for subjects with none, one, two and three or more brothers were 26%, 23%, 20% and 17%, respectively. The corresponding prevalences for numbers of sisters were 23%, 24%, 22% and 23%. After adjustment for total sibship size, offspring of older mothers were more likely to report allergy (test for trend: P < 0.001), but there was no association with position in the sibship. Although it is not possible to determine whether brothers specifically, or unlike-sex siblings in general, are inversely associated with inhalant allergy, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that patterns of sibling interaction within young families influence the risk of future aeroallergen sensitization.

Birth order and sibship composition as predictors of overweight or obesity among low-income 4- to 8-year-old children.

PubMed

Mosli, R H; Miller, A L; Peterson, K E; Kaciroti, N; Rosenblum, K; Baylin, A; Lumeng, J C

2016-02-01

This study aimed to examine the association of birth order and number and sex of siblings with overweight or obesity among 4- to 8-year-olds. This is a cross-sectional study involving 273 low-income mother-child dyads. Questionnaires and anthropometry were completed. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the association of birth order, having younger siblings, having older siblings, having at least one brother and having at least one sister with odds of overweight or obesity. Analyses were repeated to additionally include non-biological siblings. Models were adjusted for potential confounders and intermediate variables. Prevalence of child overweight or obesity was 42.5%. Adjusting for covariates, only children and youngest siblings had higher odds of overweight or obesity compared with oldest siblings (odds ratio [OR]: 4.18, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.67, 10.46 and OR: 3.21, 95% CI: 1.41, 7.33, respectively). Having one or more younger siblings and having at least one brother were associated with lower odds (OR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.69 and OR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.81, respectively). Including non-biological siblings did not meaningfully change the associations. Birth order and sibship composition are associated with overweight or obesity among 4- to 8-year-olds. Future studies identifying the underlying behavioural mechanism can help inform family-based intervention programmes. © 2015 World Obesity.

Quality of life of unaffected siblings of children with chronic neurological disorders.

PubMed

Rana, Pratyaksha; Mishra, Devendra

2015-06-01

To study quality of life (QoL) of the siblings of children with chronic neurological disorders. Between 1st August and 30th September, 2013, 50 children aged 12-18 y, whose child sibling was suffering from a chronic neurological disorder, were enrolled (Study group). Fifty age- and sex- matched siblings of apparently non-neurologically affected children were enrolled as controls (Control group). Those with more than one affected child or any affected adult in the family were excluded. QoL was assessed by a validated version of the WHOQOL-BREF in Hindi, and QoL was compared between cases and controls. The disorders in the index cases included cerebral palsy, 18 (15 with epilepsy); autism, 15; mental retardation, 12 and epilepsy, 5. The QoL in all domains was significantly poorer in the study group as compared to the controls. 64% study group children had insufficient knowledge about their sibling's condition. More than 1/4th study subjects faced difficulties in studies, play or work. There was no difference among the groups with regard to number of siblings who had 'dropped from the school'. The QoL of unaffected siblings of children with chronic neurological disorders was significantly impaired. Health-workers may consider including older siblings of neurologically affected children during family-counseling sessions, to provide information and suggest coping strategies. This intervention is likely to improve the functioning of the family unit as a whole.

Mothers' and Fathers' Sensitivity with Their Two Children: A Longitudinal Study from Infancy to Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallers-Haalboom, Elizabeth T.; Groeneveld, Marleen G.; van Berkel, Sheila R.; Endendijk, Joyce J.; van der Pol, Lotte D.; Linting, Mariëlle; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.; Mesman, Judi

2017-01-01

To examine the effects of child age and birth order on sensitive parenting, 364 families with 2 children were visited when the second-born children were 12, 24, and 36 months old, and their older siblings were on average 2 years older. Mothers showed higher levels of sensitivity than fathers at all assessments. Parental sensitivity increased from…

Spoiled or Spectacular? A Look at the Only Child.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rivera, Maida; Carrasquillo, Jeanette

The only child has traditionally been thought to lack appropriate social skills, self-esteem, or friends. Recent research, as summarized in this paper, contradicts these popular beliefs. In level of achievement and intelligence, only-children appear to have an advantage over children with siblings; research on their sociability and self-esteem has…

HRQoL among Older Related HSC Donors (>60 yrs.) is Equivalent to that of Younger Related Donors (18–60 yrs.): An RDSafe Study

PubMed Central

Switzer, Galen E.; Bruce, Jessica; Kiefer, Deidre M.; Kobusingye, Hati; Drexler, Rebecca; Besser, RaeAnne M.; Confer, Dennis L.; Horowitz, Mary M.; King, Roberta J.; Shaw, Bronwen E.; Riches, Marcie; Hayes-Lattin, Brandon; Linenberger, Michael; Bolwell, Brian; Rowley, Scott D.; Litzow, Mark R.; Pulsipher, Michael A.

2016-01-01

The increasing number of older adults with blood-related disorders and the introduction of reduced intensity conditioning regimens has led to increases in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation among older adults and a corresponding increase in the age of siblings who donate HSCs to these patients. Data regarding the donation-related experiences of older donors is lacking. The Related Donor Safety Study (RDSafe) aimed to examine/compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of older versus younger HSC donors. 60 peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donors ages 18–60 and 104 PBSC donors age >60 completed validated questionnaires at pre-donation, 4 weeks and 1 year post-donation. Prior to donation, older donors had poorer general physical health (t=−3.27; p=.001) but better mental health (t=2.11; p<.05). There were no age differences in multiple other donation-related factors. At 4 weeks post-donation, there were no group differences in general physical/mental health, but older donors were less likely to report donation-related pain (t=−2.26; p<.05) and concerns (t=−3.38; p=.001). At both 4 weeks and 1 year post-donation, there were no significant differences in the percentage of each age group feeling physically back to normal or in the number of days it took donors to feel completely well. There was no evidence that increasing age within the older donor group was associated with poorer donation-related HRQoL. Taken together, these data support the current practice of HSC donation by sibling donors above age 60, providing no evidence of worsening HRQoL up to one year after donation in individuals up to age 76. PMID:27751935

Quality of Life of siblings of children included in the autism spectrum.

PubMed

Vieira, Camila Bolivar Martins; Fernandes, Fernanda Dreux Miranda

2013-01-01

To assess the Quality of Life in siblings of children of the autism spectrum through self-response to the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF questionnaire. Social-demographic data of 77 children included in the autism spectrum, aged 3 to 16 years, were collected. From these information, 21 older siblings, aged 16 to 30 years, were selected to answer said questionnaire, proposed by the World Health Organization Mental Health Program for quality of life evaluation. The data have shown a difference between the Environmental domain and the Physical and Psychological domains. The aspects related to the environment have an important role to the perception of quality of life self-declared by the subjects. However, family individuality, coping behaviors, social support, and assistance received directly interfere on this perception.

Power and conflict resolution in sibling, parent-child, and spousal negotiations.

PubMed

Recchia, Holly E; Ross, Hildy S; Vickar, Marcia

2010-10-01

This study used a within-family observational design to examine conflict strategies (planning, opposition) and resolutions (standoff, win-loss, compromise) across family subsystems, with an emphasis on power differences between parents and children during relatively symmetrical within-generation (spousal, sibling) and relatively asymmetrical between-generation (parent-child) dyadic interactions. Up to six dyads in 67 families (children's ages ranging from 3 to 12 years) discussed an unresolved conflict. Results revealed that within-generation discussions ended more in standoff, whereas between-generation discussions ended with more win-loss resolutions. Multilevel analyses indicated that parents engaged in more planning and opposition than children; however, they opposed more and planned less with their spouses than their children. In general, more planning and less opposition were associated with achieving resolutions rather than failing to resolve differences. Some effects were qualified by within-family differences between mothers versus fathers and older versus younger siblings, as well as between-family differences in younger siblings' age. Implications for theories of power and family relationship dynamics are discussed.

The ontogeny of feeding in rats: V. Influence of texture, home odor, and sibling presence on ingestive behavior.

PubMed

Johanson, I B; Hall, W G

1981-12-01

Terry-cloth texture, home odor, and the presence of siblings modulate the ingestive behavior of infant rats. Unlike warmth, which affects ingestion in pups until at least 15 days of age, the relative importance of these other cues varies with the age of the pup. At 3 days, ingestion is dependent on warmth but is not influenced by the other cues. At 6 days, texture and home odor enhance ingestive behavior (intake, activity, mouthing, and probing), but the presence of siblings has no effect. Home odor or terry-cloth texture did not alter the ingestive behavior of 12-day-olds, but the presence of siblings enhanced milk intake. Thus, during development, the external sensory controls for ingestion become progressively more complex. Warmth serves as a primary permissive cue for ingestion in developing pups, but as pups grow older, other types of cues (such as odor, texture, or social stimuli) also gain significance.

Observed Personality in Childhood: Psychometric and Behavioral Genetic Evidence of Two Broad Personality Factors

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhe; Chen, Nan; Petrill, Stephen A.; Deater-Deckard, Kirby

2014-01-01

We examined broad dimensions of children’s personalities (total n = 1056; age = 3.5 to 12 years) based on observers’ perceptions following a few hours of structured interaction. Siblings’ behaviors during a two-hour cognitive assessment in the home were rated separately by two different observers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses clearly revealed a two-factor solution in three different samples. There was correspondence between parent-rated temperament and the observer-rated factors. Cross-sectional analyses indicated lower Plasticity among older children and higher Stability among older children. Sex differences were negligible. Plasticity and Stability were correlated in the .2 to .3 range. Most of the sibling similarity in the Plasticity was due to additive genetic influences, whereas most sibling similarity in Stability was attributable to shared environmental influences. The findings implicate a biometric factor structure to childhood personality that fits well with emerging bio-social theories of personality development. PMID:24932065

Number of siblings and the risk of solid tumours: a nation-wide study

PubMed Central

Altieri, A; Hemminki, K

2007-01-01

We analysed the effects of number of siblings on the risk of solid tumours using the Swedish Family-Cancer Database, including population-based information on over 11 million individuals and more than 178 000 cancer patients diagnosed between 1958 and 2004. Incidence rate ratios (RRs), estimated by Poisson regression models, were adjusted for age, sex, birth cohort, area of residence and socioeconomic status. Having eight or more siblings vs none increased the risk of stomach cancer (RR=1.83, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.44–2.34). Anal cancer diagnosed before age 40 showed the strongest association with the total siblings (RR=3.27, 95% CI, 2.04–5.26 for five or more siblings vs none). Endometrial (RR=0.76, 95% CI, 0.70–0.82), testicular (RR=0.71, 95% CI, 0.62–0.82), skin cancer (RR=0.82, 95% CI, 0.69–0.97) and melanoma (RR=0.72, 95% CI, 0.65–0.79) showed strong decreased risks for five or more siblings vs none. Prostate cancer risk for those with five or more older siblings vs none was 1.38 (95% CI, 1.23–1.55). Having five or more younger siblings was most strongly associated with stomach cancer (RR=1.59, 95% CI, 1.29–1.95) and melanoma (RR=0.68, 95% CI, 0.59–0.79). We conclude that sibship characteristics are strong correlates of cancer risk at several sites; plausible interpretations include socioeconomic status. PMID:17453006

Birth order and sibship composition as predictors of overweight or obesity among low-income 4- to 8-year-old children

PubMed Central

Mosli, R. H.; Miller, A. L.; Peterson, K. E.; Kaciroti, N.; Rosenblum, K.; Baylin, A.; Lumeng, J. C.

2015-01-01

Summary Objective This study aimed to examine the association of birth order and number and sex of siblings with overweight or obesity among 4- to 8-year-olds. Methods This is a cross-sectional study involving 273 low-income mother–child dyads. Questionnaires and anthropometry were completed. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the association of birth order, having younger siblings, having older siblings, having at least one brother and having at least one sister with odds of overweight or obesity. Analyses were repeated to additionally include non-biological siblings. Models were adjusted for potential confounders and intermediate variables. Results Prevalence of child overweight or obesity was 42.5%. Adjusting for covariates, only children and youngest siblings had higher odds of overweight or obesity compared with oldest siblings (odds ratio [OR]: 4.18, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.67, 10.46 and OR: 3.21, 95% CI: 1.41, 7.33, respectively). Having one or more younger siblings and having at least one brother were associated with lower odds (OR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.69 and OR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.81, respectively). Including non-biological siblings did not meaningfully change the associations. Conclusion Birth order and sibship composition are associated with overweight or obesity among 4- to 8-year-olds. Future studies identifying the underlying behavioural mechanism can help inform family-based intervention programmes. Keywords: Birth order, odds of overweight or obesity, sibship composition. PMID:25735955

Parent and Child Cigarette Use: A Longitudinal, Multigenerational Study

PubMed Central

Staff, Jeremy

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Using longitudinal data from the multigenerational Youth Development Study (YDS), this article documents how parents’ long-term smoking trajectories are associated with adolescent children’s likelihood of smoking. Prospective data from the parents (from age 14–38 years) enable unique comparisons of the parents’ and children’s smoking behavior, as well as that of siblings. METHODS: Smoking trajectories are constructed using latent class analysis for the original YDS cohort (n = 1010). Multigenerational longitudinal data from 214 parents and 314 offspring ages 11 years and older are then analyzed by using logistic regression with cluster-corrected SEs. RESULTS: Four latent smoking trajectories emerged among the original cohort: stable nonsmokers (54%), early-onset light smokers who quit/reduce (16%), late-onset persistent smokers (14%), and early-onset persistent heavy smokers (16%). Although 8% of children of stable nonsmokers smoked in the last year, the other groups’ children had much higher percentages, ranging from 23% to 29%. Multivariate logistic regression models confirm that these significant differences were robust to the inclusion of myriad child- and parent-level measures (for which child age and grade point average [GPA] are significant predictors). Older sibling smoking, however, mediated the link between parental heavy smoking and child smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Even in an era of declining rates of teenage cigarette use in the United States, children of current and former smokers face an elevated risk of smoking. Prevention efforts to weaken intergenerational associations should consider parents’ long-term cigarette use, as well as the smoking behavior of older siblings in the household. PMID:23918887

Time reproduction in children with ADHD and their nonaffected siblings.

PubMed

Rommelse, Nanda N J; Oosterlaan, Jaap; Buitelaar, Jan; Faraone, Stephen V; Sergeant, Joseph A

2007-05-01

Time reproduction is deficient in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Whether this deficit is familial and could therefore serve as a candidate endophenotype has not been previously investigated. It is unknown whether timing deficits are also measurable in adolescent children with ADHD and nonaffected siblings. These issues were investigated in 226 children with ADHD, 188 nonaffected siblings, and 162 normal controls ages 5 to 19. Children participated in a visual and auditory time reproduction task. They reproduced interval lengths of 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 seconds. Children with ADHD and their nonaffected siblings were less precise than controls, particularly when task difficulty was systematically increased. Time reproduction skills were familial. Time reproduction deficits were more pronounced in younger children with ADHD than in older children. Children with ADHD could be clearly dissociated from control children until the age of 9. After this age, group differences were somewhat attenuated, but were still present. Differences between nonaffected siblings and controls were constant across the age range studied. Deficits were unaffected by modality. Time reproduction may serve as a candidate endophenotype for ADHD, predominantly in younger children with (a genetic risk for) ADHD.

Home Alone Children

MedlinePlus

... use Friends and visitors coming to the house Responsibilities for siblings It is not possible to make a general statement about when a child can be left home. Many states have laws that hold parents responsible for the supervision of their children. Older ...

Birth Order and Sibling Sex Ratio in a Population with High Fertility: Are Turkish Male to Female Transsexuals Different?

PubMed

Bozkurt, Ali; Bozkurt, Ozlem Hekim; Sonmez, Ipek

2015-07-01

Western studies have consistently found that androphilic (sexually attracted to men) male-to-female transsexuals have a later birth order and a relative excess of brothers compared with appropriate control participants. However, non-Western studies on birth order and sibling sex ratio in androphilic males (transsexual or non-transsexual) are rare. The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that androphilic male-to-female transsexuals have a late birth order and a relative excess of brothers in a non-Western culture with a higher fertility rate. The participants were 60 androphilic male-to-female transsexuals and 61 male heterosexual controls. The transsexual participants had significantly more older brothers than the control participants, but the groups did not differ in their numbers of older sisters, younger brothers, or younger sisters. The foregoing pattern is usually referred to as the "fraternal birth order effect." Slater's and Berglin's Indexes both showed that the mean birth order of the control participants was very close to that expected from a random sample drawn from a demographically stable population whereas the mean birth order of the transsexual participants was later. A measure of sibship composition, brothers/all siblings, showed that the transsexual group had a higher proportion of male siblings compared with the control group. In conclusion, the present study found that Turkish androphilic male-to-female transsexuals show the same high fraternal birth order that has been found in comparable androphilic samples in Western Europe, North America, and the South Pacific, which suggests a common underlying biological causal mechanism.

Siblings' Perceptions of Differential Treatment, Fairness, and Jealousy and Adolescent Adjustment: A Moderated Indirect Effects Model.

PubMed

Loeser, Meghan K; Whiteman, Shawn D; McHale, Susan M

2016-08-01

Youth's perception of parents' differential treatment (PDT) are associated with maladjustment during adolescence. Although the direct relations between PDT and youth's maladjustment have been well established, the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. We addressed this gap by examining whether sibling jealousy accounted for the links between PDT and youth's depressive symptoms, self-worth, and risky behaviors. Additionally, we examined whether youth's perceptions of fairness regarding their treatment as well as the gender constellation of the dyad moderated these indirect relations (i.e., moderated-indirect effects). Participants were first- and second-born adolescent siblings ( M = 15.96, SD = .72 years for older siblings, M = 13.48, SD = 1.02 years for younger siblings) and their parents from 197 working and middle class European American families. Data were collected via home interviews. A series of Conditional Process Analyses revealed significant indirect effects of PDT through sibling jealousy to all three adjustment outcomes. Furthermore, perceptions of fairness moderated the relations between PDT and jealousy, such that the indirect effects were only significant at low (-1 SD ) and average levels of fairness. At high levels of fairness (+1 SD ) there was no association between PDT, jealousy, and youth adjustment. Taken together, results indicate that youth and parents would benefit from engaging in clear communication regarding the reasoning for the occurrence of differential treatment, likely maximizing youth and parent perceptions of that treatment as being fair, and in turn mitigating sibling jealousy and maladjustment.

Advancing paternal age and offspring violent offending: A sibling-comparison study

PubMed Central

Kuja-Halkola, Ralf; Pawitan, Yudi; D’Onofrio, Brian M; Långström, Niklas; Lichtenstein, Paul

2013-01-01

Children born to older fathers are at higher risk to develop severe psychopathology (e.g., schizophrenia and bipolar disorder), possibly due to increased de novo mutations during spermatogenesis with older paternal age. Since severe psychopathology is correlated with antisocial behavior, we examined possible associations between advancing paternal age and offspring violent offending. Interlinked Swedish national registers provided information on fathers’ age at childbirth and violent criminal convictions in all offspring born 1958–1979 (n=2,359,921). We used ever committing a violent crime and number of violent crimes as indices of violent offending. The data included information on multiple levels; we compared differentially exposed siblings in within-family analyses to rigorously test causal influences. In the entire population, advancing paternal age predicted offspring violent crime according to both indices. Congruent with a causal effect, this association remained for rates of violent crime in within-family analyses. However, in within-analyses, we found no association with ever committing a violent crime, suggesting that factors shared by siblings (genes and environment) confounded this association. Life-course-persistent criminality has been proposed to have a partly biological etiology; our results agree with a stronger biological effect (i.e., de novo mutations) on persistent violent offending. PMID:22781852

Advancing paternal age and offspring violent offending: a sibling-comparison study.

PubMed

Kuja-Halkola, Ralf; Pawitan, Yudi; D'Onofrio, Brian M; Långström, Niklas; Lichtenstein, Paul

2012-08-01

Children born to older fathers are at higher risk to develop severe psychopathology (e.g., schizophrenia and bipolar disorder), possibly because of increased de novo mutations during spermatogenesis with older paternal age. Because severe psychopathology is correlated with antisocial behavior, we examined possible associations between advancing paternal age and offspring violent offending. Interlinked Swedish national registers provided information on fathers' age at childbirth and violent criminal convictions in all offspring born from 1958 to 1979 (N = 2,359,921). We used ever committing a violent crime and number of violent crimes as indices of violent offending. The data included information on multiple levels; we compared differentially exposed siblings in within-family analyses to rigorously test causal influences. In the entire population, advancing paternal age predicted offspring violent crime according to both indices. Congruent with a causal effect, this association remained for rates of violent crime in within-family analyses. However, in within-family analyses, we found no association with ever committing a violent crime, suggesting that factors shared by siblings (genes and environment) confounded this association. Life-course persistent criminality has been proposed to have a partly biological etiology; our results agree with a stronger biological effect (i.e., de novo mutations) on persistent violent offending.

Methodological triangulation in a study of social support for siblings of children with cancer.

PubMed

Murray, J S

1999-10-01

Triangulation is an approach to research that is becoming increasingly popular among nurse researchers. Five types of triangulation are used in nursing research: data, methodological, theoretical, researcher, and analytical triangulation. Methodological triangulation is an attempt to improve validity by combining various techniques in one study. In this article, an example of quantitative and qualitative triangulation is discussed to illustrate the procedures used and the results achieved. The secondary data used as an example are from a previous study that was conducted by the researcher and investigated nursing interventions used by pediatric oncology nurses to provide social support to siblings of children with cancer. Results show that methodological triangulation was beneficial in this study for three reasons. First, the careful comparison of quantitative and qualitative data added support for the social support variables under investigation. Second, the comparison showed more in-depth dimensions about pediatric oncology nurses providing social support to siblings of children with cancer. Finally, the use of methodological triangulation provided insight into revisions for the quantitative instrument.

Older Siblings’ Contributions to Young Child’s Cognitive Skills

PubMed Central

Dai, Xianhua; Heckman, James J.

2014-01-01

This work finds that older siblings as well as early parenting influence young children’s cognitive skills directly or indirectly, for example, Mathematics, and English. Our findings challenge a pervasive view in the economical literatures that early parenting play a dominant role in explaining child development. In economics, early environmental conditions are important to demonstrate the evolution of adolescent and adult cognitive skills (Knudsen, Heckman, Cameron, and Shonkoff, 2006; Cunha and Heckman, 2007), and it establishes causal impacts of early parental inputs and other environmental factors on cognitive and non-cognitive skills (Heckman, Stixrud, and Urzua, 2006; Borghans, Duckworth, Heckman, and Weel, 2006; Cunha, Heckman, and Schennach, 2010). Early parenting as well as older siblings should explain a diverse array of academic and social outcomes, for example, Mathematics, English, maritage and pregnancy. In fact, older siblings’ characteristics are as important, if not more important, than parenting for child development. Our analysis addresses the problems of measurement error, imperfect proxies, and reverse causality that plague conventional approach in psychology. We find that older brother contributes much more than older sister to child’s mathematical achievement, while older sister contributes much more to child’s english achievement. Our evidence is consistent with psychology literature, for example, Hetherington (1988), Jenkins (1992), Zukow-Goldring (1995), Marshall, Garcia-Coll, Marx, McCartney, Keffe, and Rub (1997), Maynard (2002), and Brody Ge, Kim, Murry, Simons, Gibbons, Gerrard, and Conger (2003) for siblings’ direct contributions to child development, Bronfenbrenner (1997), East (1998), Whiteman and Buchanan (2002), and Brody, Ge, Kim, Murry, Simons, Gibbons, Gerrard, and Conger (2003) for siblings’s indirect contributions, and Reiss, Neiderhiser, Hetherington, and Plomin (2000), Feinberg and Hetherington (2001), Kowal, Kramer, Krull, and Crick (2002) for parental differential treatment. PMID:25309016

Birth order, sibling sex ratio, handedness, and sexual orientation of male and female participants in a BBC internet research project.

PubMed

Blanchard, Ray; Lippa, Richard A

2007-04-01

This study investigated the relations among sexual orientation, fraternal birth order (number of older brothers), and hand-preference. The participants were 87,798 men and 71,981 women who took part in a Web-based research project sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The results yielded some evidence confirming prior findings that non-right-handedness is associated with homosexuality in men and women, that older brothers increase the odds of homosexuality in men, and that the effect of older brothers on sexual orientation is limited to right-handed men. The evidence was weaker than in previous studies, however, probably because the usual relations among the variables of interest were partially obscured by the effects of other factors. Thus, the homosexual men and women had higher rates of non-right-handedness than their heterosexual counterparts, but the strongest handedness finding for both sexes was a marked tendency for participants who described themselves as ambidextrous also to describe themselves as bisexual. The birth order data were strongly affected by a tendency for the male participants to report an excess of older sisters, and the female participants to report an excess of older brothers. Statistical analyses confirmed that this was an artifact of the parental stopping rule, "Continue having children until you have offspring of both sexes." In subsequent analyses, participants were divided into those who did and did not have younger siblings, on the grounds that the data of the former would be less contaminated by the stopping rule. In the former subsample, the right-handed homo/bisexual males showed the typical high ratio of older brothers to older sisters, whereas the non-right-handed homo/bisexual males did not.

The Positive and Negative Experiences of Caregiving for Siblings of Young People with First Episode Psychosis

PubMed Central

Bowman, Siann; Alvarez-Jimenez, Mario; Wade, Darryl; Howie, Linsey; McGorry, Patrick

2017-01-01

Background: The impact of first episode psychosis (FEP) upon parents’ experience of caregiving has been well-documented. However, the determinants and nature of this remain poorly understood in siblings. It is hypothesized that siblings of young people with FEP are also impacted by caregiving and burden. This study aimed to characterize the experience of caregiving for siblings of young people with FEP. Method: Survey methodology was used to explore the experience of 157 siblings in the first 18 months of their brother or sister’s treatment for FEP. Participants reported on their appraisal of the negative and positive aspects of caregiving as measured by the Experience of Caregiving Inventory (ECI). Descriptive statistics were used to establish the results for the total sample as well as for gender and birth order differences. A series of multivariate regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationships between illness characteristics and siblings’ experience of caregiving. Results: Older brothers reported the lowest scores for negative experiences in caregiving and younger sisters reported the highest. Negative experiences in caregiving resulted in less warmth within the sibling relationship and impacted negatively upon quality of life. When the young person with FEP had attempted suicide and/or been physically violent, siblings experienced more caregiver burden. Multivariate analysis showed that female gender was a significant factor in explaining the impact of illness related variables on the experience of caregiving. Conclusion: Suicide attempts and a history of violence resulted in higher caregiving burden for siblings regardless of whether they lived with the young person experiencing FEP or not. Female siblings are at higher risk of negative experiences from caregiving resulting in a reduced quality of life and a changed sibling relationship. Suicide attempts and violence are indicators for intensive case management to improve outcomes for the individual with FEP which may in turn reduce the burden experienced by the sibling. Clinicians can use these findings to identify siblings, assertively intervene and provide increased psychological support, psychoeducation and practical problem solving to reduce the burden. The caregiving role that they already play for their ill brother or sister should be recognized. PMID:28588522

Capturing the Temporal Sequence of Interaction in Young Siblings

PubMed Central

Steele, Fiona; Jenkins, Jennifer

2015-01-01

We explored whether young children exhibit subtypes of behavioral sequences during sibling interaction. Ten-minute, free-play observations of over 300 sibling dyads were coded for positivity, negativity and disengagement. The data were analyzed using growth mixture modeling (GMM). Younger (18-month-old) children’s temporal behavioral sequences showed a harmonious (53%) and a casual (47%) class. Older (approximately four-year-old) children’s behavior was more differentiated revealing a harmonious (25%), a deteriorating (31%), a recovery (22%) and a casual (22%) class. A more positive maternal affective climate was associated with more positive patterns. Siblings’ sequential behavioral patterns tended to be complementary rather than reciprocal in nature. The study illustrates a novel use of GMM and makes a theoretical contribution by showing that young children exhibit distinct types of temporal behavioral sequences that are related to parenting processes. PMID:25996957

Reporting errors in siblings' survival histories and their impact on adult mortality estimates: results from a record linkage study in Senegal.

PubMed

Helleringer, Stéphane; Pison, Gilles; Kanté, Almamy M; Duthé, Géraldine; Andro, Armelle

2014-04-01

Estimates of adult mortality in countries with limited vital registration (e.g., sub-Saharan Africa) are often derived from information about the survival of a respondent's siblings. We evaluated the completeness and accuracy of such data through a record linkage study conducted in Bandafassi, located in southeastern Senegal. We linked at the individual level retrospective siblings' survival histories (SSH) reported by female respondents (n = 268) to prospective mortality data and genealogies collected through a health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS). Respondents often reported inaccurate lists of siblings. Additions to these lists were uncommon, but omissions were frequent: respondents omitted 3.8 % of their live sisters, 9.1 % of their deceased sisters, and 16.6 % of their sisters who had migrated out of the DSS area. Respondents underestimated the age at death of the siblings they reported during the interview, particularly among siblings who had died at older ages (≥45 years). Restricting SSH data to person-years and events having occurred during a recent reference period reduced list errors but not age and date errors. Overall, SSH data led to a 20 % underestimate of 45 q 15 relative to HDSS data. Our study suggests new quality improvement strategies for SSH data and demonstrates the potential use of HDSS data for the validation of "unconventional" demographic techniques.

Association among number, order and type of siblings and adolescent mental health at age 12.

PubMed

Liu, Jufen; Sekine, Michikazu; Tatsuse, Takashi; Fujimura, Yuko; Hamanishi, Shimako; Zheng, Xiaoying

2015-10-01

Although the sibling relationship is a unique one, the effects of the number and type of siblings on mental health among adolescents have not been reported. Japanese children (total, 9276; boys, 4654; girls, 4622), all 12 years old, and from the Japanese Toyama Birth Cohort Study, were followed up until 2002. Subject self-reported mental health was obtained from the Japanese version of the Dartmouth Primary Care Co-operative Project (COOP) charts. The associations between number and type of siblings and self-reported mental health were examined. There was a significant difference in mental health between different sibling pairs, with brother pairs and brother/sister pairs having a positive effect on adolescent mental health, compared with those in sister pairs. Girls with brothers had better self-reported mental health than those without. The adjusted OR of good mental health was 1.44 (95%CI:1.00-2.08) for those with an older brother and 1.67 (95%CI: 1.17-2.38) for those with a younger brother compared with those without. Boys with a younger sister had a higher OR of good self-reported health than those without (OR, 1.62; 95%CI: 1.08-2.43). Children with siblings had better mental health status than those without, which has practical implications for Asian countries and worldwide considering the declining fertility. © 2015 Japan Pediatric Society.

A multilevel analysis of health-related physical fitness. The Portuguese sibling study on growth, fitness, lifestyle and health

PubMed Central

Pereira, Sara; Todd Katzmarzyk, Peter; Gomes, Thayse Natacha; Souza, Michele; Chaves, Raquel Nichele; dos Santos, Fernanda Karina; Santos, Daniel; Hedeker, Donald; Maia, José

2017-01-01

This study investigates biological, behavioural and sociodemographic correlates of intra-pair similarities, and estimates sibling resemblance in health-related physical fitness (PF). The sample comprises 1101 biological siblings (525 females) aged 9–20 years. PF components and markers were: morphological [waist circumference (WC) and %body fat (%BF)], muscular [handgrip strength (GS) and standing long jump (SLJ)], motor [50-yard dash (50YD) and shuttle run (SR)], and cardiorespiratory (1-mile run). Biological maturation was assessed; physical activity (PA), TV viewing and socioeconomic status (SES) information was obtained. On average, older and more mature subjects are better performers in all PF components; PA was negatively associated with SR, while SES was negatively associated with SLJ and SR. A pattern was observed in the intraclass correlations (ρ) wherein same sex siblings demonstrate greater resemblance for most PF components (sister-sister: 0.35≤ ρ≤0.55; brother-brother: (0.25≤ρ≤0.60) than brother-sister pairs (BS) (0≤ρ≤0.15), except for %BF (ρBB>ρSS>ρBS), and the 1-mile run (ρSS>ρBS>ρBB). In conclusion, behavioural and sociodemographic correlates play different roles in siblings PF expression. Further, a significant familial PF resemblance was observed with different trends in different sibling types, probably due to variations in shared genetic factors and sociodemographic conditions. PMID:28187195

Observer age and the social transmission of attractiveness in humans: Younger women are more influenced by the choices of popular others than older women.

PubMed

Little, Anthony C; Caldwell, Christine A; Jones, Benedict C; DeBruine, Lisa M

2015-08-01

Being paired with an attractive partner increases perceptual judgements of attractiveness in humans. We tested experimentally for prestige bias, whereby individuals follow the choices of prestigious others. Women rated the attractiveness of photographs of target males which were paired with either popular or less popular model female partners. We found that pairing a photo of a man with a woman presented as his partner positively influenced the attractiveness of the man when the woman was presented as more popular (Experiment 1). Further, this effect was stronger in younger participants compared to older participants (Experiment 1). Reversing the target and model such that women were asked to rate women paired with popular and less popular men revealed no effect of model popularity and this effect was unrelated to participant age (Experiment 2). An additional experiment confirmed that participant age and not stimulus age primarily influenced the tendency to follow others' preferences in Experiment 1 (Experiment 3). We also confirmed that our manipulations of popularity lead to variation in rated prestige (Experiment 4). These results suggest a sophisticated model-based bias in social learning whereby individuals are most influenced by the choices of those who have high popularity/prestige. Furthermore, older individuals moderate their use of such social information and so this form of social learning appears strongest in younger women. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Glycogen storage disease type 1a in three siblings with the G270V mutation.

PubMed

Parvari, R; Isam, J; Moses, S W

1999-04-01

Glycogen storage disease type 1a (von Gierke disease, GSD1a) is caused by the deficiency of microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) activity. The cloning of G6Pase cDNA and characterization of the human G6Pase gene enabled the identification of the mutations causing GSD1a. Here we report on the clinical and biochemical features of three GSD1a siblings of a Muslin Arab family with a G270V mutation. Two older patients presented with an unusually mild clinical and biochemical course.

Music, emotion, and autobiographical memory: they're playing your song.

PubMed

Schulkind, M D; Hennis, L K; Rubin, D C

1999-11-01

Very long-term memory for popular music was investigated. Older and younger adults listened to 20-sec excerpts of popular songs drawn from across the 20th century. The subjects gave emotionality and preference ratings and tried to name the title, artist, and year of popularity for each excerpt. They also performed a cued memory test for the lyrics. The older adults' emotionality ratings were highest for songs from their youth; they remembered more about these songs, as well. However, the stimuli failed to cue many autobiographical memories of specific events. Further analyses revealed that the older adults were less likely than the younger adults to retrieve multiple attributes of a song together (i.e., title and artist) and that there was a significant positive correlation between emotion and memory, especially for the older adults. These results have implications for research on long-term memory, as well as on the relationship between emotion and memory.

Familial aggregation of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Chen, Qi; Brikell, Isabell; Lichtenstein, Paul; Serlachius, Eva; Kuja-Halkola, Ralf; Sandin, Sven; Larsson, Henrik

2017-03-01

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) aggregates in families. To date, the strength, pattern, and characteristics of the familial aggregation have not been thoroughly assessed in a population-based family sample. In this cohort study, we identified relative pairs of twins, full and half-siblings, and full and half cousins from 1,656,943 unique individuals born in Sweden between 1985 and 2006. The relatives of index persons were followed from their third birthday to 31 December 2009 for ADHD diagnosis. Birth year adjusted hazard ratio (HR), that is, the rate of ADHD in relatives of ADHD-affected index persons compared with the rate of ADHD in relatives of unaffected index persons, was estimated in the different types of relatives using Cox proportional hazards model. During the follow-up, 31,865 individuals were diagnosed with ADHD (male to female ratio was 3.7). The birth year adjusted HRs were as follows: 70.45 for monozygotic twins; 8.44 for dizygotic twins; 8.27 for full siblings; 2.86 for maternal half-siblings; 2.31 for paternal half-siblings; 2.24 for full cousins; 1.47 for half cousins. Maternal half-siblings had significantly higher HR than in paternal half-siblings. The HR did not seem to be affected by index person's sex. Full siblings of index persons with ADHD diagnosis present at age 18 or older had a higher rate of ADHD (HR: 11.49) than full siblings of index persons with ADHD diagnosis only before age 18 (HR: 4.68). Familial aggregation of ADHD increases with increasing genetic relatedness. The familial aggregation is driven by not only genetic factors but also a small amount of shared environmental factors. Persistence of ADHD into adulthood indexes stronger familial aggregation of ADHD. © 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

"I Used to Copy What the Teachers at School Would Do". Cross-Cultural Fusion: The Role of Older Children in Community Literacy Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosowsky, Andrey

2006-01-01

This paper is derived from a wider study of literacy practice that examines and explores the role played by Qur'anic literacy in the lives of men, women and children in a UK Muslim community. It also draws on the significant body of theoretical work being developed by Gregory and others on the role of siblings and older children in literacy…

Access to healthcare and financial risk protection for older adults in Mexico: secondary data analysis of a national survey

PubMed Central

Doubova, Svetlana V; Pérez-Cuevas, Ricardo; Canning, David; Reich, Michael R

2015-01-01

Objectives While the benefits of Seguro Popular health insurance in Mexico relative to no insurance have been widely documented, little has been reported on its effects relative to the pre-existing Social Security health insurance. We analyse the effects of Social Security and Seguro Popular health insurances in Mexico on access to healthcare of older adults, and on financial risk protection to their households, compared with older adults without health insurance. Setting Secondary data analysis was performed using the 2012 Mexican Survey of Health and Nutrition (ENSANUT). Participants The study population comprised 18 847 older adults and 13 180 households that have an elderly member. Outcome measures The dependent variables were access to healthcare given the reported need, the financial burden imposed by health expenditures measured through catastrophic health-related expenditures, and using savings for health-related expenditures. Separate propensity score matching analyses were conducted for each comparison. The analysis for access was performed at the individual level, and the analysis for financial burden at the household level. In each case, matching on a wide set of relevant characteristics was achieved. Results Seguro Popular showed a protective effect against lack of access to healthcare for older adults compared with those with no insurance. The average treatment effect on the treated (ATET) was ascertained through using the nearest-neighbour matching (−8.1%, t-stat −2.305) analysis. However, Seguro Popular did not show a protective effect against catastrophic expenditures in a household where an older adult lived. Social Security showed increased access to healthcare (ATET −11.3%, t-stat −3.138), and protective effect against catastrophic expenditures for households with an elderly member (ATET −1.9%, t-stat −2.178). Conclusions Seguro Popular increased access to healthcare for Mexican older adults. Social Security showed a significant protective effect against lack of access and catastrophic expenditures compared with those without health insurance. PMID:26198427

Severe Human Parechovirus Infections in Infants and the Role of Older Siblings.

PubMed

Nielsen, Nete Munk; Midgley, Sofie Elisabeth; Nielsen, Alex Christian Yde; Christiansen, Claus Bohn; Fischer, Thea Kølsen

2016-04-01

Human parechovirus (HPeV) is a cause of severe morbidity among infants and young children. To evaluate the associations between early environmental risk factors and HPeV infections, we carried out a nationwide cohort study linking registry data on birth and sibship characteristics with a laboratory surveillance database, covering all HPeV infections detected in Denmark during 2009-2012 among children <5 years of age. Incidence rate ratios were calculated in log-linear Poisson regression analyses. Overall, 133 HPeV infections, 85 caused by human parechovirus type 3 (HPeV-3) and 48 by human parechovirus other than type 3 (non-HPeV-3), were detected among 132 children. Neither birth weight, mode of delivery, Apgar score, nor gestational age was associated with the risk of HPeV infections. Compared with firstborn children, secondborn children were at a 9-fold increased risk (incidence rate ratio = 8.68, 95% confidence interval: 3.85, 19.53) of contracting HPeV-3 infections, but at no increased risk of contracting non-HPeV-3 infections. However, the shorter the age gap to the nearest older sibling, the higher the risk of HPeV-3 as well as non-HPeV-3 infections, although the trend was strongest for HPeV-3 infections. Our study is the first to suggest that having a slightly older sibling increases the risk for severe neonatal HPeV infections. This new knowledge might lead to new preventive measures. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Perinatal risk factors for atopic disease in conscripts.

PubMed

Bråbäck, L; Hedberg, A

1998-08-01

There is evidence to suggest that atopic disease in adulthood could be manifestations of events in early life. To investigate the relationship between perinatal risk factors and the prevalence of allergic rhinitis and asthma in conscripts. A retrospective cohort study, where information from the Military Service Enrolment Register was linked to the national Medical Birth Register. The study included 149 398 male conscripts who were born in Sweden in 1973, 1974 and 1975. Outcome measures were current asthma and allergic rhinitis recognized at the compulsory military conscript examinations. Unifactorial analyses demonstrated that number of older siblings, young maternal age, multiple gestation, prematurity, low birth weight, growth retardation and perinatal asphyxia were all significantly related to a decreased risk of allergic rhinitis among male conscripts. The prevalence rates of allergic rhinitis among conscripts with and without older siblings were 14.1% and 16.2%, respectively (odds ratio 0.85; 95% confidence interval 0.82-0.87). The prevalence rates of allergic rhinitis among those with term birth (>36 weeks), moderately preterm birth (33-36 weeks) and very preterm birth (<33 weeks) were 15.2%, 13.1% and 11.6%, respectively. Older siblings, multiple gestation and young maternal age were highly significant independent determinants of allergic rhinitis. By contrast, the effects of prematurity, low birthweight and asphyxia were weaker and highly correlated. The only independent determinants of asthma were maternal age, birthweight and multiple gestation. Furthermore, maternal age and birthweight had opposite effects on asthma and allergic rhinitis. In contrast to asthma, allergic rhinitis in young adult men was strongly associated with perinatal events. This may reflect the close relationship between allergic rhinitis and atopic sensitization, whereas asthma has a more multifactorial aetiology.

Birth order and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in multiplex families from Taiwan.

PubMed

Liu, Zhiwei; Coghill, Anna E; Pfeiffer, Ruth M; Hsu, Wan-Lun; Lou, Pei-Jen; Wang, Cheng-Ping; Yu, Kelly J; Niwa, Shelley; Brotzman, Michelle; Ye, Weimin; Chen, Chien-Jen; Hildesheim, Allan

2016-12-01

A small proportion of individuals infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) develop nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Timing of initial exposure could alter immunological responses to primary EBV infection and explain variation in cancer risk later in life. We measured early life family structure as a proxy for the timing of primary EBV infection to examine whether earlier age at infection alters NPC risk. We utilized data from 480 NPC cases and 1,291 unaffected siblings from Taiwanese NPC multiplex families (≥ 2 family members with NPC, N = 2,921). Information on birth order within the family was derived from questionnaires. We utilized logistic regression models to examine the association between birth order and NPC, accounting for correlations between relatives. Within these high-risk families, older siblings had an elevated risk of NPC. Compared with being a first-born child, the risk (95% CIs) of NPC associated with a birth order of two, three, four and five or more was 1.00 (0.71, 1.40), 0.88 (0.62, 1.24), 0.74 (0.53, 1.05) and 0.60 (0.43, 0.82), respectively (P for trend = 0.002). We observed no associations between NPC risk and the number of younger siblings or cumulative infant-years exposure. These associations were not modified by underlying genetic predisposition or family size. We observed that early life family structure was important for NPC risk in NPC multiplex families, with older siblings having a greater risk of disease. Future studies focusing on more direct measures of the immune response to EBV in early childhood could elucidate the underlying mechanisms. © 2016 UICC.

Prenatal exposure to Chernobyl fallout in Norway: neurological and developmental outcomes in a 25-year follow-up.

PubMed

Lie, Rolv Terje; Moster, Dag; Strand, Per; Wilcox, Allen James

2017-12-01

Ionizing radiation at high doses early in life may cause neurodevelopmental problems. Possible effects of lower doses are, however, controversial. We use carefully collected exposure data for Norway following the Chernobyl accident in April 1986 combined with population-based registries to assess long-term effects of fetal exposure on neurodevelopmental outcomes. Radiation doses were estimated for each Norwegian municipality for each calendar month from May 1986 to April 1989. We established a cohort of all Norwegian pregnancies during the three-year period of radiation measurement and compared them with appropriate unexposed groups. All cohorts were followed into adulthood. Risks of cerebral palsy, mental retardation, schizophrenia, epilepsy, vision or hearing problems, school dropout, and low income were estimated. We also conducted an analysis of mathematics and language grades using siblings born after the exposure period as comparison. There was little evidence of associations between radiation exposure and cerebral palsy, mental retardation, schizophrenia, epilepsy, or hearing or vision problems associated with radiation exposure. (p-values for trend with exposure dose were 0.27, 0.14, 0.83, 0.35 and 0.42.) Slightly more of the exposed failed to complete high school (p = 0.05), but there was no increase in the proportion with low income (p = 0.38). The natural advantage of older siblings over younger siblings in mathematics grades was diminished with exposure of older siblings (p = 0.003), but there was no association of exposure with Norwegian language grades (p = 0.37). There is scant evidence that the low-dose fallout from Chernobyl in Norway increased the risk for serious neurodevelopmental problems. We cannot exclude the possibility of lower mathematics grades with exposure, similar to a report from Sweden.

Individual risk factors associated with nasopharyngeal colonization with Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae: a Japanese birth cohort study.

PubMed

Otsuka, Taketo; Chang, Bin; Shirai, Takatoshi; Iwaya, Atsushi; Wada, Akihito; Yamanaka, Noboru; Okazaki, Minoru

2013-07-01

The first step in a bacterial disease is the establishment of nasopharyngeal carriage. We conducted a birth cohort study to identify factors associated with colonization in healthy children and evaluate the serotype distributions and resistances of Streptococcus pneumoniae/Haemophilus influenzae. Nasopharyngeal cultures were obtained from 349 subjects at 5 time points coinciding with health checkups (4, 7, 10, 18 and 36 months). A total of 551 S. pneumoniae (penicillin resistance rate: 46.3%) and 301 H. influenzae (ampicillin resistance rate: 44.5%) isolates were obtained from 1654 samples. In this study, 47.5% and 60.9% of S. pneumoniae isolates were included in the serotypes of 7- and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, respectively. Analyzing by Cox proportional hazards models, cohabiting older sibling(s) attending day-care (hazard ratios: 2.064-3.518, P < 0.001) and an early start of day-care attendance by the subjects themselves (2.259-2.439, P < 0.001) were associated with a higher risk of early colonization regardless of their susceptibility. Recent exposure to antimicrobials was also significantly associated with increased risk of colonization (odds ratios: 2.032-2.999, P < 0.001) but not with resistance rates. This data indicated that introduction of appropriate antimicrobial usage in areas of overuse of antimicrobials could contribute to lower colonization of S. pneumoniae/H. influenzae, resulting in a decrease in the absolute number of resistant isolates. Strategies to control transmission at day-care centers or from older sibling(s) as well as appropriate use of antimicrobials are essential for reducing colonization and the absolute number of resistant isolates.

Broader Autism Phenotype in Siblings of Children with ASD—A Review

PubMed Central

Pisula, Ewa; Ziegart-Sadowska, Karolina

2015-01-01

Although less pronounced, social, cognitive, and personality characteristics associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may be present in people who do not meet ASD diagnostic criteria, especially in first-degree relatives of individuals with ASD. Research on these characteristics, referred to as broader autism phenotype (BAP), provides valuable data on potential expressions of autism-specific deficits in the context of family relations. This paper offers a review of research on BAP in siblings of individuals with ASD, focusing on reports regarding social, communication, and cognitive deficits, published from 1993 to 2014. The studies are divided into two groups based on participants’ age: papers on preschool and older siblings of individuals with ASD; and publications on infants at risk for ASD. On the basis of this review, suggestions are offered for further research and its significance for our understanding of the genetic determinants of autism. PMID:26068453

Development of Mastery during Adolescence: The Role of Family Problem Solving*

PubMed Central

Conger, Katherine Jewsbury; Williams, Shannon Tierney; Little, Wendy M.; Masyn, Katherine E.; Shebloski, Barbara

2009-01-01

A sense of mastery is an important component of psychological health and well-being across the life-span; however, relatively little is known about the development of mastery during childhood and adolescence. Utilizing prospective, longitudinal data from 444 adolescent sibling pairs and their parents, our conceptual model proposes that family SES in the form of parental education promotes effective family problem solving which, in turn, fosters adolescent mastery. Results show: (1) a significant increase in mastery for younger and older siblings, (2) parental education promoted effective problem solving between parents and adolescents and between siblings but not between the parents themselves, and (3) all forms of effective family problem solving predicted greater adolescent mastery. Parental education had a direct effect on adolescent mastery as well as the hypothesized indirect effect through problem solving effectiveness, suggesting both a social structural and social process influence on the development of mastery during adolescence. PMID:19413137

Early experiences with family conflict: implications for arguments with a close friend.

PubMed

Herrera, C; Dunn, J

1997-09-01

This study examined associations between children's early experiences in family disputes and their later management of conflicts with a close friend. Thirty-seven children were observed interacting with their mother and older sibling at 33 months and with a friend at 72 months. Children's early use of argument was not associated with their later behavior during disputes with a friend. However, argument used by the mother and sibling that considered the child needs was positively associated with the child's later use of constructive argument and resolution techniques. The mother's use of argument that focused on her own needs was negatively related to these outcomes. These associations were independent of global characteristics of the mother-child and sibling relationships. Moreover, the mother's use of argument predicted the child's later conflict management independent of the child's early argument patterns, emotion understanding, and verbal fluency.

Development of mastery during adolescence: the role of family problem-solving.

PubMed

Conger, Katherine Jewsbury; Williams, Shannon Tierney; Little, Wendy M; Masyn, Katherine E; Shebloski, Barbara

2009-03-01

A sense of mastery is an important component of psychological health and wellbeing across the life-span; however relatively little is known about the development of mastery during childhood and adolescence. Utilizing prospective, longitudinal data from 444 adolescent sibling pairs and their parents, our conceptual model proposes that family socioeconomic status (SES) in the form of parental education promotes effective family problem-solving, which, in turn, fosters adolescent mastery. Results show: (1) a significant increase in mastery for younger and older siblings, (2) parental education promoted effective problem-solving between parents and adolescents and between siblings but not between the parents themselves, and (3) all forms of effective family problem-solving predicted greater adolescent mastery. Parental education had a direct effect on adolescent mastery as well as the hypothesized indirect effect through problem-solving effectiveness, suggesting both a social structural and social process influence on the development of mastery during adolescence.

Sibling incest: a Hong Kong experience.

PubMed

Tsun, O K

1999-01-01

The one case study intends to gain a preliminary understanding of the long term impact of older brother-younger sister incest in Hong Kong The adult survivor's experience did cohere with Western studies to date on age of onset, symptomatology, and feelings such as shame and guilt. The symptoms and negative feelings might also be the results of inaccessible parents and negative parental response at disclosure. Specific contextual factors such as patriarchal power structure, strong moral codes, and secrecy of family shame in Chinese culture may have contributed to the victim's inability to protect herself from her older brother's sexual advances. This case study calls for a multi-dimensional, and interactive rather than a unidimensional and unidirectional view to explore into the individual, familial, and contextual factors that may contribute to sibling incest and a delay in disclosure. The brief analysis is also a plea for systematic research in the Hong Kong context and comparative studies that take into account cultural specificity.

Why Do Some Irish Drink So Much? Family, Historical and Regional Effects on Students’ Alcohol Consumption and Subjective Normative Thresholds

PubMed Central

Delaney, Liam; Kapteyn, Arie; Smith, James P.

2013-01-01

This paper studies determinants of drinking behavior and formation of subjective thresholds of acceptable drinking behavior using a sample of students in a major Irish University. We find evidence of strong associations between amounts of alcohol students consume and drinking of their fathers and older siblings. In contrast, we find little evidence of impacts of other non-drinking aspects of family background on students’ drinking. Parental and older sibling drinking appears to affect subjective attitudes of students towards what constitutes problem drinking behavior. We investigated historical origins of drinking behavior including the role of the Church, English cultural influences, the importance of the brewery and distilling industry, and the influence of weather. We find relatively strong influences of the Catholic Church and English colonial settlement patterns on Irish drinking patterns but little influence of Irish weather. Historical licensing restrictions on the number of pubs and off-license establishments also appear to matter. PMID:23662096

Parental age and offspring mortality: Negative effects of reproductive ageing may be counterbalanced by secular increases in longevity.

PubMed

Barclay, Kieron; Myrskylä, Mikko

2018-07-01

As parental ages at birth continue to rise, concerns about the effects of fertility postponement on offspring are increasing. Due to reproductive ageing, advanced parental ages have been associated with negative health outcomes for offspring, including decreased longevity. The literature, however, has neglected to examine the potential benefits of being born at a later date. Secular declines in mortality mean that later birth cohorts are living longer. We analyse mortality over ages 30-74 among 1.9 million Swedish men and women born 1938-60, and use a sibling comparison design that accounts for all time-invariant factors shared by the siblings. When incorporating cohort improvements in mortality, we find that those born to older mothers do not suffer any significant mortality disadvantage, and that those born to older fathers have lower mortality. These findings are likely to be explained by secular declines in mortality counterbalancing the negative effects of reproductive ageing.

Family structure and children's television viewing and physical activity.

PubMed

Bagley, Sarah; Salmon, Jo; Crawford, David

2006-05-01

This study aimed to examine how physical activity (PA) and television (TV) viewing time of children varied according to family structure. In 2001, 5- to 6-yr-old (N = 296) and 10- to 12-yr-old (N = 919) children and their parents were recruited from 19 state elementary schools in Melbourne, Australia. Children's PA was objectively assessed using accelerometers worn for 8 d. Sociodemographic and family structure information and time spent watching TV was collected via questionnaire completed by parents. ANCOVA revealed that, after controlling for socioeconomic status and age of child, boys without any siblings spent more minutes per day watching TV (153.2 +/- 71.3) compared with those who have siblings (129.0 +/- 64.4, P < 0.05). There were also significant differences in TV viewing time between boys with one sibling (125.5 +/- 59.9), two siblings (141.9 +/- 70.1), or three or more siblings (111.6 +/- 62.6, P < 0.001). Girls from single-parent families (145.7 +/- 85.1) spent significantly more minutes per day watching TV compared with girls from two-parent families (125.1 +/- 67.7, P < 0.05). Girls with siblings spent more minutes per day in PA (148.3 +/- 67.7) compared with those who were an only child (131.0 +/- 58.9, P < 0.05). There were significant interactions between parental status and having a sibling, with PA, and also with TV viewing for girls and between parental status and having a brother with PA for boys. There were also significant interactions between having an older sibling and child's sex with PA and between number of siblings and sex with TV viewing. Family structure may be an important source of influence on children's PA and TV viewing time. Aspects of family structure interact differently with PA and TV viewing, suggesting interventions may need to be tailored with consideration of the family structure of children.

Is there an association between advanced paternal age and endophenotype deficit levels in schizophrenia?

PubMed

Tsuang, Debby; Esterberg, Michelle; Braff, David; Calkins, Monica; Cadenhead, Kristin; Dobie, Dorcas; Freedman, Robert; Green, Michael F; Greenwood, Tiffany; Gur, Raquel; Gur, Ruben; Horan, William; Lazzeroni, Laura C; Light, Gregory A; Millard, Steven P; Olincy, Ann; Nuechterlein, Keith; Seidman, Larry; Siever, Larry; Silverman, Jeremy; Stone, William; Sprock, Joyce; Sugar, Catherine; Swerdlow, Neal; Tsuang, Ming; Turetsky, Bruce; Radant, Allen

2014-01-01

The children of older fathers have increased risks of developing schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and among those who develop these disorders, those with older fathers present with more severe clinical symptoms. However, the influence of advanced paternal age on other important domains related to schizophrenia, such as quantitative endophenotype deficit levels, remains unknown. This study investigated the associations between paternal age and level of endophenotypic impairment in a well-characterized family-based sample from the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS). All families included at least one affected subject and one unaffected sibling. Subjects met criteria for schizophrenia (probands; n = 293) or were unaffected first-degree siblings of those probands (n = 382). Paternal age at the time of subjects' birth was documented. Subjects completed a comprehensive clinical assessment and a battery of tests that measured 16 endophenotypes. After controlling for covariates, potential paternal age-endophenotype associations were analyzed using one model that included probands alone and a second model that included both probands and unaffected siblings. Endophenotype deficits in the Identical Pairs version of the 4-digit Continuous Performance Test and in the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery verbal memory test showed significant associations with paternal age. However, after correcting for multiple comparisons, no endophenotype was significantly associated with paternal age. These findings suggest that factors other than advanced paternal age at birth may account for endophenotypic deficit levels in schizophrenia.

Reducing health inequalities among girls and adolescent women living in poverty: the success of Bangladesh.

PubMed

Rousham, Emily K; Khandakar, Ikhtiar Uddin

2016-01-01

Bangladesh has made dramatic improvements in the health of girls and women in the last 20 years. This paper examines whether gender inequalities in health are evident among older children and adolescents among extremely poor households and identifies future health challenges for improving the health of girls and women. Gender inequalities in health were examined using data from a school health survey of school children and adolescents (n = 900, 6.5-13.5 years). Anthropometric status, household possessions and number of siblings were measured. Under-nutrition was assessed as stunting (height-for-age z-score) and thinness (BMI-for-age z-score). The prevalence of under-nutrition was high (35.3% stunting; 42.4% thinness), but there were no significant differences according to gender or socio-economic indicators (via possession score). Girls had more younger siblings (p < 0.05), while boys had more older siblings (p < 0.05). These findings accord with the national picture of successful reductions in gender inequalities in health through low cost, community-based health programmes and education policies targeting the poorest sectors. The prevalence of under-nutrition, however, remains high. Reproductive behaviours may still be influenced by poverty and the gender of existing offspring. Future challenges lie in reducing the adverse health consequences to women and their infants associated with early age at marriage and childbirth.

Health-Related Quality of Life among Older Related Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donors (>60 Years) Is Equivalent to That of Younger Related Donors (18 to 60 Years): A Related Donor Safety Study.

PubMed

Switzer, Galen E; Bruce, Jessica; Kiefer, Deidre M; Kobusingye, Hati; Drexler, Rebecca; Besser, RaeAnne M; Confer, Dennis L; Horowitz, Mary M; King, Roberta J; Shaw, Bronwen E; Riches, Marcie; Hayes-Lattin, Brandon; Linenberger, Michael; Bolwell, Brian; Rowley, Scott D; Litzow, Mark R; Pulsipher, Michael A

2017-01-01

The increasing number of older adults with blood-related disorders and the introduction of reduced-intensity conditioning regimens has led to increases in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation among older adults and a corresponding increase in the age of siblings who donate HSCs to these patients. Data regarding the donation-related experiences of older donors are lacking. The Related Donor Safety Study aimed to examine/compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of older versus younger HSC donors. Sixty peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donors ages 18 to 60 years and 104 PBSC donors age >60 years completed validated questionnaires before donation and 4 weeks and 1 year after donation. Before donation, older donors had poorer general physical health (t = -3.27; P = .001) but better mental health (t = 2.11; P < .05). There were no age differences in multiple other donation-related factors. At 4 weeks after donation, there were no group differences in general physical/mental health, but older donors were less likely to report donation-related pain (t = -2.26; P < .05) and concerns (t = -3.38; P = .001). At both 4 weeks and 1 year after donation, there were no significant differences in the percentage of each age group feeling physically back to normal or in the number of days it took donors to feel completely well. There was no evidence that increasing age within the older donor group was associated with poorer donation-related HRQoL. Taken together, these data support the current practice of HSC donation by sibling donors above age 60, providing no evidence of worsening HRQoL up to 1 year after donation in individuals up to age 76. Copyright © 2017 The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Siblings’ Perceptions of Differential Treatment, Fairness, and Jealousy and Adolescent Adjustment: A Moderated Indirect Effects Model

PubMed Central

Loeser, Meghan K.; Whiteman, Shawn D.; McHale, Susan M.

2016-01-01

Youth's perception of parents’ differential treatment (PDT) are associated with maladjustment during adolescence. Although the direct relations between PDT and youth's maladjustment have been well established, the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. We addressed this gap by examining whether sibling jealousy accounted for the links between PDT and youth's depressive symptoms, self-worth, and risky behaviors. Additionally, we examined whether youth's perceptions of fairness regarding their treatment as well as the gender constellation of the dyad moderated these indirect relations (i.e., moderated-indirect effects). Participants were first- and second-born adolescent siblings (M = 15.96, SD = .72 years for older siblings, M = 13.48, SD = 1.02 years for younger siblings) and their parents from 197 working and middle class European American families. Data were collected via home interviews. A series of Conditional Process Analyses revealed significant indirect effects of PDT through sibling jealousy to all three adjustment outcomes. Furthermore, perceptions of fairness moderated the relations between PDT and jealousy, such that the indirect effects were only significant at low (−1 SD) and average levels of fairness. At high levels of fairness (+1 SD) there was no association between PDT, jealousy, and youth adjustment. Taken together, results indicate that youth and parents would benefit from engaging in clear communication regarding the reasoning for the occurrence of differential treatment, likely maximizing youth and parent perceptions of that treatment as being fair, and in turn mitigating sibling jealousy and maladjustment. PMID:27867295

Saviour-sibling and the psychological, ethical and judicial issues that it creates: should English and French legislators close the Pandora's Box?

PubMed

Madanamoothoo, Allane

2011-05-01

Since the advent of test-tube babies, advances in the biomedical field have risen steadily. In parallel, the scientific body has never since ceased to debate the ethical issues that they arise. This is particularly the case regarding saviour-sibling. Saviour-sibling refers to a child who is conceived to cure an older brother or sister suffering from a serious family genetic disease. Therefore, it is meant to give birth to a child who will provide stem-cells taken from the umbilical cord or bone marrow afterwards, to treat an elder sick sibling. In England, this practice has been explicitly allowed by the new Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 under some strict conditions. In France, this practice, authorized by the Bioethics Law of August 2004 and confirmed by its decree of implementation published in the Official Journal on 23 December 2006, is also strictly regulated. This technique opens up new perspectives and enormous hope. Its legalisation is certainly justified by the suffering of the parents and to avoid that they travel to other States where it is permitted. However, it raises serious psychological ethical and judicial issues. Following an analysis of the English and French laws on saviour siblings, its controversial side will be highlighted, before concluding whether or not this new Pandora's box which is saviour-sibling, should be closed and other alternative methods encouraged.

The Vulnerable Age: A Serendipitous Finding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inbar, Michael; Adler, Chaim

1976-01-01

Six to 11 year old children may be generally more vulnerable to crises in their environment than their younger or older siblings. Based upon a cross cultural study of Moroccan and Rumanian immigrants to Israel, the authors suggest some theoretical considerations and note some practical implications. (Author/DB)

Special Places

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Mike

2005-01-01

Generations ago, it was common for young students to learn their reading and writing in the same classroom as older siblings studying more advanced lessons. For those people educated in one-room schoolhouses, having separate buildings for elementary school, middle school and high school would have been considered the ultimate in specialized…

Participation in siblings׳ birth at home from children׳s viewpoint.

PubMed

Jouhki, Maija-Riitta; Suominen, Tarja; Peltonen, Kirsi; Åstedt-Kurki, Päivi

2016-03-01

partners often participate in childbirth, and the effects on both partners have been intensively investigated, but children׳s participation is rare in western countries and less studied. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore and construct a comprehensive structure of meaning of Finnish children׳s experiences of participating in birth of a sibling at home. a phenomenological study based on analysis of open-interview transcripts by Colaizzi׳s approach and drawings. seven children aged five to 17 years who participated in birth of a sibling at home. the children׳s experience of participating in a sibling׳s birth was multifaceted. Their feelings varied from joy to worry, they helped their mother and learned from the experience. They chose to participate. They experienced overwhelmingly strong and positive feelings, but were also worried about the well-being of other family members during the birth. Further, younger children were frustrated, especially if the birth took a long time and they were not allowed to do all they wanted, such as going to a birthing pool. It was important for the children to be able to help their mother and support younger siblings. They learned a lot about childbirth from their participation and information given by the adults. The children regarded home as safe, cosy and a better place to give birth than a hospital. The older children also regarded a home birth as a possible choice for them in the future. They celebrated the baby׳s arrival and remembered the birth day as being joyful and happy. Participation in the sibling׳s birth made relationships between the children closer and warmer. Children felt hurt when people outside the family were suspicious when told that the baby was born at home. the children׳s experience of participating in a sibling׳s birth at home included varying feelings, learning from their experience and helping mother. The findings could be utilised in parent education if they are going to have their children with them during the childbirth. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Delayed White Matter Growth Trajectory in Young Nonpsychotic Siblings of Patients With Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Gogtay, Nitin; Hua, Xue; Stidd, Reva; Boyle, Christina P.; Lee, Suh; Weisinger, Brian; Chavez, Alex; Giedd, Jay N.; Clasen, Liv; Toga, Arthur W.; Rapoport, Judith L.; Thompson, Paul M.

2013-01-01

Context Nonpsychotic siblings of patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) share cortical gray matter abnormalities with their probands at an early age; these normalize by the time the siblings are aged 18 years, suggesting that the gray matter abnormalities in schizophrenia could be an age-specific endophenotype. Patients with COS also show significant white matter (WM) growth deficits, which have not yet been explored in nonpsychotic siblings. Objective To study WM growth differences in non-psychotic siblings of patients with COS. Design Longitudinal (5-year) anatomic magnetic resonance imaging study mapping WM growth using a novel tensor-based morphometry analysis. Setting National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland. Participants Forty-nine healthy siblings of patients with COS (mean [SD] age, 16.1[5.3] years; 19 male, 30 female) and 57 healthy persons serving as controls (age, 16.9[5.3] years; 29 male, 28 female). Intervention Magnetic resonance imaging. Main Outcome Measure White matter growth rates. Results We compared the WM growth rates in 3 age ranges. In the youngest age group (7 to <14 years), we found a significant difference in growth rates, with siblings of patients with COS showing slower WM growth rates in the parietal lobes of the brain than age-matched healthy controls (false discovery rate, q = 0.05; critical P = .001 in the bilateral parietal WM; a post hoc analysis identified growth rate differences only on the left side, critical P =.004). A growth rate difference was not detectable at older ages. In 3-dimensional maps, growth rates in the siblings even appeared to surpass those of healthy individuals at later ages, at least locally in the brain, but this effect did not survive a multiple comparisons correction. Conclusions In this first longitudinal study of nonpsychotic siblings of patients with COS, the siblings showed early WM growth deficits, which normalized with age. As reported before for gray matter, WM growth may also be an age-specific endophenotype that shows compensatory normalization with age. PMID:22945617

Hospital contact for mental disorders in survivors of childhood cancer and their siblings in Denmark: a population-based cohort study.

PubMed

Lund, Lasse Wegener; Winther, Jeanette F; Dalton, Susanne O; Cederkvist, Luise; Jeppesen, Pia; Deltour, Isabelle; Hargreave, Marie; Kjær, Susanne K; Jensen, Allan; Rechnitzer, Catherine; Andersen, Klaus K; Schmiegelow, Kjeld; Johansen, Christoffer

2013-09-01

Survivors of childhood cancer are known to be at risk for long-term physical and mental effects. However, little is known about how cancers can affect mental health in the siblings of these patients. We aimed to assess the long-term risks of mental disorders in survivors of childhood cancer and their siblings. Hospital contact for mental disorders was assessed in a population-based cohort of 7085 Danish children treated for cancer by contemporary protocols between 1975 and 2010 and in their 13 105 siblings by use of data from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Registry. Hazard ratios (HRs) for first hospital contact were calculated using a Cox proportional hazards model. We compared these sibling and survivor cohorts with two population-based cohorts who were not childhood cancer survivors or siblings of survivors. Survivors of childhood cancer were at increased risk of hospital contact for mental disorders, with HRs of 1·50 (95% CI 1·32-1·69) for males and 1·26 (1·10-1·44) for females. Children younger than 10 years at diagnosis had the highest risk, and increased risks were seen in survivors of CNS tumours, haematological malignancies, and solid tumours. Survivors had higher risk of neurodevelopmental, emotional, and behavioural disorders than population-based comparisons and siblings, and male survivors had higher risk for unipolar depression. Overall, siblings had no excess risk for mental disorders. However, our data suggest that siblings who were young at the time of cancer diagnosis of the survivor were at increased risk for mental disorders, whereas those older than 15 years at diagnosis were at a lower risk than the general population. Childhood cancer survivors should be followed up for mental late effects, especially those diagnosed in young age. Further, clinicians should also be aware that siblings who were young at the time of cancer diagnosis might be at increased risk for mental health disorders. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional health status of adults with tetralogy of Fallot: matched comparison with healthy siblings.

PubMed

Knowles, Rachel; Veldtman, Gruschen; Hickey, Edward J; Bradley, Timothy; Gengsakul, Aungkana; Webb, Gary D; Williams, William G; McCrindle, Brian W

2012-07-01

Survival prospects for adults with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) are now excellent. Attention should therefore shift to assessing and improving functional health status and quality of life. We aimed to assess late functional health status of adults surviving TOF repair by matched comparison to their healthy siblings. All 1,693 TOF repairs performed at our institution between 1946 and 1990 were reviewed. A matched comparison was undertaken whereby presumed survivors and their healthy sibling were contacted and asked to complete the Ontario Health Survey 1990 and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. Both questionnaires were completed by 224 adult survivors and their sibling closest in age. Adults with repaired TOF had lower scores for self-perceived general health status (p < 0.001), were less likely to rate their health as good or excellent (p < 0.001), and had lower SF-36 scores for physical functioning and general health (p = 0.001) than their siblings. However, patients reported similar satisfaction with their lives, similar levels of social participation and support, and were as likely to be in long-term partnerships. Worse physical and mental health scores were associated with older age at surgery and at time of questionnaire completion and recent requirement for noncardiac medication. Although reporting lower functional health status then their siblings, quality of life and life satisfaction for adults who underwent surgery for TOF during childhood is comparable to that of their siblings without heart defects. Follow-up of younger adults is required to understand current health outcomes attributable to improvements in the management of TOF. Copyright © 2012 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vying for Attention: How Does Advertising Affect Search and College Choice?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucciarone, Kristy

2007-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study is to analyze how advertising affects search and college choice among the plethora of college choice influencers. The results of the research indicate that parents, older siblings, friends, career aspirations, personal funds, scholarships, institutional reputation, location, sports, high school counselors, and…

Mentoring. The Progress of Education Reform, 2006. Volume 7, Number 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiss, Suzanne

2006-01-01

Parents are the central source of emotional, financial and social support for their children. Many young people also have the benefit of relationships with adults other than parents--including teachers, coaches, grandparents, older siblings, neighbors and employers--who serve as informal mentors. These relationships provide youth with extra…

Maternal Attachment Strategies and Emotion Regulation with Adolescent Offspring.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kobak, Roger; And Others

1994-01-01

Examined the relationship between mothers' attachment strategies and emotion regulation in a sample of 42 families with 2 high school-aged siblings. Found that mothers with preoccupied strategies had difficulty regulating emotion during conversations with their older teenagers about them leaving home. Mothers with secure strategies perceived their…

Access to healthcare and financial risk protection for older adults in Mexico: secondary data analysis of a national survey.

PubMed

Doubova, Svetlana V; Pérez-Cuevas, Ricardo; Canning, David; Reich, Michael R

2015-07-21

While the benefits of Seguro Popular health insurance in Mexico relative to no insurance have been widely documented, little has been reported on its effects relative to the pre-existing Social Security health insurance. We analyse the effects of Social Security and Seguro Popular health insurances in Mexico on access to healthcare of older adults, and on financial risk protection to their households, compared with older adults without health insurance. Secondary data analysis was performed using the 2012 Mexican Survey of Health and Nutrition (ENSANUT). The study population comprised 18,847 older adults and 13,180 households that have an elderly member. The dependent variables were access to healthcare given the reported need, the financial burden imposed by health expenditures measured through catastrophic health-related expenditures, and using savings for health-related expenditures. Separate propensity score matching analyses were conducted for each comparison. The analysis for access was performed at the individual level, and the analysis for financial burden at the household level. In each case, matching on a wide set of relevant characteristics was achieved. Seguro Popular showed a protective effect against lack of access to healthcare for older adults compared with those with no insurance. The average treatment effect on the treated (ATET) was ascertained through using the nearest-neighbour matching (-8.1%, t-stat -2.305) analysis. However, Seguro Popular did not show a protective effect against catastrophic expenditures in a household where an older adult lived. Social Security showed increased access to healthcare (ATET -11.3%, t-stat -3.138), and protective effect against catastrophic expenditures for households with an elderly member (ATET -1.9%, t-stat -2.178). Seguro Popular increased access to healthcare for Mexican older adults. Social Security showed a significant protective effect against lack of access and catastrophic expenditures compared with those without health insurance. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Reciprocal preening and food sharing in colour-polymorphic nestling barn owls.

PubMed

Roulin, A; Des Monstiers, B; Ifrid, E; Da Silva, A; Genzoni, E; Dreiss, A N

2016-02-01

Barn owl (Tyto alba) siblings preen and offer food items to one another, behaviours that can be considered prosocial because they benefit a conspecific by relieving distress or need. In experimental broods, we analysed whether such behaviours were reciprocated, preferentially exchanged between specific phenotypes, performed to avoid harassment and food theft or signals of hierarchy status. Three of the results are consistent with the hypothesis of direct reciprocity. First, food sharing was reciprocated in three-chick broods but not in pairs of siblings, that is when nestlings could choose a partner with whom to develop a reciprocating interaction. Second, a nestling was more likely to give a prey item to its sibling if the latter individual had preened the former. Third, siblings matched their investment in preening each other. Manipulation of age hierarchy showed that food stealing was directed towards older siblings but was not performed to compensate for a low level of cooperation received. Social behaviours were related to melanin-based coloration, suggesting that animals may signal their propensity to interact socially. The most prosocial phenotype (darker reddish) was also the phenotype that stole more food, and the effect of coloration on prosocial behaviour depended upon rank and sex, suggesting that colour-related prosociality is state dependent. © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Foster care placement change: The role of family dynamics and household composition

PubMed Central

Waid, Jeffrey; Kothari, Brianne H.; Bank, Lew; McBeath, Bowen

2016-01-01

Sibling co-placement and kinship care have each been shown to protect against the occurrence of placement change for youth in substitute care. However, little is known about the effects of different combinations of sibling placement and relative caregiver status on placement change. Nor does the field fully understand how family dynamics may differ in these households. Utilizing data from the Supporting Siblings in Foster Care study, this paper examines family dynamics across four typologies of living composition, and tests the effects of living composition membership on the odds of experiencing a placement change over an 18-month period of time. Findings suggest that across living composition typologies, children who were placed separately from their siblings in non-relative care were more likely to be older, have more extensive placement histories, and experience more placement changes both prior to and during the study than were children in other living composition groups. Family living composition was found to influence the occurrence of placement change. Specifically, children co-placed in kinship care were least likely to experience movement; however, sibling co-placement in non-relative care was also protective. Results reveal the need to conduct additional research into the experiences of children in different family living arrangements, and tailor case management services and supports to children in substitute care accordingly. Implications and future directions are discussed. PMID:27990039

Severe lateral tibial bowing with short stature in two siblings--a provisionally novel syndrome.

PubMed

Zitano, Lia; Loder, Randall T; Cohen, Mervyn D; Weaver, David D

2012-09-01

In this report, we describe two siblings with short stature and severe lateral tibial bowing. In the younger sibling, the bowing was bilateral, while in the older sib, it was unilateral. However, both showed bilateral abnormalities of the distal tibial epiphyses and growth plates. Pseudoarthrosis of the left distal tibial metaphysis and subsequent spontaneous resolution of the abnormality occurred in the younger sibling. The fibulas of both children were of normal diameter and were straight, except for the distal ends. Surgery has almost completely corrected the lower leg bowing in both patients. The type of tibial bowing seen in these children can be associated with a number of syndromes, such as neurofibromatosis type I, Weismann-Netter syndrome, and a variety of environmental caused disorders, such as vitamin D deficient rickets. However, the severity of the bowing present in our patients and the absence of other clinical features differentiates this condition from those reported in the literature. We posit that the condition in the children presented here represents an as yet undescribed syndrome, which is likely to be of genetic origin. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Income in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

PubMed Central

Wengenroth, Laura; Sommer, Grit; Schindler, Matthias; Spycher, Ben D.; von der Weid, Nicolas X.; Stutz-Grunder, Eveline; Michel, Gisela; Kuehni, Claudia E.

2016-01-01

Introduction Little is known about the impact of childhood cancer on the personal income of survivors. We compared income between survivors and siblings, and determined factors associated with income. Methods As part of the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (SCCSS), a questionnaire was sent to survivors, aged ≥18 years, registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry (SCCR), diagnosed at age <21 years, who had survived ≥5 years after diagnosis of the primary tumor. Siblings were used as a comparison group. We asked questions about education, profession and income and retrieved clinical data from the SCCR. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify characteristics associated with income. Results We analyzed data from 1’506 survivors and 598 siblings. Survivors were less likely than siblings to have a high monthly income (>4’500 CHF), even after we adjusted for socio-demographic and educational factors (OR = 0.46, p<0.001). Older age, male sex, personal and parental education, and number of working hours were associated with high income. Survivors of leukemia (OR = 0.40, p<0.001), lymphoma (OR = 0.63, p = 0.040), CNS tumors (OR = 0.22, p<0.001), bone tumors (OR = 0.24, p = 0.003) had a lower income than siblings. Survivors who had cranial irradiation, had a lower income than survivors who had no cranial irradiation (OR = 0.48, p = 0.006). Discussion Even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, education and working hours, survivors of various diagnostic groups have lower incomes than siblings. Further research needs to identify the underlying causes. PMID:27213682

Fraternal Birth Order and Extreme Right-Handedness as Predictors of Sexual Orientation and Gender Nonconformity in Men.

PubMed

Kishida, Mariana; Rahman, Qazi

2015-07-01

The present study explored whether there were relationships between number of older brothers, handedness, recalled childhood gender nonconformity (CGN), and sexual orientation in men. We used data from previous British studies conducted in our laboratory (N = 1,011 heterosexual men and 921 gay men). These men had completed measures of demographic variables, number and sex of siblings, CGN, and the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. The results did not replicate the fraternal birth order effect. However, gay men had fewer "other siblings" than heterosexual men (even after controlling for the stopping-rule and family size). In a sub-sample (425 gay men and 478 heterosexual men) with data available on both sibling sex composition and handedness scores, gay men were found to show a significantly greater likelihood of extreme right-handedness and non-right-handedness compared to heterosexual men. There were no significant effects of sibling sex composition in this sub-sample. In a further sub-sample (N = 487) with data available on sibling sex composition, handedness, and CGN, we found that men with feminine scores on CGN were more extremely right-handed and had fewer other-siblings compared to masculine scoring men. Mediation analysis revealed that handedness was associated with sexual orientation directly and also indirectly through the mediating factor of CGN. We were unable to replicate the fraternal birth order effect in our archived dataset but there was evidence for a relationship among handedness, sexual orientation, and CGN. These data help narrow down the number of possible neurodevelopmental pathways leading to variations in male sexual orientation.

The influence of parents, older siblings, and non-parental care on infant development at nine months of age.

PubMed

Cruise, Sharon; O'Reilly, Dermot

2014-11-01

The majority of research examining the influence of social environment on early child development suggests benefits to two-parent households, but contradictory evidence for the effects of siblings. The aims of the present study were to examine the influence of the child's proximal social environment, and the effects of interactions between socioeconomic status and social environment on developmental outcomes. Primary caregivers of a representative sample of 10,748 nine-month-old infants in Ireland completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and provided information on social environment. Adjustment was made for infant and maternal characteristics, household income, and area where the child was living at the time of the study. Further analyses tested for interactions between social environment and household income. Binary logistic regressions indicated no effects for number of parents in the household. However, the presence of siblings in the household was a consistent predictor of failing to reach milestones in communication, gross motor, problem-solving, and personal-social development. Furthermore, there was a gradient of increasing likelihood of failing in gross motor, problem-solving, and personal-social development with increasing numbers of siblings. Care by a grandparent decreased the likelihood of failing in communication and personal-social development. These findings do not support the majority of research that finds positive benefits for two-parent households. Similarly, the findings suggest limited effects for non-parental care. However, the observed negative effects of siblings support both the confluence and resource dilution models of sibling effect. Examination of follow-up data may elucidate current findings. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Is There an Association between Advanced Paternal Age and Endophenotype Deficit Levels in Schizophrenia?

PubMed Central

Tsuang, Debby; Esterberg, Michelle; Braff, David; Calkins, Monica; Cadenhead, Kristin; Dobie, Dorcas; Freedman, Robert; Green, Michael F.; Greenwood, Tiffany; Gur, Raquel; Gur, Ruben; Horan, William; Lazzeroni, Laura C.; Light, Gregory A.; Millard, Steven P.; Olincy, Ann; Nuechterlein, Keith; Seidman, Larry; Siever, Larry; Silverman, Jeremy; Stone, William; Sprock, Joyce; Sugar, Catherine; Swerdlow, Neal; Tsuang, Ming; Turetsky, Bruce; Radant, Allen

2014-01-01

The children of older fathers have increased risks of developing schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and among those who develop these disorders, those with older fathers present with more severe clinical symptoms. However, the influence of advanced paternal age on other important domains related to schizophrenia, such as quantitative endophenotype deficit levels, remains unknown. This study investigated the associations between paternal age and level of endophenotypic impairment in a well-characterized family-based sample from the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS). All families included at least one affected subject and one unaffected sibling. Subjects met criteria for schizophrenia (probands; n = 293) or were unaffected first-degree siblings of those probands (n = 382). Paternal age at the time of subjects’ birth was documented. Subjects completed a comprehensive clinical assessment and a battery of tests that measured 16 endophenotypes. After controlling for covariates, potential paternal age–endophenotype associations were analyzed using one model that included probands alone and a second model that included both probands and unaffected siblings. Endophenotype deficits in the Identical Pairs version of the 4-digit Continuous Performance Test and in the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery verbal memory test showed significant associations with paternal age. However, after correcting for multiple comparisons, no endophenotype was significantly associated with paternal age. These findings suggest that factors other than advanced paternal age at birth may account for endophenotypic deficit levels in schizophrenia. PMID:24523888

Sibling Incest in a Clergy Family: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrahams, Jocelyn; Hoey, Helen

1994-01-01

A case study is presented of a female adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse where the perpetrator was her older brother. The family dynamics are described, emphasizing the physically absent father (a clergyman), the emotionally distant mother, and the surrogate parent status of the perpetrator. The individual's efforts to receive appropriate…

A Structure Standard for Archival Context: EAC-CPF Is Here

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dryden, Jean

2010-01-01

The archival community's new descriptive standard, "Encoded Archival Context" for Corporate Bodies, Persons, and Families (EAC-CPF), supports the sharing of descriptions of records creators and is a significant addition to the suite of standards for archival description. EAC-CPF is a data structure standard similar to its older sibling EAD…

Project M.O.M.--Mothers & Others & MyPyramid

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wansink, Brian

2008-01-01

In today's dynamic and complex family structures, sometimes the nutritional gatekeeper is a stay-at-home dad, grandparent, housekeeper, or older sibling. Yet, despite a record level of women in the workforce and high educational achievement, the responsibility of being a nutrition gatekeeper still mainly falls on mothers. It is not equitable, it…

The Relations between Parents' Smoking, General Parenting, Parental Smoking Communication, and Adolescents' Smoking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harakeh, Zeena; Scholte, Ron H. J.; Vermulst, Ad A.; de Vries, Hein; Engels, Rutger C. M. E.

2010-01-01

The present study examined whether the associations between general parenting practices (i.e., support, behavioral control, and psychological control) and parental smoking on the one hand and older and younger siblings' smoking on the other were mediated by parental smoking communication (i.e., frequency and quality of parent-adolescent…

Mothers' and Fathers' Racial Socialization in African American Families: Implications for Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McHale, Susan M.; Crouter, Ann C.; Kim, Ji-Yeon; Burton, Linda M.; Davis, Kelly D.; Dotterer, Aryn M.; Swanson, Dena P.

2006-01-01

Mothers' and fathers' cultural socialization and bias preparation with older (M=13.9 years) and younger (M=10.31 years) siblings were studied in 162 two-parent, African American families. Analyses examined whether parental warmth and offspring age and gender were linked to parental practices and whether parents' warmth, spouses' racial…

Evidence of Parent and Teacher Validity in Screening for Handicaps.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaefer, Earl S.; Edgerton, Marianna

This study of handicapped and non-handicapped preschool and early elementary school children and their older normal siblings was designed to determine (1) the intercorrelation of parent and teacher ratings of the child's academic competence and social adjustment, and (2) the correlations of mother, father and teacher ratings with the child's…

Poison Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, Grades 7-9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Evaluation Systems, Inc., Amherst, MA.

Because each year hundreds of thousands of children under five are poisoned by common household products, this book is designed as a resource of activities and guidelines for teaching poison prevention to older siblings. The book states three major objectives in teaching seventh through ninth graders: (1) to increase students' knowledge of hazards…

Bacteriological quality of weaning food and drinking water given to children of market women in Nigeria: implications for control of diarrhoea.

PubMed

Iroegbu, C U; Ene-Obong, H N; Uwaegbute, A C; Amazigo, U V

2000-12-01

Bacteriological quality of weaning food and drinking water given to 2 groups of children aged < or = years was evaluated by estimating bacterial cell count. One group consisted of those taken to market and the other of those left at home in the care of older siblings or house-helps. Bacterial counts (geometric mean) ranged from 5.02 +/- 1.82 to 8.70 +/- 1.0 log10 cfu per g or mL of food, and from 1.15 +/- 1.67 to 6.53 +/- 0.81 log10 cfu per g or 100 mL of water. Analysis of variance showed no significant difference in counts between types of food and between meals (breakfast and lunch). Bacterial contamination increased significantly with storage time, and was, in all circumstances except the water samples, significantly higher in foods given to children left at home. Reheated leftover foods also had significantly higher bacterial load than the freshly-cooked food. Coliform count varied significantly with source of drinking water. Poor hygiene standard (inferred from bacterial contamination) was generally observed among mothers weaning < or = 2-year-old children, while they were engaged in trading activities in the market, thus exposing their children to high risk of diarrhoea. Hygiene was significantly poorer in weaning of children left at home in the care of older siblings or house-helps. This implies that, in spite of their trading activities in the market, mothers still take better care of their babies than the older siblings or house-helps who may be inexperienced. These mothers may need education on childcare and food hygiene to suit to their trading activities, for example, during their monthly meetings. There is also a need to establish ORT (oral rehydration therapy) corners in the markets as part of the municipal services. This can be used not only for efficient and quick management of diarrhoea in the market but also for reinforcing hygiene education.

A short period of breastfeeding in infancy, excessive house cleaning, absence of older sibling, and passive smoking are related to more severe atopic dermatitis in children.

PubMed

Fotopoulou, Maria; Iordanidou, Maria; Vasileiou, Eleni; Trypsianis, Grigorios; Chatzimichael, Athanasios; Paraskakis, Emmanouil

2018-02-01

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common, chronic or chronically relapsing inflammatory skin diseases that affect children. Multiple genetic and environmental factors appear to regulate the pathogenesis of AD. Our aim was to investigate the possible association between family, social, dieting, atopic and environmental factors and the severity of AD evaluated by SCORAD scores in children. The study group included 100 children with AD who attended a paediatric dermatology outpatient clinic with a median age of 18.5 months. The diagnosis of AD was established on the basis of the clinical criteria according to the American Dermatology Society, while the SCORAD score was used to evaluate disease severity. Multivariate linear regression analysis disclosed that excessive cleanliness (p<0.001), RAST level greater than 0.7 KU/l (p<0.001), breastfeeding for less than two months (p = 0.001), and the absence of an older sibling (p = 0.049) were statistically significant independent determinants for high SCORAD scores. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that excessive cleanliness (p<0.001) was the strongest independent risk factor for severe AD (SCORAD>36) (aOR: 59.4; 95% CI: 10.9-322.6). RAST level greater than 0.7 KU/l (aOR: 7.9; 95% CI: 1.5-41.0; p = 0.014) and severe passive smoking (aOR: 4.6; 95% CI: 1.0-22.1; p = 0.050) also showed a significant independent, but clearly weaker, association with severe AD. A short duration of breastfeeding, absence of older siblings, parental passive smoking, food allergens along with aeroallergens, and excessive cleanliness should be considered as negative prognostic factors, leading to a higher SCORAD score in children with AD.

Predictors of inactive lifestyle among adult survivors of childhood cancer: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

PubMed

Ness, Kirsten K; Leisenring, Wendy M; Huang, Sujuan; Hudson, Melissa M; Gurney, James G; Whelan, Kimberly; Hobbie, Wendy L; Armstrong, Gregory T; Robison, Leslie L; Oeffinger, Kevin C

2009-05-01

: Participation in physical activity is important for childhood cancer survivors, because inactivity may compound cancer/treatment-related late effects. However, some survivors may have difficulty participating in physical activity, and these individuals need to be identified so that risk-based guidelines for physical activity, tailored to specific needs, can be developed and implemented. The objectives of the current study were to document physical activity patterns in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) cohort, to compare the physical activity patterns with siblings in the CCSS and with a population-based sample from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and to evaluate associations between diagnosis, treatment, and personal factors in terms of the risk for an inactive lifestyle. : Percentages of participation in recommended physical activity were compared among survivors, siblings, and population norms. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the associations between cancer diagnosis and therapy, sociodemographics, and the risk for an inactive lifestyle. : Participants included 9301 adult survivors of childhood cancer and 2886 siblings. Survivors were less likely than siblings (46% vs 52%) to meet physical activity guidelines and were more likely than siblings to report an inactive lifestyle (23% vs 14%). Medulloblastoma (35%) and osteosarcoma (27%) survivors reported the highest levels of inactive lifestyle. Treatments with cranial radiation or amputation were associated with an inactive lifestyle as were being a woman, black race, older age, lower educational attainment, underweight or obese status, smoking, and depression. : Childhood cancer survivors were less active than a sibling comparison group or an age- and sex-matched population sample. Survivors who are at risk for an inactive lifestyle should be considered high priority for developing and testing of intervention approaches. Cancer 2009. (c) 2009 American Cancer Society.

Familial liability to psychosis is a risk factor for multimorbidity in people with psychotic disorders and their unaffected siblings.

PubMed

Islam, M A; Khan, M F H; Quee, P J; Snieder, H; van den Heuvel, E R; Bruggeman, R; Alizadeh, B Z

2017-09-01

Multimorbidity may impose an overwhelming burden on patients with psychosis and is affected by gender and age. Our aim is to study the independent role of familial liability to psychosis as a risk factor for multimorbidity. We performed the study within the framework of the Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis (GROUP) project. Overall, we compared 1024 psychotic patients, 994 unaffected siblings and 566 controls on the prevalence of 125 lifetime diseases, and 19 self-reported somatic complaints. Multimorbidity was defined as the presence of two or more complaints/diseases in the same individual. Generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) were used to investigate the effects of gender, age (adolescent, young, older) and familial liability (patients, siblings, controls) and their interactions on multimorbidity. Familial liability had a significant effect on multimorbidity of either complaints or diseases. Patients had a higher prevalence of multimorbidity of complaints compared to siblings (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.79-2.69, P<0.001) and to controls (3.05, 2.35-3.96, P<0.001). In physical health multimorbidity, patients (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.05-1.75, P=0.018), but not siblings, had significantly higher prevalence than controls. Similar finding were observed for multimorbidity of lifetime diseases, including psychiatric diseases. Significant results were observed for complaints and disease multimorbidity across gender and age groups. Multimorbidity is a common burden, significantly more prevalent in patients and their unaffected siblings. Familial liability to psychosis showed an independent effect on multimorbidity; gender and age are also important factors determining multimorbidity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Nuclear Cataract Shows Significant Familial Aggregation in an Older Population after Adjustment for Possible Shared Environmental Factors

PubMed Central

Congdon, Nathan; Broman, Karl W.; Lai, Hong; Munoz, Beatriz; Bowie, Heidi; Gilber, Donna; Wojciechowski, Robert; Alston, Christine; West, Sheila K.

2011-01-01

Purpose To quantify the association between siblings in age-related nuclear cataract, after adjusting for known environmental and personal risk factors. Methods All participants (probands) in the Salisbury Eye Evaluation (SEE) project and their locally resident siblings underwent digital slit lamp photography and were administered a questionnaire to assess risk factors for cataract including: age, gender, lifetime sun exposure, smoking and diabetes history, and use of alcohol and medications such as estrogens and steroids. In addition, blood pressure, body mass index, and serum antioxidants were measured in all participants. Lens photographs were graded by trained observers masked to the subjects' identity, using the Wilmer Cataract Grading System. The odds ratio for siblings for affectedness with nuclear cataract and the sibling correlation of nuclear cataract grade, after adjusting for covariates, were estimated with generalized estimating equations. Results Among 307 probands (mean age, 77.6 ± 4.5 years) and 434 full siblings (mean age, 72.4 ± 7.4 years), the average sibship size was 2.7 per family. After adjustment for covariates, the probability of development of nuclear cataract was significantly increased (odds ratio [OR] = 2.07, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30–3.30) among individuals with a sibling with nuclear cataract (nuclear grade ≥ 3.0). The final fitted model indicated a magnitude of heritability for nuclear cataract of 35.6% (95% CI: 21.0%–50.3%) after adjustment for the covariates. Conclusions Findings in this study are consistent with a genetic effect for age-related nuclear cataract, a common and clinically significant form of lens opacity. PMID:15223793

Chick Development and Asynchroneous Hatching in the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata castanotis).

PubMed

Ikebuchi, Maki; Okanoya, Kazuo; Hasegawa, Toshikazu; Bischof, Hans-Joachim

2017-10-01

The mode of hatching in birds has important impacts on both parents and chicks, including the costs and risks of breeding for parents, and sibling competition in a clutch. Birds with multiple eggs in a single clutch often begin incubating when most eggs are laid, thereby reducing time of incubation, nursing burden, and sibling competition. In some songbirds and some other species, however, incubation starts immediately after the first egg is laid, and the chicks thus hatch asynchronously. This may result in differences in parental care and in sibling competition based on body size differences among older and younger chicks, which in turn might produce asynchronous development among siblings favoring the first hatchling, and further affect the development and fitness of the chicks after fledging. To determine whether such processes in fact occur in the zebra finch, we observed chick development in 18 clutches of zebra finches. We found that there were effects of asynchronous hatching, but these were smaller than expected and mostly not significant. Our observations suggest that the amount of care given to each chick may be equated with such factors as a camouflage effect of the down feathers, and that the low illumination within the nest also complicates the determination of the hatching order by the parents.

Sibling rivalry, separation, and change in Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick Hanly, Margaret Ann

2016-08-01

The paper explores a process of growth represented in the interplay of Jane Austen's characterizations of Marianne and Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, approaching the text through the lens of psychoanalytic theories on oedipal sibling rivalry, separation, and processes of change. A close reading of Sense and Sensibility tracks Marianne Dashwood's repudiation of any 'second attachment' as the surface of an unconscious fantasy, denying a rival for the mother's love. A psychoanalytic view contrasts Marianne's lack of separation from her mother, her use of denial and projection, and her near death after losing the man she loves, with her older sister Elinor Dashwood's capacities for depression, reflection, and greater acceptance of loss and separation. The narrative portrays Mrs. Dashwood's identification with and idealization of her daughter Marianne, which contribute to her oedipal sibling 'victory'. In the language and structure of the novel, the projections, identifications, aggressions, and separations (conscious and unconscious) of the sisters in the vicissitudes of their adolescent loves and rivalries constitute a process of growth. Austen's novel brings to life, with the vividness and coherence of great literature, forces and fantasies in oedipal sibling rivalries, inspiring renewed attention to their subtle presence in the transference and countertransference of the psychoanalytic process. Copyright © 2015 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Effects of Older Brother-Younger Sister Incest: A Study of the Dynamics of 17 Cases.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laviola, Marisa

1992-01-01

This study of 17 cases of incest between siblings found the women commonly experienced mistrust of men and women, chronic low or negative self-esteem, sexual response difficulties, and intrusive thoughts of the incest. Individual therapy, talking with supportive family and friends, and validating themselves as victims were seen as helpful.…

Maternal Verbal Responses to Communication of Infants at Low and Heightened Risk of Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leezenbaum, Nina B.; Campbell, Susan B.; Butler, Derrecka; Iverson, Jana M.

2014-01-01

This study investigates mothers' responses to infant communication among infants at heightened genetic risk (high risk) of autism spectrum disorder compared to infants with no such risk (low risk). A total of 26 infants, 12 of whom had an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder, were observed during naturalistic in-home interaction and…

Toy Truck Project Teaches Woodworking and Manufacturing Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Harry M.

2005-01-01

Toys often work well for project activities. They appeal directly to youngsters, and older students like to make things that they can give to a younger sibling or relative. This article describes how to construct a toy truck. This project takes advantage of common 2 x 4 lumber stock to produce an economical toy. Of course, one could substitute…

A Study of Attitude Change Concerning Marijuana in the Fourth Grade.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galvin, Betty; Starkey, John

Elementary school students were exposed to a short series of presentations and discussions on drugs in order to effect changes in their attitudes towards, and knowledge of, drugs. Each student expressed his own attitudes towards "grass", the opinions he perceived would be held by famous people, doctors, friends, parents, older siblings or, and his…

Moving Beyond the Status Quo: Narrative of the Sharecropper's Daughter.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Outlaw, Mary E.

This case study examines factors that enabled a black female to achieve a significantly higher educational status than her parents. "Susie" was born in 1942 to parents who were poor sharecroppers. Her family included an older sister and three younger siblings. Out of concern for their oldest child who was handicapped, Susie's parents decided that…

The Social Problem-Solving Questionnaire: Evaluation of Psychometric Properties among Turkish Primary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dereli Iman, Esra

2013-01-01

Problem Statement: Children, like adults, face numerous problems and conflicts in their everyday lives, including issues with peers, siblings, older children, parents, teachers, and other adults. The methods children use to solve such problems are more important than actually facing the problems. The lack of effective social problem-solving skills…

Non-ASD outcomes at 36 months in siblings at familial risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD): A baby siblings research consortium (BSRC) study.

PubMed

Charman, Tony; Young, Gregory S; Brian, Jessica; Carter, Alice; Carver, Leslie J; Chawarska, Katarzyna; Curtin, Suzanne; Dobkins, Karen; Elsabbagh, Mayada; Georgiades, Stelios; Hertz-Picciotto, Irva; Hutman, Ted; Iverson, Jana M; Jones, Emily J; Landa, Rebecca; Macari, Suzanne; Messinger, Daniel S; Nelson, Charles A; Ozonoff, Sally; Saulnier, Celine; Stone, Wendy L; Tager-Flusberg, Helen; Webb, Sara Jane; Yirmiya, Nurit; Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie

2017-01-01

We characterized developmental outcomes of a large sample of siblings at familial high-risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who themselves did not have ASD (n = 859), and low-risk controls with no family history of ASD (n = 473). We report outcomes at age 3 years using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and adaptive functioning on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Around 11% of high-risk siblings had mild-to-moderate levels of developmental delay, a rate higher than the low-risk controls. The groups did not differ in the proportion of toddlers with mild-to-moderate language delay. Thirty percent of high-risk siblings had elevated scores on the ADOS, double the rate seen in the low-risk controls. High-risk siblings also had higher parent reported levels of ASD symptoms on the ADI-R and lower adaptive functioning on the Vineland. Males were more likely to show higher levels of ASD symptoms and lower levels of developmental ability and adaptive behavior than females across most measures but not mild-to-moderate language delay. Lower maternal education was associated with lower developmental and adaptive behavior outcomes. These findings are evidence for early emerging characteristics related to the "broader autism phenotype" (BAP) previously described in older family members of individuals with ASD. There is a need for ongoing clinical monitoring of high-risk siblings who do not have an ASD by age 3 years, as well as continued follow-up into school age to determine their developmental and behavioral outcomes. Autism Res 2017, 10: 169-178. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Hearing children of Deaf parents: Gender and birth order in the delegation of the interpreter role in culturally Deaf families.

PubMed

Moroe, Nomfundo F; de Andrade, Victor

2018-01-01

Culturally, hearing children born to Deaf parents may have to mediate two different positions within the hearing and Deaf cultures. However, there appears to be little written about the experiences of hearing children born to Deaf parents in the South African context. This study sought to investigate the roles of children of Deaf adults (CODAs) as interpreters in Deaf-parented families, more specifically, the influence of gender and birth order in language brokering. Two male and eight female participants between the ages of 21 and 40 years were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling strategies. A qualitative design was employed and data were collected using a semi-structured, open-ended interview format. Themes which emerged were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicated that there was no formal assignment of the interpreter role; however, female children tended to assume the role of interpreter more often than the male children. Also, it appeared as though the older children shifted the responsibility for interpreting to younger siblings. The participants in this study indicated that they interpreted in situations where they felt they were not developmentally or emotionally ready, or in situations which they felt were better suited for older siblings or for siblings of another gender. This study highlights a need for the formalisation of interpreting services for Deaf people in South Africa in the form of professional interpreters rather than the reliance on hearing children as interpreters in order to mediate between Deaf and hearing cultures.

Hearing children of Deaf parents: Gender and birth order in the delegation of the interpreter role in culturally Deaf families

PubMed Central

de Andrade, Victor

2018-01-01

Background Culturally, hearing children born to Deaf parents may have to mediate two different positions within the hearing and Deaf cultures. However, there appears to be little written about the experiences of hearing children born to Deaf parents in the South African context. Objective This study sought to investigate the roles of children of Deaf adults (CODAs) as interpreters in Deaf-parented families, more specifically, the influence of gender and birth order in language brokering. Method Two male and eight female participants between the ages of 21 and 40 years were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling strategies. A qualitative design was employed and data were collected using a semi-structured, open-ended interview format. Themes which emerged were analysed using thematic analysis. Results The findings indicated that there was no formal assignment of the interpreter role; however, female children tended to assume the role of interpreter more often than the male children. Also, it appeared as though the older children shifted the responsibility for interpreting to younger siblings. The participants in this study indicated that they interpreted in situations where they felt they were not developmentally or emotionally ready, or in situations which they felt were better suited for older siblings or for siblings of another gender. Conclusion This study highlights a need for the formalisation of interpreting services for Deaf people in South Africa in the form of professional interpreters rather than the reliance on hearing children as interpreters in order to mediate between Deaf and hearing cultures. PMID:29850437

The Younger Siblings of Childbearing Adolescents: Parenting Influences on Their Academic and Social-Emotional Adjustment

PubMed Central

East, Patricia L.

2013-01-01

The younger siblings of childbearing adolescents have poorer school outcomes and exhibit more internalizing and externalizing problems compared to their peers without a childbearing sister. We test a model where living with an adolescent childbearing sister constitutes a major family stressor that disrupts mothers’ parenting and well-being, and through which, adversely affect youths’ adjustment. Data came from 243 Latino younger siblings (62% female, M age 13.7 years) and their mothers, 121 of whom lived with a childbearing adolescent sister and 122 of whom did not. Individual fixed-effects models controlled for earlier measures of each respective model construct, thereby reducing omitted variable bias from pre-existing group differences. Results show that, for boys, the relationship between living with a childbearing adolescent sister and youth outcomes was sequentially mediated through mothers’ stress and parenting (i.e., monitoring and nurturance). For girls, however, the relationship was mediated through mothers’ monitoring only. Findings elucidate the within-family processes that contribute to the problematic outcomes of youth living with childbearing adolescent older sisters. PMID:21965104

Brief Report: Assessment of Early Sensory Processing in Infants at High-Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Germani, Tamara; Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie; Bryson, Susan; Brian, Jessica; Smith, Isabel; Roberts, Wendy; Szatmari, Peter; Roncadin, Caroline; Sacrey, Lori Ann R.; Garon, Nancy; Vaillancourt, Tracy

2014-01-01

This study assessed sensory processing differences between 24-month infants at high-risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), each with an older sibling with ASD, and low-risk infants with no family history of ASD. Sensory processing differences were assessed using the Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile, a parent-reported measure. Groups were compared…

Brief Report: Attachment Security in Infants At-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haltigan, John D.; Ekas, Naomi V.; Seifer, Ronald; Messinger, Daniel S.

2011-01-01

Little is known about attachment security and disorganization in children who are at genetic risk for an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prior to a possible diagnosis. The present study examined distributions of attachment security and disorganization at 15-months of age in a sample of infant siblings of older children with (ASD-sibs; n = 51) or…

The Social Development of Two Year Old Children in Residential Nurseries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tizard, Jack; Tizard, Barbara

This study focuses upon some aspects of the social behavior of 2-year-old children being reared in long-stay residential nurseries. These children are compared with working class 2-year-old children being raised in two-parent homes in which the mother is not working full-time and there are no older siblings of preschool age. All children were…

Familial Aggregation of Hyperopia in an Elderly Population of Siblings in Salisbury, Maryland

PubMed Central

Wojciechowski, Robert; Congdon, Nathan; Bowie, Heidi; Munoz, Beatriz; Gilbert, Donna; West, Sheila

2011-01-01

Purpose To determine whether hyperopia aggregates in families in an older mixed-race population. Design Cross-sectional familial aggregation study using sibships. Methods We recruited 759 subjects (mean age, 73.4 years) in 241 families through the population-based Salisbury Eye Evaluation study. Subjects underwent noncycloplegic refraction if best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was ≤20/40, had lensometry to measure their currently worn spectacles if BCVA was >20/40 with spectacles, or were considered to be plano (refraction of zero) if the BCVA was >20/40 without spectacles. Preoperative refraction from medical records was used for bilaterally pseudophakic subjects. Results Utilizing hyperopia cutoffs from 1.00 to 2.50 diopters, age-, race-, and gender-adjusted odds ratios for hyperopia with an affected sibling ranged from 2.72 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.84–4.01) to 4.87 (95% CI, 2.54–9.30). The odds of hyperopia increased with age until 75 years, after which they remained relatively constant. Black men were significantly less likely to be hyperopic than white men, white women, or black women. Conclusions Hyperopia appears to be under strong genetic control in this older population. PMID:15629824

Effects of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation on acyl-CoA oxidase deficiency: a sibling comparison study

PubMed Central

Monuki, Edwin S.; Powers, James; Schwartz, Phillip H.; Watkins, Paul A.; Shi, Yang; Moser, Ann; Shrier, David A.; Waterham, Hans R.; Nugent, Diane J.; Abdenur, Jose E.

2015-01-01

Objective Acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX1) deficiency is a rare disorder of peroxisomal very-long chain fatty acid oxidation. No reports detailing attempted treatment, longitudinal imaging, or neuropathology exist. We describe the natural history of clinical symptoms and brain imaging in two siblings with ACOX1 deficiency, including the younger sibling's response to allogeneic unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Methods We conducted retrospective chart review to obtain clinical history, neuro-imaging, and neuropathology data. ACOX1 genotyping were performed to confirm the disease. In vitro fibroblast and neural stem cell fatty acid oxidation assays were also performed. Results Both patients experienced a fatal neurodegenerative course, with late-stage cerebellar and cerebral gray matter atrophy. Serial brain magnetic resonance imaging in the younger sibling indicated demyelination began in the medulla and progressed rostrally to include the white matter of the cerebellum, pons, midbrain, and eventually subcortical white matter. The successfully engrafted younger sibling had less brain inflammation, cortical atrophy, and neuronal loss on neuroimaging and neuropathology compared to the untreated older sister. Fibroblasts and stem cells demonstrated deficient very long chain fatty acid oxidation. Interpretation Although HSCT did not halt the course of ACOX1 deficiency, it reduced the extent of white matter inflammation in the brain. Demyelination continued because of ongoing neuronal loss, which may be due to inability of transplant to prevent progression of gray matter disease, adverse effects of chronic corticosteroid use to control graft-versus-host disease, or intervention occurring beyond a critical point for therapeutic efficacy. PMID:24619150

Asthma prevalence, family size, and birth order.

PubMed

Goldberg, Shmuel; Israeli, Eran; Schwartz, Shepard; Shochat, Tzippora; Izbicki, Gabriel; Toker-Maimon, Ori; Klement, Eyal; Picard, Elie

2007-06-01

Asthma prevalence may be reduced in large families. The hygiene hypothesis suggests that older siblings protect their younger siblings from asthma through a modulating effect on the still-maturing immune system. If the hygiene hypothesis is correct, asthma prevalence should be inversely related to birth order. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between asthma prevalence, and family size and birth order. The medical records of 531,116 Israeli military conscripts were reviewed. The association between number of children in the family and the prevalence of asthma, and between birth order and the prevalence of asthma was assessed. Odds ratios for asthma by birth order and family size, adjusted for each other, were calculated. Asthma was diagnosed in 26,833 male subjects (8.6%) and 15,079 female subjects (6.9%). Asthma prevalence was inversely related to the number of children in the family (p < 0.001). Among subjects who were the only child in the family, the prevalence of asthma was 7.3%. The prevalence increased to 8.95% among subjects from families with three siblings, and then progressively decreased as the number of siblings increased, and reached a trough of 0.58% in conscripts from families of 15 to 20 siblings. Asthma prevalence was similar for all birth orders. In families with four or more children, asthma prevalence is inversely related to the number of children in the family. Asthma prevalence is similar for all birth orders. The similar asthma prevalence for all birth orders challenges the hygiene hypothesis as the mechanism for the decreased asthma prevalence in large families.

Moderators of neuropsychological mechanism in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Nikolas, Molly A; Nigg, Joel T

2015-02-01

Neuropsychological measures have been proposed as both a way to tap mechanisms and as endophenotypes for child ADHD. However, substantial evidence supporting heterogeneity in neuropsychological performance among youth with ADHD as well as apparent effect differences by sex, age, and comorbidity have slowed progress. To address this, it is important to understand sibling effects in relation to these moderators. 461 youth ages 6-17 years (54.8 % male, including 251 youth with ADHD, 107 of their unaffected biological siblings, and 103 non-ADHD controls) completed diagnostic interviews and a theoretically informed battery of neuropsychological functioning. A structural equation model was used to consolidate neuropsychological domains. Group differences between unaffected siblings of youth with ADHD and controls across each domain were first examined as the primary endophenotype test for ADHD. Moderation of these effects was evaluated via investigation of interactions between diagnostic group and both proband and individual level characteristics, including sex, age, and comorbidity status. Unaffected siblings performed worse than control youth in the domains of inhibition, response time variability, and temporal information processing. Individual age moderated these effects, such that differences between controls and unaffected siblings were pronounced among younger children (ages 6-10 years) but absent among older youth (ages 11-17 years). Evidence for moderation of effects by proband sex and comorbidity status produced more variable and smaller effects. Results support the utility of inhibition, response time variability, and temporal processing as useful endophenotypes for ADHD in future genetic associations studies of the disorder, but suggest this value will vary by age among unaffected family members.

Risk factors for persisting measles susceptibility: a case-control study among unvaccinated orthodox Protestants.

PubMed

de Munter, Anne C; Tostmann, Alma; Hahné, Susan J M; Spaan, D Henri; van Ginkel, Rijk; Ruijs, Wilhelmina L M

2018-04-30

Measles is an infectious disease providing lifelong immunity. Epidemics periodically occur among unvaccinated orthodox Protestants in the Netherlands. During the 2013/2014 epidemic, 17% of the reported patients was over 14 years old. Apparently, they did not catch measles during the previous 1999/2000 epidemic and remained susceptible. We wanted to identify risk factors for this so-called persisting measles susceptibility, and thus risk factors for acquiring measles at older age with increased risk of complications. A case-control study was performed among unvaccinated orthodox Protestants born between 1988 and 1998; cases had measles in 2013/2014, controls during or before 1999/2000. Associations between demographic, geographical and religion-related determinants and persisting measles susceptibility were determined using univariate and multivariable logistic regression. Analyses were stratified in two age-groups: infants/toddlers and primary school-aged children during the 1999/2000 measles epidemic. In total, 204 cases and 563 controls were included. Risk factors for persisting measles susceptibility for infants/toddlers in 1999/2000 were belonging to a moderately conservative church, absence of older siblings and residency outside low vaccination coverage (LVC)-municipalities. Risk factors for primary school-aged children were residency outside LVC-municipalities and attendance of non-orthodox Protestant primary school. Unvaccinated orthodox Protestant adolescents and adults who resided outside the LVC-municipalities, did not attend an orthodox Protestant primary school, had no older siblings and belonged to a moderately conservative church were at risk for persisting measles susceptibility and, thus, for acquiring measles at older age with increased risk of complications. For this subgroup of orthodox Protestants targeted information on vaccination is recommended.

From Using Tools to Using Language in Infant Siblings of Children with Autism.

PubMed

Sparaci, Laura; Northrup, Jessie B; Capirci, Olga; Iverson, Jana M

2018-02-10

Forty-one high-risk infants (HR) with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were observed longitudinally at 10, 12, 18 and 24 months of age during a tool use task in a play-like scenario. Changes in grasp types and functional actions produced with a spoon were assessed during elicited tool use. Outcome and vocabulary measures were available at 36 months, distinguishing: 11 HR-ASD, 15 HR-language delay and 15 HR-no delay. Fewer HR-ASD infants produced grasp types facilitating spoon use at 24 months and functional actions at 10 months than HR-no delay. Production of functional actions in HR infants at 10 months predicted word comprehension at 12 months and word production at 24 and 36 months.

The Nature and Correlates of Mexican-American Adolescents’ Time With Parents and Peers

PubMed Central

Updegraff, Kimberly A.; McHale, Susan M.; Whiteman, Shawn D.; Thayer, Shawna M.; Crouter, Ann C.

2008-01-01

Drawing on cultural –ecological and person –environment fit perspectives, this study examined links among Mexican-American adolescents’ time with peers and parents, parents’ cultural orientations, and adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment and cultural orientations. Participants were 492 Mexican-American adolescents (Ms = 15.7 and 12.8 years for older siblings and younger siblings) and their parents in 246 families. Family members described their family relationships, cultural orientations, and psychosocial functioning in home interviews, and time-use data were collected during a series of nightly phone calls. Mexican-American adolescents spent the majority of their peer time with Mexican youth. Some support was found for the hypothesis that the mismatch between parents’ cultural orientations and adolescents’ peer involvement is linked to adolescents’ psychosocial functioning. PMID:16999812

Preventive health screening utilization in older Mexicans before and after healthcare reform.

PubMed

Salinas, Jennifer J

2015-01-01

To assess changes in preventive screening utilization in older Mexicans, pre- and post-Seguro Popular. Data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS/Enasem) 2001 and 2012 were used. Logistic and ordinary least squares regression adjusted models were used to predict preventive care in 2012 by insurance status categories in 2001-2012, as the focus explanatory variable. Participants who were uninsured in 2001 and had Seguro Popular in 2012 were significantly more likely to be tested for diabetes, high blood pressure and receive a tetanus shot than the continually uninsured. While disparities in preventive screening between the insured and uninsured continue to exist in Mexico, Seguro Popular seems to have provided better access to health services to prevent chronic and infectious diseases for the otherwise uninsured population.

Reporting Errors in Siblings’ Survival Histories and Their Impact on Adult Mortality Estimates: Results From a Record Linkage Study in Senegal

PubMed Central

Helleringer, Stéphane; Pison, Gilles; Kanté, Almamy M.; Duthé, Géraldine; Andro, Armelle

2014-01-01

Estimates of adult mortality in countries with limited vital registration (e.g., sub-Saharan Africa) are often derived from information about the survival of a respondent’s siblings. We evaluated the completeness and accuracy of such data through a record linkage study conducted in Bandafassi, located in southeastern Senegal. We linked at the individual level retrospective siblings’ survival histories (SSH) reported by female respondents (n = 268) to prospective mortality data and genealogies collected through a health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS). Respondents often reported inaccurate lists of siblings. Additions to these lists were uncommon, but omissions were frequent: respondents omitted 3.8 % of their live sisters, 9.1 % of their deceased sisters, and 16.6 % of their sisters who had migrated out of the DSS area. Respondents underestimated the age at death of the siblings they reported during the interview, particularly among siblings who had died at older ages (≥45 years). Restricting SSH data to person-years and events having occurred during a recent reference period reduced list errors but not age and date errors. Overall, SSH data led to a 20 % underestimate of 45q15 relative to HDSS data. Our study suggests new quality improvement strategies for SSH data and demonstrates the potential use of HDSS data for the validation of “unconventional” demographic techniques. PMID:24493063

Prospective examination of visual attention during play in infants at high-risk for autism spectrum disorder: a longitudinal study from 6 to 36 months of age.

PubMed

Sacrey, Lori-Ann R; Bryson, Susan E; Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie

2013-11-01

Regulation of visual attention is essential to learning about one's environment. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit impairments in regulating their visual attention, but little is known about how such impairments develop over time. This prospective longitudinal study is the first to describe the development of components of visual attention, including engaging, sustaining, and disengaging attention, in infants at high-risk of developing ASD (each with an older sibling with ASD). Non-sibling controls and high-risk infant siblings were filmed at 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, and 36 months of age as they engaged in play with small, easily graspable toys. Duration of time spent looking at toy targets before moving the hand toward the target and the duration of time spent looking at the target after grasp were measured. At 36 months of age, an independent, gold standard diagnostic assessment for ASD was conducted for all participants. As predicted, infant siblings subsequently diagnosed with ASD were distinguished by prolonged latency to disengage ('sticky attention') by 12 months of age, and continued to show this characteristic at 15, 18, and 24 months of age. The results are discussed in relation to how the development of visual attention may impact later cognitive outcomes of children diagnosed with ASD. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Infant victimization in a nationally representative sample.

PubMed

Turner, Heather A; Finkelhor, David; Ormrod, Richard; Hamby, Sherry L

2010-07-01

The objectives of this research were to (1) obtain estimates of child maltreatment and other forms of personal, witnessing of, and indirect victimization among children aged 0 to 1 year in the United States and (2) examine associations between infant victimization exposure and the infant's level of emotional and behavioral symptoms. The study is based on a cross-sectional national telephone survey that included caregivers of a sample of 503 children under 2 years of age. Nearly one-third of the sample of infants (31.6%) had experienced some form of personal, witnessing, or indirect form of victimization. The rate of infant maltreatment by caregivers (2.1%) was significantly lower than among older preschool-aged children. However, the rate of infant assault by siblings was considerable at 15.4%. The greatest risk of assault occurred in households with young siblings; nearly 35% of the infants with a sibling aged 2 to 3 years were assaulted in the year before the interview. Witnessing family violence was also relatively common among the infants (9.5%). Victimization was associated with emotional and behavioral problems; sibling assault and witnessing family violence had the highest correlations with infant symptom scores. The results of this study highlight the need for attention to infant victimization that considers a wider array of victimization sources and a broader scope of prevention efforts than has been typical in the child-maltreatment field.

Developmental Changes in Pretend Play from 22- to 34-Months in Younger Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Campbell, Susan B; Mahoney, Amanda S; Northrup, Jessie; Moore, Elizabeth L; Leezenbaum, Nina B; Brownell, Celia A

2018-04-01

Developmental trajectories of children's pretend play and social engagement, as well as parent sensitivity and stimulation, were examined in toddlers with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, high risk; HR) and toddlers with typically-developing older siblings (low risk; LR). Children (N = 168, 97 boys, 71 girls) were observed at 22, 28, and 34 months during free play with a parent and elicited pretend play with an examiner. At 28 and 34 months, children were asked to imagine the consequences of actions pantomimed by the examiner on a pretend transformation task. At 36 months children were assessed for ASD, yielding 3 groups for comparison: HR children with ASD, HR children without ASD (HR-noASD), and LR children. Children in all 3 groups showed developmental changes, engaging in more bouts of pretend play and obtaining higher scores on the elicited pretend and transformation tasks with age, but children with ASD lagged behind the other 2 groups on most measures. Children with ASD were also less engaged with their parents or the examiner during play interactions than either LR or HR-noASD children, with minimal developmental change evident. Parents, regardless of group, were highly engaged with their children, but parents of HR-noASD children received somewhat higher ratings on stimulation than parents of LR children. Most group differences were not accounted for by cognitive functioning. Instead, lower social engagement appears to be an important correlate of less advanced pretend skills, with implications for understanding the early development of children with ASD and for early intervention.

Differential Attention to Faces in Infant Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Associations with Later Social and Language Ability.

PubMed

Wagner, Jennifer B; Luyster, Rhiannon J; Moustapha, Hana; Tager-Flusberg, Helen; Nelson, Charles A

2018-01-01

A growing body of literature has begun to explore social attention in infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with hopes of identifying early differences that are associated with later ASD or other aspects of development. The present study used eye-tracking to familiar (mother) and unfamiliar (stranger) faces in two groups of 6-month-old infants: infants with no family history of ASD (low-risk controls; LRC), and infants at high risk for ASD (HRA), by virtue of having an older sibling with ASD. HRA infants were further characterized based on autism classification at 24 months or older as HRA- (HRA without an ASD outcome) or HRA+ (HRA with an ASD outcome). For time scanning faces overall, HRA+ and LRC showed similar patterns of attention, and this was significantly greater than in HRA-. When examining duration of time spent on eyes and mouth, all infants spent more time on eyes than mouth, but HRA+ showed the greatest amount of time looking at these regions, followed by LRC, then HRA-. LRC showed a positive association between 6-month attention to eyes and 18-month social-communicative behavior, while HRA- showed a negative association between attention to eyes at 6 months and expressive language at 18 months (all correlations controlled for non-verbal IQ; HRA- correlations held with and without the inclusion of the small sample of HRA+). Differences found in face scanning at 6 months, as well as associations with social communication at 18 months, point to potential variation in the developmental significance of early social attention in children at low and high risk for ASD.

Familial resemblance and shared latent familial variance in recurrent fall risk in older women

PubMed Central

Cauley, Jane A.; Roth, Stephen M.; Kammerer, Candace; Stone, Katie; Hillier, Teresa A.; Ensrud, Kristine E.; Hochberg, Marc; Nevitt, Michael C.; Zmuda, Joseph M.

2010-01-01

Background: A possible familial component to fracture risk may be mediated through a genetic liability to fall recurrently. Methods: Our analysis sample included 186 female sibling-ships (n = 401) of mean age 71.9 yr (SD = 5.0). Using variance component models, we estimated residual upper-limit heritabilities in fall-risk mobility phenotypes (e.g., chair-stand time, rapid step-ups, and usual-paced walking speed) and in recurrent falls. We also estimated familial and environmental (unmeasured) correlations between pairs of fall-risk mobility phenotypes. All models were adjusted for age, height, body mass index, and medical and environmental factors. Results: Residual upper-limit heritabilities were all moderate (P < 0.05), ranging from 0.27 for usual-paced walking speed to 0.58 for recurrent falls. A strong familial correlation between usual-paced walking speed and rapid step-ups of 0.65 (P < 0.01) was identified. Familial correlations between usual-paced walking speed and chair-stand time (−0.02) and between chair-stand time and rapid step-ups (−0.27) were both nonsignificant (P > 0.05). Environmental correlations ranged from 0.35 to 0.58 (absolute values), P < 0.05 for all. Conclusions: There exists moderate familial resemblance in fall-risk mobility phenotypes and recurrent falls among older female siblings, which we expect is primarily genetic given that adult siblings live separate lives. All fall-risk mobility phenotypes may be coinfluenced at least to a small degree by shared latent familial or environmental factors; however, up to approximately one-half of the covariation between usual-paced walking speed and rapid step-ups may be due to a common set of genes. PMID:20167680

Inspection Time and Cognitive Abilities in Twins Aged 7 to 17 Years: Age-Related Changes, Heritability and Genetic Covariance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edmonds, Caroline J.; Isaacs, Elizabeth B.; Visscher, Peter M.; Rogers, Mary; Lanigan, Julie; Singhal, Atul; Lucas, Alan; Gringras, Paul; Denton, Jane; Deary, Ian J.

2008-01-01

We studied the age-related differences in inspection time and multiple cognitive domains in a group of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins aged 7 to 17 years. Data from 111 twin pairs and 19 singleton siblings were included. We found clear age-related trends towards more efficient visual information processing in older participants. There…

Eye-Tracking Measurements of Language Processing: Developmental Differences in Children at High Risk for ASD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chita-Tegmark, Meia; Arunachalam, Sudha; Nelson, Charles A.; Tager-Flusberg, Helen

2015-01-01

To explore how being at high risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), based on having an older sibling diagnosed with ASD, affects word comprehension and language processing speed, 18-, 24- and 36-month-old children, at high and low risk for ASD were tested in a cross-sectional study, on an eye gaze measure of receptive language that measured how…

Additive Effects of Social and Non-Social Attention during Infancy Relate to Later Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bedford, Rachael; Pickles, Andrew; Gliga, Teodora; Elsabbagh, Mayada; Charman, Tony; Johnson, Mark H.

2014-01-01

Emerging findings from studies with infants at familial high risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), owing to an older sibling with a diagnosis, suggest that those who go on to develop ASD show early impairments in the processing of stimuli with both social and non-social content. Although ASD is defined by social-communication impairments and…

Behavioral Development and Sociodemographics of Infants and Young Children at Higher and Lower Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feldman, Maurice A.; Hendry, Amanda M.; Ward, Rebecca A.; Hudson, Melissa; Liu, Xudong

2015-01-01

Identification of early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) could lead to earlier diagnosis and intervention. This cross-sectional study used the Parent Observation of Early Markers Scale (POEMS, Feldman et al. in "J Autism Dev Disord" 42:13-12, 2012) to identify early signs of ASD in 69 ASD high-risk (older sibling diagnosed with…

Affinal and Consanguineal Kin as a Social Support for the Rural Elderly. Paper of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, NC.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kivett, Vira R.

Although the support network of elderly individuals has received increased attention recently, most research has focused on the parent child relationship without examining other levels of kin interrelations. To examine the help received by rural-transitional older adults from their consanguineous kin (adult children, grandchildren, siblings,…

Birth order, atopy, and symptoms of allergy and asthma among inner-city children attending Head Start in New York City.

PubMed

Perzanowski, M S; Canfield, S M; Chew, G L; Mellins, R B; Hoepner, L A; Jacobson, J S; Goldstein, I F

2008-06-01

In past research, children with older siblings were more likely than others to wheeze at age 2 years, but less likely by age 6 years. Higher infection transmission and a down-regulated allergic immune response as a result of these infections, respectively, were suggested as the causes. However, in a study of children aged 0-3 years in a low-income urban community in New York City, USA, with high asthma prevalence, we observed no birth-order effect. To evaluate the association between birth order and atopy and respiratory symptoms in 4-year-old children attending Head Start programs in NYC. Respiratory symptoms were assessed by questionnaire for 1005 children (mean age 4.0 years) living in high asthma prevalence neighbourhoods. Serum was collected from a subgroup of the children (n=494) and specific IgE responses to dust mite, cockroach, mouse, and cat allergens were measured. Prevalence of specific IgE (> or =0.35 IU/mL) did not differ significantly among first (35%), second (35%), and later-born children (28%) (P=0.23). Increasing birth order was associated with increasing prevalence of respiratory symptoms in the prior year, including wheeze (first 20%, second 27%, third or later 35%; P<0.001), being awakened at night by cough (28%, 33%, 38%; P=0.005), emergency department visits (14%, 17%, 21%; P=0.02) and hospitalizations for difficulty breathing (6.1%, 6.6%, 10%; P=0.04). The associations of birth order with respiratory symptoms were statistically significant only for the non-seroatopic children and those without an asthmatic parent. Non-seroatopic children with older siblings were more likely than those without older siblings to have respiratory symptoms at age 4 years. Although the stability of these associations over time remains to be determined, the differences in findings between this study and our previous NYC birth cohort study suggest that patterns of asthma development may vary even among low-income populations within the same city.

Bladder and Bowel Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy: Case-Control Study

PubMed Central

Ozturk, Mustafa; Oktem, Faruk; Kisioglu, Nesimi; Demirci, Mustafa; Altuntas, Irfan; Kutluhan, Suleyman; Dogan, Malik

2006-01-01

Aim To determine the age of development of bladder and bowel control and the frequency of enuresis, encopresis, and urinary infections in children with cerebral palsy. Methods The study included 45 children with cerebral palsy who regularly attended a rehabilitation center in Isparta, Turkey, and two groups of age- and sex-matched children, 37 siblings of the children with cerebral palsy and 37 healthy children. Demographic data and information on the age of development of total bladder and bowel control and presence of possible urinary symptoms in children were collected from their caregivers by use of a questionnaire. Frequency of enuresis and encopresis was estimated among the children aged ≥5 years. A mid-way urinary sample was obtained from 40, 22, and 21 children in the cerebral palsy, siblings, and healthy children, respectively. Results The mean age of nighttime bladder and bowel control development was 47 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 35-58) and 45 (36-55) months, respectively, for the children with cerebral palsy, 35 months (95% CI, 24-46) and 26 months (95% CI, 24-28), respectively, for their siblings, and 27 months (95% CI, 22-33) and 25 months (95% CI, 23-27) months, respectively, for the healthy children. Among the children aged ≥5 years, enuresis was present in 11 of 34 children with cerebral palsy, 7 of 30 siblings, and 4 of 30 healthy children (P = 0.200), whereas encopresis was present in 5 children with cerebral palsy, one sibling, and one healthy child. Constipation was significantly more present in chidlren with cerebral palsy than in other two groups (P<0.001). Urine culture was positive in 13 children with cerebral palsy, 1 sibling, and 2 healthy chidlren (P = 0.024). There were no significant differences in other urinary symptoms and laboratory findings among the three groups. Conclusion The children with cerebral palsy gained bladder and bowel control at older age in comparison with their siblings and healthy children. They also had more frequent enuresis and urinary infections. PMID:16625691

Early pragmatic language difficulties in siblings of children with autism: implications for DSM-5 social communication disorder?

PubMed

Miller, Meghan; Young, Gregory S; Hutman, Ted; Johnson, Scott; Schwichtenberg, A J; Ozonoff, Sally

2015-07-01

We evaluated early pragmatic language skills in preschool-age siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and examined correspondence between pragmatic language impairments and general language difficulties, autism symptomatology, and clinical outcomes. Participants were younger siblings of children with ASD (high-risk, n = 188) or typical development (low-risk, n = 119) who were part of a prospective study of infants at risk for ASD; siblings without ASD outcomes were included in analyses. Pragmatic language skills were measured via the Language Use Inventory (LUI). At 36 months, the high-risk group had significantly lower parent-rated pragmatic language scores than the low-risk group. When defining pragmatic language impairment (PLI) as scores below the 10(th) percentile on the LUI, 35% of the high-risk group was identified with PLI versus 10% of the low-risk group. Children with PLI had higher rates of general language impairment (16%), defined as scores below the 10(th) percentile on the Receptive or Expressive Language subscales of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, relative to those without PLI (3%), but most did not evidence general language impairments. Children with PLI had significantly higher ADOS scores than those without PLI and had higher rates of clinician-rated atypical clinical best estimate outcomes (49%) relative to those without PLI (15%). Pragmatic language problems are present in some siblings of children with ASD as early as 36 months of age. As the new DSM-5 diagnosis of Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder (SCD) is thought to occur more frequently in family members of individuals with ASD, it is possible that some of these siblings will meet criteria for SCD as they get older. Close monitoring of early pragmatic language development in young children at familial risk for ASD is warranted. © 2014 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Visual screening for malignant melanoma: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

PubMed

Losina, Elena; Walensky, Rochelle P; Geller, Alan; Beddingfield, Frederick C; Wolf, Lindsey L; Gilchrest, Barbara A; Freedberg, Kenneth A

2007-01-01

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of various melanoma screening strategies proposed in the United States. We developed a computer simulation Markov model to evaluate alternative melanoma screening strategies. Hypothetical cohort of the general population and siblings of patients with melanoma. Intervention We considered the following 4 strategies: background screening only, and screening 1 time, every 2 years, and annually, all beginning at age 50 years. Prevalence, incidence, and mortality data were taken from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Sibling risk, recurrence rates, and treatment costs were taken from the literature. Outcomes included life expectancy, quality-adjusted life expectancy, and lifetime costs. Cost-effectiveness ratios were in dollars per quality-adjusted life year (US dollars/QALY) gained. In the general population, screening 1 time, every 2 years, and annually saved 1.6, 4.4, and 5.2 QALYs per 1000 persons screened, with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of US dollars 10,100/QALY, US dollars 80,700/QALY, and US dollars 586,800/QALY, respectively. In siblings of patients with melanoma (relative risk, 2.24 compared with the general population), 1-time, every-2-years, and annual screenings saved 3.6, 9.8, and 11.4 QALYs per 1000 persons screened, with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of US dollars 4000/QALY, US dollars 35,500/QALY, and US dollars 257,800/QALY, respectively. In higher risk siblings of patients with melanoma (relative risk, 5.56), screening was more cost-effective. Results were most sensitive to screening cost, melanoma progression rate, and specificity of visual screening. One-time melanoma screening of the general population older than 50 years is very cost-effective compared with other cancer screening programs in the United States. Screening every 2 years in siblings of patients with melanoma is also cost-effective.

Sibling structure, distributive norms, and negotiation for mothers-in-law's assistance in rural South China.

PubMed

To, Clara Wai-chun

2015-01-01

Recent studies of parent-adult child relations using a network family approach have paid increasing attention to within-family differences and the role of in-laws in parent-adult child exchanges. However, the effect of sibling structure on the allocation of childcare and household help provided by older women, the negotiation process among in-laws and the underlying principle(s) have been under-examined. Based on ethnographic and interview data collected from 28 women in rural South China, this article examines the effect of sibling structure on mothers-in-law's assistance in the context of economic reform, and the role of cultural norms and daughters-in-law in the negotiation process using a family network perspective. Since the late 1970s, the sibling order of husbands and the presence of their unmarried brothers have negatively affected the bargaining power of young married women and their access to childcare assistance from their mothers-in-law. In terms of household help, sibling size and the equity principle have prevented mothers-in-law in larger extended families from providing assistance during both the pre-reform and reform periods. Although the equity norm is a pivotal moral resource for daughters-in-law in negotiating parental support, other competing norms, particularly parents' obligations to their unmarried adult sons, may set limits on their claims and bargaining power. FINDINGS demonstrate that the distribution of childcare and household help provided by mothers-in-law are results of intra- and intergenerational negotiation among daughters- and mothers-in-law, rather than simply a dyadic parent-child relationship. Competing norms and daughters-in-law also play important roles in the negotiation for parental help. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Male sexual orientation in independent samoa: evidence for fraternal birth order and maternal fecundity effects.

PubMed

VanderLaan, Doug P; Vasey, Paul L

2011-06-01

In Western cultures, male androphiles tend to have greater numbers of older brothers than male gynephiles (i.e., the fraternal birth order effect). In the non-Western nation of Independent Samoa, androphilic males (known locally as fa'afafine) have been shown to have greater numbers of older brothers, older sisters, and younger brothers (Vasey & VanderLaan, 2007). It is unclear, however, whether the observed older brother effect, in the context of the additional sibling category effects, represented a genuine fraternal birth order effect or was simply associated with elevated maternal fecundity. To differentiate between these two possibilities, this study employed a larger, independent replication sample of fa'afafine and gynephilic males from Independent Samoa. Fa'afafine had greater numbers of older brothers and sisters. The replication sample and the sample from Vasey and VanderLaan were then combined, facilitating a comparison that showed the older brother effect was significantly greater in magnitude than the older sister effect. These results suggest that fraternal birth order and maternal fecundity effects both exist in Samoa. The existence of these effects cross-culturally is discussed in the context of biological theories for the development of male androphilia.

The family dynamics of intellectual development.

PubMed

Zajonc, R B

2001-01-01

Birth order effects on intellectual performance show both positive and negative results. The confluence model reconciles these conflicting data by proving that these effects interact with the age of participants at testing, such that young children should show negative or no effects, whereas older individuals (past age 11 +/- 2 years) should show positive effects. Birth order studies strongly support this prediction. Some writers have claimed the apparent relation between birth order and intelligence is an artifact created by applying a cross-sectional analysis to data that should have been analyzed by comparing siblings within families. However, if siblings within the same family are compared all at the same time, their ages are necessarily different. As a result, birth order effects are confounded with age effects. Moreover, within-family data conceal patterns of aggregate effects that cross-sectional data reveal.

Birth order and ratio of brothers to sisters in Spanish transsexuals.

PubMed

Gómez-Gil, Esther; Esteva, Isabel; Carrasco, Rocío; Almaraz, M Cruz; Pasaro, Eduardo; Salamero, Manel; Guillamon, Antonio

2011-06-01

Three Western studies have shown that male-to-female (MF) homosexual transsexuals tend to be born later than their siblings and to come from sibships with more brothers than sisters. The objective of this study was to determine whether these variables would be replicated in 530 MF and female-to-male (FM) Spanish transsexuals according to sexual orientation. The results showed that MF homosexual transsexuals had significantly more older brothers than the non-homosexual MF group. Compared with the expected rates in the general population, birth order was significantly higher in both MF (Slater's Index = 0.59; Fraternal Index = 0.61; Sororal Index = 0.58) and FM homosexual transsexuals (Slater's Index = 0.65; Fraternal Index = 0.68; Sororal Index = 0.67), and sibling sex ratio was significantly higher than expected in homosexual MF (sex ratio = 0.55) but not in homosexual FM transsexuals. No significant differences were found in the non-homosexual subgroups. The replication of the later birth order and sibling sex-ratio effect in MF homosexual transsexuals corroborates previous findings in a variety of groups from different cultures and may suggest a common mechanism underlying the etiology of transsexualism.

Placental Vascular Tree as Biomarker of Autism/ASD Risk

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

same cohort, one with special education needs (SEN) but not a diagnosis of autism /ASD, and one with no diagnoses related to neurodevelopmental pathology... neurodevelopment in this highly heterogeneous spectrum of autism /ASD. Task: Placental processing: P.I.: Carolyn M Salafia, MD, NYS Institute for Basic... neurodevelopment . In addition, the growing cohort of high- autism -risk families (EARLI), families with an autistic older sibling and a new pregnancy, is

Speech Preference Is Associated with Autistic-Like Behavior in 18-Months-Olds at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curtin, Suzanne; Vouloumanos, Athena

2013-01-01

We examined whether infants' preference for speech at 12 months is associated with autistic-like behaviors at 18 months in infants who are at increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) because they have an older sibling diagnosed with ASD and in low-risk infants. Only low-risk infants listened significantly longer to speech than to…

Development and Initial Validation of a Parent Report Measure of the Behavioral Development of Infants at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feldman, Maurice A.; Ward, Rebecca A.; Savona, Danielle; Regehr, Kaleigh; Parker, Kevin; Hudson, Melissa; Penning, Henderika; Holden, Jeanette J. A.

2012-01-01

We developed and evaluated a new parent report instrument--Parent Observation of Early Markers Scale (POEMS)--to monitor the behavioral development of infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) because they have older affected siblings. Parents of 108 at-risk infants (74 males, 34 females) completed the POEMS from child age 1-24 months.…

Area and Family Effects on the Psychopathology of the Millennium Cohort Study Children and Their Older Siblings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flouri, Eirini; Tzavidis, Nikos; Kallis, Constantinos

2010-01-01

Background: To model and compare contextual (area and family) effects on the psychopathology of children nested in families nested in areas. Method: Data from the first two sweeps of the UK's Millennium Cohort Study were used. The final study sample was 9,630 children clustered in 6,052 families clustered in 1,681 Lower-layer Super Output Areas.…

Developmental Changes in Empathic Concern and Self-Understanding in Toddlers at Genetic Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Susan B.; Moore, Elizabeth L.; Northrup, Jessie; Brownell, Celia A.

2017-01-01

Toddlers with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and low risk (LR) toddlers were observed at 22, 28, and 34 months during two empathy probes: a crying baby and an adult who pretended to hurt her finger. Toddlers with a later ASD diagnosis showed less empathic concern and self-distress at each age on both empathy probes than LR…

Prevalence and correlates of problematic internet experiences and computer-using time: a two-year longitudinal study in korean school children.

PubMed

Yang, Su-Jin; Stewart, Robert; Lee, Ju-Yeon; Kim, Jae-Min; Kim, Sung-Wan; Shin, Il-Seon; Yoon, Jin-Sang

2014-01-01

To measure the prevalence of and factors associated with online inappropriate sexual exposure, cyber-bullying victimisation, and computer-using time in early adolescence. A two-year, prospective school survey was performed with 1,173 children aged 13 at baseline. Data collected included demographic factors, bullying experience, depression, anxiety, coping strategies, self-esteem, psychopathology, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and school performance. These factors were investigated in relation to problematic Internet experiences and computer-using time at age 15. The prevalence of online inappropriate sexual exposure, cyber-bullying victimisation, academic-purpose computer overuse, and game-purpose computer overuse was 31.6%, 19.2%, 8.5%, and 21.8%, respectively, at age 15. Having older siblings, more weekly pocket money, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and passive coping strategy were associated with reported online sexual harassment. Male gender, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms were associated with reported cyber-bullying victimisation. Female gender was associated with academic-purpose computer overuse, while male gender, lower academic level, increased height, and having older siblings were associated with game-purpose computer-overuse. Different environmental and psychological factors predicted different aspects of problematic Internet experiences and computer-using time. This knowledge is important for framing public health interventions to educate adolescents about, and prevent, internet-derived problems.

Multilevel modelling of somatotype components: the Portuguese sibling study on growth, fitness, lifestyle and health.

PubMed

Pereira, Sara; Katzmarzyk, Peter T; Gomes, Thayse Natacha; Souza, Michele; Chaves, Raquel N; Santos, Fernanda K Dos; Santos, Daniel; Hedeker, Donald; Maia, José A R

2017-06-01

Somatotype is a complex trait influenced by different genetic and environmental factors as well as by other covariates whose effects are still unclear. To (1) estimate siblings' resemblance in their general somatotype; (2) identify sib-pair (brother-brother (BB), sister-sister (SS), brother-sister (BS)) similarities in individual somatotype components; (3) examine the degree to which between and within variances differ among sib-ships; and (4) investigate the effects of physical activity (PA) and family socioeconomic status (SES) on these relationships. The sample comprises 1058 Portuguese siblings (538 females) aged 9-20 years. Somatotype was calculated using the Health-Carter method, while PA and SES information was obtained by questionnaire. Multi-level modelling was done in SuperMix software. Older subjects showed the lowest values for endomorphy and mesomorphy, but the highest values for ectomorphy; and more physically active subjects showed the highest values for mesomorphy. In general, the familiality of somatotype was moderate (ρ = 0.35). Same-sex siblings had the strongest resemblance (endomorphy: ρ SS > ρ BB > ρ BS ; mesomorphy: ρ BB = ρ SS > ρ BS ; ectomorphy: ρ BB > ρ SS > ρ BS ). For the ectomorphy and mesomorphy components, BS pairs showed the highest between sib-ship variance, but the lowest within sib-ship variance; while for endomorphy BS showed the lowest between and within sib-ship variances. These results highlight the significant familial effects on somatotype and the complexity of the role of familial resemblance in explaining variance in somatotypes.

Early-life hygiene-related factors affect risk of central nervous system demyelination and asthma differentially

PubMed Central

Hughes, A-M; Lucas, R M; McMichael, A J; Dwyer, T; Pender, M P; Mei, I; Taylor, B V; Valery, P; Chapman, C; Coulthard, A; Dear, K; Kilpatrick, T J; Williams, D; Ponsonby, A-L

2013-01-01

The increasing prevalence of immune-related diseases, including multiple sclerosis, may be partly explained by reduced microbial burden during childhood. Within a multi-centre case–control study population, we examined: (i) the co-morbid immune diseases profile of adults with a first clinical diagnosis of central nervous system demyelination (FCD) and (ii) sibship structure in relation to an autoimmune (FCD) and an allergic (asthma) disease. FCD cases (n = 282) were aged 18–59 years; controls (n = 558) were matched on age, sex and region. Measures include: history of doctor-diagnosed asthma; sibling profile (number; dates of birth); and regular childcare attendance. FCD cases did not differ from controls with regard to personal or family history of allergy, but had a greater likelihood of chronic fatigue syndrome [odds ratio (OR) = 3·11; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·11, 8·71]. Having any younger siblings showed reduced odds of FCD (OR = 0·68; 95% CI: 0·49, 0·95) but not asthma (OR = 1·47; 95% CI: 0·91, 2·38). In contrast, an increasing number of older siblings was associated with reduced risk of asthma (P trend = 0·04) but not FCD (P trend = 0·66). Allergies were not over-represented among people presenting with FCD. Sibship characteristics influence both FCD and asthma risk but the underlying mechanisms differ, possibly due to the timing of the putative ‘sibling effect’. PMID:23600835

Widowhood Status as a Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline among Older Adults.

PubMed

Shin, Su Hyun; Kim, Giyeon; Park, Soohyun

2018-07-01

This study investigated whether widowhood status has an effect on cognitive decline among older adults in the United States. Longitudinal analysis of existing secondary data. The 1996-2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. A total of 6,766 individuals (28,420 observations) aged 50 years and older who responded to all questions. Widow/widower status, cognitive functioning score, and various covariates. Growth-curve models show that after controlling for covariates, widowhood status was related to cognitive decline (95% CI: -0.8090, -0.4674). We also found a linear relationship between time since spousal loss and cognitive decline. Conditional upon spousal bereavement status, higher education and having at least one living sibling were found to be protective factors against cognitive decline. Widowhood status accelerated cognitive decline over time among widowed older adults. Findings suggest that extra support is needed to monitor cognitive functioning for those experiencing widowhood. Copyright © 2018 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Psychiatric and autistic comorbidity in fragile X syndrome across ages.

PubMed

Gabis, Lidia V; Baruch, Yael Kesner; Jokel, Ariela; Raz, Raanan

2011-08-01

Fragile X syndrome is caused by CGG trinucleotide repeat expansion within the fragile X mental retardation 1 gene, when repeat number exceeds 200. The typical psychiatric profile of fragile X syndrome patients includes cognitive and behavioral deficits, psychiatric comorbidity, and autistic characteristics. Specific psychiatric features have not yet been clarified, specifically in relationship to age and genetic characteristics. The objective of this study was to characterize psychiatric comorbidities in subjects with fragile X syndrome at different ages. Subjects with fragile X syndrome and their unaffected siblings were recruited and their parents filled out functional-behavioral and psychiatric comorbidities questionnaires. Adolescents with fragile X syndrome showed decreased prevalence of functional-behavioral deficits. Incidence and severity of most psychiatric comorbidities were lower in older subjects. Incidence of generalized anxiety disorder increased with age in the fragile X syndrome group. The typical profile of patients with fragile X syndrome changes with age. Unaffected siblings exhibit anxiety and motor tics.

Psychosocial and Environmental Correlates of Walking, Cycling, Public Transport and Passive Transport to Various Destinations in Flemish Older Adolescents

PubMed Central

Verhoeven, Hannah; Simons, Dorien; Van Dyck, Delfien; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle; Clarys, Peter; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; de Geus, Bas; Vandelanotte, Corneel; Deforche, Benedicte

2016-01-01

Background Active transport is a convenient way to incorporate physical activity in adolescents’ daily life. The present study aimed to investigate which psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with walking, cycling, public transport (train, tram, bus, metro) and passive transport (car, motorcycle, moped) over short distances (maximum eight kilometres) among older adolescents (17–18 years), to school and to other destinations. Methods 562 older adolescents completed an online questionnaire assessing socio-demographic variables, psychosocial variables, environmental variables and transport to school/other destinations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were performed. Results More social modelling and a higher residential density were positively associated with walking to school and walking to other destinations, respectively. Regarding cycling, higher self-efficacy and a higher social norm were positively associated with cycling to school and to other destinations. Regarding public transport, a higher social norm, more social modelling of siblings and/or friends, more social support and a higher land use mix access were positively related to public transport to school and to other destinations, whereas a greater distance to school only related positively to public transport to school. Regarding passive transport, more social support and more perceived benefits were positively associated with passive transport to school and to other destinations. Perceiving less walking and cycling facilities at school was positively related to passive transport to school only, and more social modelling was positively related to passive transport to other destinations. Conclusions Overall, psychosocial variables seemed to be more important than environmental variables across the four transport modes. Social norm, social modelling and social support were the most consistent psychosocial factors which indicates that it is important to target both older adolescents and their social environment in interventions promoting active transport. Walking or cycling together with siblings or friends has the potential to increase social norm, social modelling and social support towards active transport. PMID:26784933

Psychosocial and Environmental Correlates of Walking, Cycling, Public Transport and Passive Transport to Various Destinations in Flemish Older Adolescents.

PubMed

Verhoeven, Hannah; Simons, Dorien; Van Dyck, Delfien; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle; Clarys, Peter; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; de Geus, Bas; Vandelanotte, Corneel; Deforche, Benedicte

2016-01-01

Active transport is a convenient way to incorporate physical activity in adolescents' daily life. The present study aimed to investigate which psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with walking, cycling, public transport (train, tram, bus, metro) and passive transport (car, motorcycle, moped) over short distances (maximum eight kilometres) among older adolescents (17-18 years), to school and to other destinations. 562 older adolescents completed an online questionnaire assessing socio-demographic variables, psychosocial variables, environmental variables and transport to school/other destinations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were performed. More social modelling and a higher residential density were positively associated with walking to school and walking to other destinations, respectively. Regarding cycling, higher self-efficacy and a higher social norm were positively associated with cycling to school and to other destinations. Regarding public transport, a higher social norm, more social modelling of siblings and/or friends, more social support and a higher land use mix access were positively related to public transport to school and to other destinations, whereas a greater distance to school only related positively to public transport to school. Regarding passive transport, more social support and more perceived benefits were positively associated with passive transport to school and to other destinations. Perceiving less walking and cycling facilities at school was positively related to passive transport to school only, and more social modelling was positively related to passive transport to other destinations. Overall, psychosocial variables seemed to be more important than environmental variables across the four transport modes. Social norm, social modelling and social support were the most consistent psychosocial factors which indicates that it is important to target both older adolescents and their social environment in interventions promoting active transport. Walking or cycling together with siblings or friends has the potential to increase social norm, social modelling and social support towards active transport.

Customer diversiy and the future demand for outdoor recreation

Treesearch

John F. Dwyer

1994-01-01

The fastest growth in outdoor recreation participation is projected for activities that are popular with older adults, and the slowest growth for those activities popular with younger adults. Nationally, changing age distribution is the main reason for change in participation; but, in some areas of the U.S., changing racial and ethnic structure and urban residence...

The Effects of a 12-Week Walking Program on Community-Dwelling Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Shun-Ping; Tsai, Tzu-I; Lii, Yun-Kung; Yu, Shu; Chou, Chen-Liang; Chen, I-Ju

2009-01-01

Walking is a popular and easily accessible form of physical activity. However, walking instruction for older adults is based on the evidence gathered from younger populations. This study evaluated walking conditions, strength, balance, and subjective health status after a 12-week walking-training program in community-dwelling adults greater than…

Using Simulations To Understand Older Adults with Sensory Impairment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clubok, Miriam

2000-01-01

Summarizes two popular models for increasing sensitivity to sensory impairment in the elderly and details a third model used in training human service students and practitioners. Ideas and techniques presented work toward understanding the impact of sensory impairment on the daily life of older adults and to identify coping techniques to improve…

[Health of aged people living with siblings who are professional nurses in China from the view point of lifestyle and health condition].

PubMed

Matsuzaki, Eiji; Matsushita, Hiroko; Gong, Y; Minotani, Shinko; Ideno, Keiko; Asano, Yuko; Miyamoto, Kei; Murai, Teiko; Kajiyama, Yoshiko; Gotoh, Sachiko

2004-06-01

Since 1978 in China, rapid economic development has taken place and the nation's quality of life has improved through the introduction of reform-opening policies. Such change has caused new health problems, partially due to aging of the population, with increase in lifestyle-related diseases and environmental pollution, and also expansion of regional variation. In this study, diseases undergoing treatment (relevance) and lifestyles of the elderly living with siblings who are professional nurses were evaluated. We conducted a study in 23 provinces to discern characteristics and factors related to lifestyle and situations of patients undergoing treatment. We analyzed 1,548 senior citizens (response rate: 82.1%) over 65 years old living with a sibling who is a professional nurse. The professional nurse provided the replying to the questions. 1. A total of 457 out of 597 males (76.5%) and 725 out of 951 females (76.2%) had diseases under treatment. Males over 75 years old suffered from arteriosclerosis, cerebrovascular diseases, and heart disease. Females over 75 years old suffered from arteriosclerosis, respiratory diseases, and eye diseases. 2. In both males and females over 75 years old (older elderly) there were no significant differences in the Health Practice Index (HPI) from persons under 75 (younger elderly). Older elderly were more likely to snack often. Among males and females, 5 of 8 health-practices, such as a napping and physical exercise, differed. Females were less likely to smoke and drink alcohol. 3. In both males and females, non-diseased participants had a higher HPI than that of diseased participants. This tendency was the same in both younger and older elderly. 4. Cluster analyses of patterns of diseases revealed that the 23 provinces could be classified into 4 areas. The HPI in areas with a low proportion of diseased subjects was significantly higher than that in areas with a high proportion of diseased. One of the areas' HPI appeared to be noticeably lower than that of the other 3 and the number of participants with low physical exercise was higher in this case. Our data indicate that individuals having a high HPI appear less likely to develop lifestyle-related diseases. In 4 areas divided by the cluster analysis of patterns of diseases, there were significant differences in HPI, smoking and physical exercise.

Associations between family circumstance and weight status of Australian children.

PubMed

Hesketh, Kylie; Crawford, David; Salmon, Jo; Jackson, Michelle; Campbell, Karen

2007-01-01

To examine associations between weight status and multiple indicators of family circumstance in Australian elementary school children. Data were combined from the 2001 Children's Leisure Activities Study (CLAS Study) and 2002/3 Health, Eating and Play Study (HEAP Study), involving 2520 children in Grades Prep (mean age 6 years) and 5-6 (mean age 11 years) in Melbourne, Australia. Children's body mass index (BMI) was calculated from measured height and weight. Weight status (non-overweight or overweight) was determined according to International Obesity Taskforce cut-off points and BMI was transformed to z-scores based on the 2000 US growth chart data. Parents reported family circumstance (number of parents in the home, marital status, presence of siblings, parental education, parental employment status, parental work hours [HEAP Study only]) and parental BMI. Regression analyses were conducted for the sample overall and separately for young girls, young boys, older girls and older boys. Children in single-parent homes, those without siblings, and those with less educated mothers and fathers tended to have higher z-BMIs (p=0.002, p=0.003, p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively) and were more likely to be overweight (p=0.003, p<0.001, p<0.001 and p=0.02, respectively). Associations were stronger for older children. Parental employment and work hours were not consistently associated with child weight status. The multivariable models did not demonstrate a cumulative explanatory effect (R(2)=0.02), except when maternal BMI was included (R(2)=0.07). Individual measures of family circumstance were differentially associated with child weight status and appeared to be largely independent of other measures of family circumstance. Childhood overweight interventions may need to be tailored based on the age, gender, maternal BMI and family circumstances of the target group.

Prevalence and Correlates of Problematic Internet Experiences and Computer-Using Time: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study in Korean School Children

PubMed Central

Stewart, Robert; Lee, Ju-Yeon; Kim, Jae-Min; Kim, Sung-Wan; Shin, Il-Seon; Yoon, Jin-Sang

2014-01-01

Objective To measure the prevalence of and factors associated with online inappropriate sexual exposure, cyber-bullying victimisation, and computer-using time in early adolescence. Methods A two-year, prospective school survey was performed with 1,173 children aged 13 at baseline. Data collected included demographic factors, bullying experience, depression, anxiety, coping strategies, self-esteem, psychopathology, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and school performance. These factors were investigated in relation to problematic Internet experiences and computer-using time at age 15. Results The prevalence of online inappropriate sexual exposure, cyber-bullying victimisation, academic-purpose computer overuse, and game-purpose computer overuse was 31.6%, 19.2%, 8.5%, and 21.8%, respectively, at age 15. Having older siblings, more weekly pocket money, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and passive coping strategy were associated with reported online sexual harassment. Male gender, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms were associated with reported cyber-bullying victimisation. Female gender was associated with academic-purpose computer overuse, while male gender, lower academic level, increased height, and having older siblings were associated with game-purpose computer-overuse. Conclusion Different environmental and psychological factors predicted different aspects of problematic Internet experiences and computer-using time. This knowledge is important for framing public health interventions to educate adolescents about, and prevent, internet-derived problems. PMID:24605120

Recurrence of preterm birth and perinatal mortality in northern Tanzania: registry-based cohort study.

PubMed

Mahande, Michael J; Daltveit, Anne K; Obure, Joseph; Mmbaga, Blandina T; Masenga, Gileard; Manongi, Rachel; Lie, Rolv T

2013-08-01

To estimate the recurrence risk of preterm delivery and estimate the perinatal mortality in repeated preterm deliveries. Prospective study in Tanzania of 18 176 women who delivered a singleton between 2000 and 2008 at KCMC hospital. The women were followed up to 2010 for consecutive births. A total of 3359 women were identified with a total of 3867 subsequent deliveries in the follow-up period. Recurrence risk of preterm birth and perinatal mortality was estimated using log-binomial regression and adjusted for potential confounders. For women with a previous preterm birth, the risk of preterm birth in a subsequent pregnancy was 17%. This recurrence risk was estimated to be 2.7-fold (95% CI: 2.1-3.4) of the risk of women with a previous term birth. The perinatal mortality of babies in a second preterm birth of the same woman was 15%. Babies born at term who had an older sibling that was born preterm had a perinatal mortality of 10%. Babies born at term who had an older sibling who was also born at term had a perinatal mortality of 1.7%. Previous delivery of a preterm infant is a strong predictor of future preterm births in Tanzania. Previous or repeated preterm births increase the risk of perinatal death substantially in the subsequent pregnancy. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The G. I. Bill and College Football: The Birth of a Spectator Sport.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, Donald S.

1984-01-01

College football became a popular spectator sport after World War II with the return of veterans to college. Financial help was provided by the G. I. Bill, which led to older, more experienced students playing football. This article explores how the G. I. Bill helped make college football the popular sport it is today. (DF)

Birth order in girls with gender identity disorder.

PubMed

Zucker, K J; Lightbody, S; Pecore, K; Bradley, S J; Blanchard, R

1998-03-01

This study examined the birth order of girls with gender identity disorder (N = 22). Each proband was matched to 3-7 clinical control girls for age at assessment and number of siblings (the mode number of controls per proband was 7) (total N = 147). The number of older brothers, older sisters, younger brothers, and younger sisters was recorded. Slater's birth order index showed that the probands were significantly more likely to be early born than were the controls. A modified Slater's index also compared the birth order of the probands and the controls only to their brothers (when they had one or more) and only to their sisters (when they had one or more). Compared to the controls, the probands were born early compared to their sisters, but not to their brothers. These findings are the inverse of two previous studies of boys with gender identity disorder, who were later born relative to clinical control boys, an effect that appeared to be accounted for primarily by being born later relative to older brothers, but not to older sisters.

Gillick, bone marrow and teenagers.

PubMed

Cherkassky, Lisa

2015-09-01

The Human Tissue Authority can authorise a bone marrow harvest on a child of any age if a person with parental responsibility consents to the procedure. Older children have the legal capacity to consent to medical procedures under Gillick, but it is unclear if Gillick can be applied to non-therapeutic medical procedures. The relevant donation guidelines state that the High Court shall be consulted in the event of a disagreement, but what is in the best interests of the teenage donor under s.1 of the Children Act 1989? There are no legal authorities on child bone marrow harvests in the United Kingdom. This article considers the best interests of the older saviour sibling and questions whether, for the purposes of welfare, the speculative benefits could outweigh the physical burdens. © The Author(s) 2015.

Cortical, but Not Posterior Subcapsular, Cataract Shows Significant Familial Aggregation in an Older Population after Adjustment for Possible Shared Environmental Factors

PubMed Central

Congdon, Nathan; Broman, Karl W.; Lai, Hong; Munoz, Beatriz; Bowie, Heidi; Gilbert, Donna; Wojciechowski, Robert; West, Sheila K.

2011-01-01

Purpose To quantify the risk for age-related cortical cataract and posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC) associated with having an affected sibling after adjusting for known environmental and personal risk factors. Design Sibling cohort study. Participants Participants in the ongoing Salisbury Eye Evaluation (SEE) study (n = 321; mean age, 78.1±4.2 years) and their locally resident siblings (n = 453; mean age, 72.6±7.4 years) were recruited at the time of Rounds 3 and 4 of the SEE study. Intervention/Testing Methods Retroillumination photographs of the lens were graded for the presence of cortical cataract and PSC with the Wilmer grading system. The residual correlation between siblings' cataract grades was estimated after adjustment for a number of factors (age; gender; race; lifetime exposure to ultraviolet-B light; cigarette, alcohol, estrogen, and steroid use; serum antioxidants; history of diabetes; blood pressure; and body mass index) suspected to be associated with the presence of cataract. Results The average sibship size was 2.7 per family. Multivariate analysis revealed the magnitude of heritability (h2) for cortical cataract to be 24% (95% CI, 6%–42%), whereas that for PSC was not statistically significant (h2 4%; 95% CI, 0%–11%) after adjustment for the covariates. The model revealed that increasing age, female gender, a history of diabetes, and black race increased the odds of cortical cataract, whereas higher levels of provitamin A were protective. A history of diabetes and steroid use increased the odds for PSC. Conclusions This study is consistent with a significant genetic effect for age-related cortical cataract but not PSC. PMID:15629823

Impact of cyclophosphamide dose of conditioning on the outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for aplastic anemia from human leukocyte antigen-identical sibling.

PubMed

Mori, Takehiko; Koh, Hideo; Onishi, Yasushi; Kako, Shinichi; Onizuka, Makoto; Kanamori, Heiwa; Ozawa, Yukiyasu; Kato, Chiaki; Iida, Hiroatsu; Suzuki, Ritsuro; Ichinohe, Tatsuo; Kanda, Yoshinobu; Maeda, Tetsuo; Nakao, Shinji; Yamazaki, Hirohito

2016-04-01

The standard conditioning regimen in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for aplastic anemia from a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical sibling has been high-dose cyclophosphamide (CY 200 mg/kg). In the present study, results for 203 patients with aplastic anemia aged 16 years or older who underwent allogeneic HSCT from HLA-identical siblings were retrospectively analyzed using the registry database of Japan Society for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Conditioning regimens were defined as a (1) high-dose CY (200 mg/kg or greater)-based (n = 117); (2) reduced-dose CY (100 mg/kg or greater, but less than 200 mg/kg)-based (n = 38); and (3) low-dose CY (less than 100 mg/kg)-based (n = 48) regimen. Patient age and the proportion of patients receiving fludarabine were significantly higher in the reduced- and low-dose CY groups than the high-dose CY group. Engraftment was comparable among the groups. Five-year overall survival (OS) tended to be higher in the low-dose CY group [93.0 % (95 % CI 85.1-100.0 %)] than the high-dose CY [84.2 % (95 % CI 77.1-91.3 %)] or reduced-dose CY groups [83.8 % (95 % CI 71.8-95.8 %); P = 0.214]. Age-adjusted OS was higher in the low-dose CY group than the high- and reduced-dose CY groups with borderline significance (P = 0.067). These results suggest that CY dose can safely be reduced without increasing graft rejection by adding fludarabine in allogeneic HSCT for aplastic anemia from an HLA-identical sibling.

Infancy and pediatric cancer: an exploratory study of parent psychological distress.

PubMed

Vernon, L; Eyles, D; Hulbert, C; Bretherton, L; McCarthy, M C

2017-03-01

Research on the psychological experiences of parents of infants within pediatric oncology is sparse. This study examined rates and indicative risk factors for psychological distress in parents where there is either an infant patient or infant sibling of a patient. Participants were mothers (n = 41) and fathers (n = 25) of infants under 2 years who either had a cancer diagnosis (n = 37; infant patients) or was an infant sibling of an older child with cancer (n = 29; infant siblings) recruited from a single oncology center. There were 21 couple dyads. Parents completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales short form and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist. Mothers (47.5%) and fathers (37.5%) reported elevated, cancer-related posttraumatic stress symptoms. Rates of depression (12.2% of mothers and 12.0% of fathers) and anxiety symptoms (17.1% of mothers and 8.0% of fathers) were lower. Compared with parents of infant patients, parents of infant siblings reported significantly higher rates of depressive symptoms and trends toward higher rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Parent anxiety was higher with increased time post diagnosis. No demographic or illness-related variables were associated with psychological distress, with the exception of the number of children in the family. Parent-child relationships are of fundamental importance during infancy. This study provides novel data highlighting the psychological impact for parents when a cancer diagnosis is made during this critical developmental period, including the contribution of family structure to parental distress. Results provide further support for applying a traumatic stress framework when exploring parent experiences of pediatric cancer. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The prevalence of childhood dysphonia: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Carding, Paul N; Roulstone, Sue; Northstone, Kate

2006-12-01

There is only very limited information on the prevalence of voice disorders, particularly for the pediatric population. This study examined the prevalence of dysphonia in a large cohort of children (n = 7389) at 8 years of age. Data were collected within a large prospective epidemiological study and included a formal assessment by one of five research speech and language therapists as well as a parental report of their child's voice. Common risk factors that were also analyzed included sex, sibling numbers, asthma, regular conductive hearing loss, and frequent upper respiratory infection. The research clinicians identified a dysphonia prevalence of 6% compared with a parental report of 11%. Both measures suggested a significant risk of dysphonia for children with older siblings. Other measures were not in agreement between clinician and parental reports. The clinician judgments also suggested significant risk factors for sex (male) but not for any common respiratory or otolaryngological conditions that were analyzed. Parental report suggested significant risk factors with respect to asthma and tonsillectomy. These results are discussed in detail.

Molecular Diagnosis of 5α-Reductase Type II Deficiency in Brazilian Siblings with 46,XY Disorder of Sex Development

PubMed Central

de Calais, Flávia Leme; Soardi, Fernanda Caroline; Petroli, Reginaldo José; Lusa, Ana Letícia Gori; de Paiva e Silva, Roberto Benedito; Maciel-Guerra, Andréa Trevas; Guerra-Júnior, Gil; de Mello, Maricilda Palandi

2011-01-01

The steroid 5α-reductase type II enzyme catalyzes the conversion of testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and its deficiency leads to undervirilization in 46,XY individuals, due to an impairment of this conversion in genital tissues. Molecular analysis in the steroid 5α-reductase type II gene (SRD5A2) was performed in two 46,XY female siblings. SRD5A2 gene sequencing revealed that the patients were homozygous for p.Gln126Arg missense mutation, which results from the CGA > CAA nucleotide substitution. The molecular result confirmed clinical diagnosis of 46,XY disorder of sex development (DSD) for the older sister and directed the investigation to other family members. Studies on SRD5A2 protein structure showed severe changes at NADPH binding region indicating that structural modeling analysis can be useful to evaluate the deleterious role of a mutation as causing 5α-reductase type II enzyme deficiency. PMID:22272144

Beneficial prenatal levodopa therapy in autosomal recessive guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1 deficiency.

PubMed

Brüggemann, Norbert; Spiegler, Juliane; Hellenbroich, Yorck; Opladen, Thomas; Schneider, Susanne A; Stephani, Ulrich; Boor, Rainer; Gillessen-Kaesbach, Gabriele; Sperner, Jürgen; Klein, Christine

2012-08-01

To report the first prenatal dopaminergic replacement therapy in autosomal recessive (AR) guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1 (GTPCH) deficiency without hyperphenylalaninemia. Case reports, literature review, and video presentation. University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany. Two boys from a consanguineous family. Physical and mental development as a function of replacement initiation. The older sibling presented with typical features of AR GTPCH deficiency due to a homozygous mutation in the GCH1 gene with proven pathogenicity. Levodopa treatment was initiated at age 10 months and resulted in a distinct motor improvement. However, mental development was delayed. In the younger sibling, prenatal replacement therapy was initiated after a prenatal diagnosis of AR GTPCH deficiency was made. At age 17 months, both motor and mental development were normal for his age. This report highlights the importance of an early diagnosis, including prenatal diagnosis, of complex dopa-responsive extrapyramidal syndromes. Prenatally initiated dopaminergic replacement therapy is beneficial and thus justified in AR GTPCH deficiency, allowing prevention of significant impairment of mental abilities.

Ageing with a learning disability: Care and support in the context of austerity.

PubMed

Power, Andrew; Bartlett, Ruth

2018-03-17

Recent work in geography has begun to look at the opportunities for care from siblings, friends and neighbours alongside parents and spouses. This paper examines the daily relationships that middle to older age adults with a learning disability have with remaining kin members, friends, and neighbours, within the context of declining formal day services. Adults with learning disabilities are more likely to have different life course experiences and be living on low incomes and in poor housing than the rest of the population as they have had less opportunity to work and save money through their lives. We draw on two qualitative studies with adults with learning disabilities. Findings suggest that friend and kin networks are anything but certain, as opportunities to meet and socialise shrink, and connections with siblings do not necessarily lend themselves to support. The findings raise the possibility of a space of attenuated care to convey the increasingly limited fronts from which support can be derived. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rate of Family Violence Among Patients With Schizophrenia in Japan.

PubMed

Kageyama, Masako; Yokoyama, Keiko; Nagata, Satoko; Kita, Sachiko; Nakamura, Yukako; Kobayashi, Sayaka; Solomon, Phyllis

2015-09-01

Family violence is a serious concern in the era of deinstitutionalization in Japan. Consequently, we aimed to clarify the rate of family violence among patients with schizophrenia, and differences by sex and relationship to the patient. We asked households belonging to a family group association to complete a self-administered mail survey. Of 350 households that responded, data for 302 were analyzed. The rate of violence toward any family member was 60.9% over the lifetime and 27.2% in the past year. Order of lifetime rates for family members from highest to lowest was 51.0% for mothers, 47.0% for fathers, 30.7% for younger sisters, 23.8% for spouses, 19.5% for younger brothers, 18.2% for older sisters, 17.1% for older brothers, and none for children. Younger sisters were more likely to be victims compared to other siblings. Fathers and older brothers were likely to be victims when patients were male. © 2015 APJPH.

Music performance anxiety in young musicians: comparison of playing classical or popular music.

PubMed

Nusseck, Manfred; Zander, Mark; Spahn, Claudia

2015-03-01

Music performance anxiety (MPA) is an issue frequently experienced by musicians. It occurs not only in experienced musicians but also in children and adolescents. Furthermore, most research on MPA has been done with musicians who specialized in classical music. This study investigated the development of MPA across the ages in young musicians focusing on the classical and popular genres. In a cross-sectional survey, 239 students at German music schools, aged between 7 and 20 yrs, were asked about their perceived MPA and musical background. The data were analyzed according to musical genre and age. Multiple regression analyses were performed to investigate the influences of musical experiences on MPA. The analyses yielded high levels of MPA for classical musicians between 7 and 16 yrs, which was reduced in older students; for popular musicians, low MPA was seen in the younger (7-11 yrs) and high MPA in the older (16+ yrs) musicians. MPA was influenced by gender and the number of performances in the classical music group and only by gender and age in the popular music group. The results showed clear different trends for the development of MPA between musical genres that should be taken into account for educational aspects in musical training.

Matched unrelated donor allogeneic transplantation provides comparable long-term outcome to HLA-identical sibling transplantation in relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

PubMed

Avivi, I; Canals, C; Vernant, J-P; Wulf, G; Nagler, A; Hermine, O; Petersen, E; Yakoub-Agha, I; Craddock, C; Schattenberg, A; Niederwieser, D; Thomson, K; Blaise, D; Attal, M; Pfreundschuh, M; Passweg, J; Russell, N; Dreger, P; Sureda, A

2014-05-01

The objective of this retrospective analysis was to compare outcomes of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who received either a matched sibling (sib) or an unrelated donor (URD) allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Long-term outcome of 172 DLBCL patients receiving URD-HCT between 2000 and 2007 and reported to the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, was compared with that of 301 subjects, allografted from sib-HCT. With a median follow-up of 45 months, 3-year PFS approached 35% for both groups; overall survival (OS) was 42% for sib-HCT versus 37% for URD (NS). Multivariate analyses confirmed that donor type was not associated with differences in non-relapse mortality (NRM), relapse rate (RR), PFS or OS. Poor performance status (PS) and refractory disease adversely affected PFS and OS. Prior auto-SCT and multiple previous therapies predicted for shorter PFS. NRM was adversely affected by older age (⩾50 years), poor PS and refractory disease, and RR by time from diagnosis to allo-HCT of <36 months, prior auto-SCT, refractory disease, poor PS and in vivo T-cell depletion with alemtuzumab. This large study shows for the first time that URD-HCT is not inferior to sib-HCT, providing a reasonable therapeutic approach for DLBCL patients, having no HLA-identical sibling available.

Emotional eating in adolescents: a gene (SLC6A4/5-HTT) - depressive feelings interaction analysis.

PubMed

van Strien, Tatjana; van der Zwaluw, Carmen S; Engels, Rutger C M E

2010-11-01

Eating in response to distress--i.e. emotional eating--is highly prevalent in (female) adults with binge eating, but has only a very low prevalence in young children. The present study addresses the emergence of emotional eating in adolescence in relation to depressive feelings. Because a reduction of food intake is considered the biologically natural response to distress, we tested whether the a-typical stress-response of emotional eating develops in interaction with genetic vulnerability. We hypothesized that the short allele of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene, which is associated with lower serotonin activity, would moderate the relation between depressive feelings and the increase in emotional eating, particularly in females. A sample of Dutch families with two adolescents was included in a longitudinal study with a four-year follow-up. A moderator effect of 5-HTTLPR genotype on the relation between depressive feelings and the increase in emotional eating was found in both sexes in the youngest siblings (n = 286). In the older siblings (n = 298), this specific moderator effect was only found in the girls. Younger adolescents and older adolescent girls showed a higher increase in emotional eating if they carried the 5-HTTLPR short allele. This is the first study that found support for a gene × depressive feelings interaction on emergence of emotional eating in (female) adolescents. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reasons for playing casual video games and perceived benefits among adults 18 to 80 years old.

PubMed

Whitbourne, Susan Krauss; Ellenberg, Stacy; Akimoto, Kyoko

2013-12-01

Casual video games (CVGs) are becoming increasingly popular among middle-aged and older adults, yet there are few studies documenting why adults of different ages play these games, what benefits they perceive, and how regularly they play. The present study compared the online survey responses of 10,308 adults ranging from 18 to 80 years of age to questions regarding PopCap's popular free online game, Bejeweled Blitz (BJB). All respondents cited playing against friends as their main reason for playing. However, there were differences by age in the second most frequently cited reason. Middle-aged adults cited stress relief, and older adults reported that they seek the game's challenges. As a result of playing CVGs, younger adults noted that they felt sharper and experienced improved memory; older adults were more likely to feel that their visuospatial skills and response time benefited. Adults aged 60 and older had heavier patterns of game play than did adults under the age of 60 years. A significant number of respondents (14.7%) spontaneously noted that they felt that BJB had addictive qualities. CVG players seem to be drawn into this activity by its social nature and to a certain extent by its reinforcing properties. Once involved, however, they believe that they derive a number of benefits that, for older adults, appear to offset declines in age-sensitive cognitive functions.

Drinking and driving among Italian adolescents: Trends over seven years (2007-2013).

PubMed

Siciliano, Valeria; Mezzasalma, Lorena; Scalese, Marco; Doveri, Cristina; Molinaro, Sabrina

2016-03-01

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the issue of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), especially among young people. The aims of the present study were (1) to analyse the trends of DUI, riding with a driver under influence of alcohol (RWDUI) and alcohol-related road crashes (A-rC) in a nationally representative sample of students in the period 2007-2013, (2) to assess how different drinking patterns were associated with DUI and RWDUI, (3) to evaluate other influential factors (such as gender, older siblings' and friends' behaviour with alcohol) on DUI and RWDUI. Data were drawn from the cross-sectional European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) carried out annually in Italy. The sample size ranged from 25,555 to 40,390 students (15-19 years old). Results were stratified for students <18 years and ≥18 years old. Although a significant decreasing trend for alcohol consumption was observed only in the younger group, a significant decrease in DUI [APC (annual percent change) -9.7 in the younger and -6.4 in the older group] and in RWDUI (APC -6.7 in the younger and -4.8 in the older group) was detected. A significant decreasing trend of A-rC was observed only in the older group (APC -3.4). Three specific drinking patterns were identified: "Drinking to Excess" (DE), "Drinking with Intoxication" (DI) and "Drinking but Not to Excess" (DNE). In both age groups, the DE pattern significantly increased the likelihood of DUI, whereas the DI pattern was negatively associated, and the DNE pattern was not associated. Different results were found for RWDUI: the DE and DI patterns where significantly associated with RWDUI, whereas the DNE pattern was negatively associated. Overall, illegal substance use, parental monitoring, peers' and siblings' influence were associated with DUI and RWDUI. The change in behaviour towards DUI and RWDUI suggests a cumulative effectiveness of current alcohol policies, although further actions (greater attention to social context, law enforcement, and promotion of good practice) are needed to substantially reduce alcohol-related crashes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Listening Niches across a Century of Popular Music

PubMed Central

Krumhansl, Carol Lynne

2017-01-01

This article investigates the contexts, or “listening niches”, in which people hear popular music. The study spanned a century of popular music, divided into 10 decades, with participants born between 1940 and 1999. It asks about whether they know and like the music in each decade, and their emotional reactions. It also asks whether the music is associated with personal memories and, if so, with whom they were listening, or whether they were listening alone. Finally, it asks what styles of music they were listening to, and the music media they were listening with, in different periods of their lives. The results show a regular progression through the life span of listening with different individuals (from parents to children) and with different media (from records to streaming services). A number of effects found in previous studies were replicated, but the study also showed differences across the birth cohorts. Overall, there was a song specific age effect with preferences for music of late adolescence and early adulthood; however, this effect was stronger for the older participants. In general, music of the 1940s, 1960s, and 1980s was preferred, particularly among younger participants. Music of these decades also produced the strongest emotional responses, and the most frequent and specific personal memories. When growing up, the participants tended to listen to the older music on the older media, but rapidly shifted to the new music technologies in their late teens and early 20s. Younger listeners are currently listening less to music alone than older listeners, suggesting an important role of socially sharing music, but they also report feeling sadder when listening to music. Finally, the oldest listeners had the broadest taste, liking music that they had been exposed to during their lifetimes in different listening niches. PMID:28424637

Listening Niches across a Century of Popular Music.

PubMed

Krumhansl, Carol Lynne

2017-01-01

This article investigates the contexts, or "listening niches", in which people hear popular music. The study spanned a century of popular music, divided into 10 decades, with participants born between 1940 and 1999. It asks about whether they know and like the music in each decade, and their emotional reactions. It also asks whether the music is associated with personal memories and, if so, with whom they were listening, or whether they were listening alone. Finally, it asks what styles of music they were listening to, and the music media they were listening with, in different periods of their lives. The results show a regular progression through the life span of listening with different individuals (from parents to children) and with different media (from records to streaming services). A number of effects found in previous studies were replicated, but the study also showed differences across the birth cohorts. Overall, there was a song specific age effect with preferences for music of late adolescence and early adulthood; however, this effect was stronger for the older participants. In general, music of the 1940s, 1960s, and 1980s was preferred, particularly among younger participants. Music of these decades also produced the strongest emotional responses, and the most frequent and specific personal memories. When growing up, the participants tended to listen to the older music on the older media, but rapidly shifted to the new music technologies in their late teens and early 20s. Younger listeners are currently listening less to music alone than older listeners, suggesting an important role of socially sharing music, but they also report feeling sadder when listening to music. Finally, the oldest listeners had the broadest taste, liking music that they had been exposed to during their lifetimes in different listening niches.

A Review of the Implications of Heterozygosity and Inbreeding on Germplasm Biodiversity and Its Conservation in the Silkworm, Bombyx mori

PubMed Central

Jingade, A.H.; Vijayan, K.; Somasundaram, P.; Srivasababu, G.K.; Kamble, C.K.

2011-01-01

Silkworm genebanks assume paramount importance as the reservoirs of biodiversity and source of alleles that can be easily retrieved for genetic enhancement of popular breeds. More than 4000 Bombyx mori L (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) strains are currently available and these strains are maintained through continuous sibling mating. This repeated sibling mating makes the populations of each strain more homozygous, but leads to loss of unique and valuable genes through the process of inbreeding depression. Hence, it is essential to maintain a minimal degree of heterozygosity within the population of each silkworm strain, especially in the traditional geographic strains, to avoid such loss. As a result, accurate estimation of genetic diversity is becoming more important in silkworm genetic resources conservation. Application of molecular markers help estimate genetic diversity much more accurately than that of morphological traits. Since a minimal amount of heterozygosity in each silkworm strain is essential for better conservation by avoiding inbreeding depression, this article overviews both theoretical and practical importance of heterozygosity together with impacts of inbreeding depression and the merits and demerits of neutral molecular markers for measurements of both heterozygosity and inbreeding depression in the silkworm Bombyx mori. PMID:21521139

A review of the implications of heterozygosity and inbreeding on germplasm biodiversity and its conservation in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

PubMed

Jingade, A H; Vijayan, K; Somasundaram, P; Srivasababu, G K; Kamble, C K

2011-01-01

Abstract Silkworm genebanks assume paramount importance as the reservoirs of biodiversity and source of alleles that can be easily retrieved for genetic enhancement of popular breeds. More than 4000 Bombyx mori L (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) strains are currently available and these strains are maintained through continuous sibling mating. This repeated sibling mating makes the populations of each strain more homozygous, but leads to loss of unique and valuable genes through the process of inbreeding depression. Hence, it is essential to maintain a minimal degree of heterozygosity within the population of each silkworm strain, especially in the traditional geographic strains, to avoid such loss. As a result, accurate estimation of genetic diversity is becoming more important in silkworm genetic resources conservation. Application of molecular markers help estimate genetic diversity much more accurately than that of morphological traits. Since a minimal amount of heterozygosity in each silkworm strain is essential for better conservation by avoiding inbreeding depression, this article overviews both theoretical and practical importance of heterozygosity together with impacts of inbreeding depression and the merits and demerits of neutral molecular markers for measurements of both heterozygosity and inbreeding depression in the silkworm Bombyx mori.

Sexuality and sense of self in later life: Japanese men's and women's reflections on sex and aging.

PubMed

Moore, Katrina L

2010-06-01

The aim of this article is to provide a nuanced analysis of the transformation of sexuality that occurs with age. Drawing on several ethnographic narratives of married men and women over the age of 60 in Japan, this article provides insight into gender-specific experiences of marital sexuality, the impact of extra-marital sexual activity on marital relationships, and the development of "sibling-like" relationships as couples grow older. It also highlights the continuing importance of sexual desire in later life, especially to men's sense of self. This article contributes to the growing scholarship on the sexuality of older persons around the world and makes a case for the importance of the life history interview as a methodology for illuminating the complex relationship between gender, sexuality, and aging.

The impact of having siblings - analysis of "hygiene theory" of chronic diseases in patients with type 1 diabetes in population of the Łódz region Hygiene theory and type 1 diabetes.

PubMed

Żurawska-Kliś, Monika; Lesman, Jędrzej; Pietrzak, Iwona; Mianowska, Beata; Szadkowska, Agnieszka; Cypryk, Katarzyna

2015-01-01

In the recent years there has been a significant increase in the incidence of the type 1 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, numerous studies are underway to evaluate the possible factors underlying this trend. Some studies suggest that better sanitary conditions and lack of contact with microorganisms might be important, thus increasing the risk of disease in firstborns. Moreover, siblings could play an important role in the transmission of pathogens, which, by stimulating the immune system, may prevent the development of atopic and autoimmune diseases including such as type 1 diabetes. Current data, however, are still inconclusive. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of having siblings on the incidence of type 1 diabetes among children and adults. A group of 469 patients with type 1 diabetes was selected. The study population was composed of 245 adults and 224 youth patients. Information from Outpatient Diabetologic Departments database was gathered. Data such as age at the diagnosis of diabetes, sex of siblings, number and birth order were analyzed. In the studied population, 4.5% were only children, and 30.3% patients came from large families. In the group of type 1 diabetic patients 39.7% were firstborns and this proportion was comparable to the group of healthy subject. The highest proportion of firstborns was noted in the group that was diagnosed after 18 years of age (45,1%) compared to the group that was diagnosed between 10 and 14 (29,1%) (p<0.05). Type 1 diabetic patients that were not firstborns much more often had older siblings of the opposite sex than the same sex. he firstborns in the population of type 1 diabetes from the Łódz region did not outnumber the healthy subjects. Significantly higher proportion of firstborns in the group that was diagnosed after 18 years of age compared to the group that was diagnosed between 10 an 14 years was noted. © Polish Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology.

Feasibility and pilot study of the Pediatric Anesthesia NeuroDevelopment Assessment (PANDA) project.

PubMed

Sun, Lena S; Li, Guohua; DiMaggio, Charles J; Byrne, Mary W; Ing, Caleb; Miller, Tonya L K; Bellinger, David C; Han, Sena; McGowan, Francis X

2012-10-01

Animal studies have documented that exposure of the developing brain to commonly used anesthetic agents induces neurotoxicity and late abnormal neurobehavioral functions as adults. Results from clinical studies have all been analyzed using existing data sets, and these studies produced inconsistent results. To provide more definitive evidence to address the clinical relevance of anesthetic neurotoxicity in children, an interdisciplinary team of investigators designed and developed the Pediatric Anesthesia NeuroDevelopment Assessment (PANDA) project. We present pilot study results in 28 sibling pairs recruited and tested at the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and Children's Hospital of Boston (CHB) for the PANDA project. The PANDA project uses an ambidirectional cohort design. We performed prospective neuropsychological assessment in 28 exposed-unexposed sibling pairs from 6 to 11 years of age. The exposed siblings were ASA 1 or 2 and had received a single episode of anesthesia for inguinal hernia repair before the age of 36 months and the unexposed siblings had no anesthesia before the age of 36 months. All the sibling pairs were English speaking and were 36 weeks of gestational age or older. Each sibling pair underwent a direct testing using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) and the NEuroPSYchological Assessment, second edition (NEPSY II), and the parents completed questionnaires related to behavior using CBCL and Conners rating. Data are presented as means±SD. We conducted descriptive analyses of the demographic data. We compared both the exposed and the unexposed sibling groups on WASI and NEPSY II, and total and T scores from CBCL and Conners rating were analyzed as continuous data using the paired t test between the two groups. A P<0.05 was considered significant. After the Institutional Review Board approval for the study at both CUMC and CHB, the full PANDA study protocol was implemented to perform a pilot feasibility study. Our success rate was 96.7% in obtaining detailed medical and anesthesia records in our historical cohort. The scores for verbal IQ (exposed=106.1±16.3, unexposed=109.2±17.9), performance IQ (exposed=109.1±16.0, unexposed=113.9±15.9), and full IQ (exposed=108.2±14.0, unexposed=112.8±16.8) were comparable between the siblings. There were no differences between the two groups in T scores for any of the NEPSY II subdomains, CBCL, or Conners rating. An abstraction protocol with web-based electronic data capture forms also was developed in conjunction with the International Center for Health Outcomes and Innovation Research (InCHOIR). The pilot study provided useful information for feasibility to recruit the sample size and to obtain relevant clinical data. For the final study protocol, both the neuropsychological battery and the age range for testing were revised. Our results confirmed the feasibility of our study approach and yielded pilot data from neuropsychological testing.

GPS for QSP: A Summary of the ACoP6 Symposium on Quantitative Systems Pharmacology and a Stage for Near‐Term Efforts in the Field

PubMed Central

Musante, CJ; Abernethy, DR; Allerheiligen, SR; Lauffenburger, DA

2016-01-01

Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) is experiencing increased application in the drug discovery and development process. Like its older sibling, systems biology, the QSP field is comprised of a mix of established disciplines and methods, from molecular biology to engineering to pharmacometrics.1 As a result, there exist critical segments of the discipline that differ dramatically in approach and a need to bring these groups together toward a common goal. PMID:27639191

Cannon Reservoir Human Ecology Project. Volume 1. Euro-American Pioneer Settlement Systems in the Central Salt River Valley of Northeast Missouri.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

entry were facturing; " learned persons" in each household also are recorded for each of the 16 quarter- quarter sections in identified. It appears that...probably were unmarried adult siblings most frequent of which probably was composed of two of the head of the household, and/or older persons, generations...family" also have been noted in frontier forging of iron implements required a specialist-the northern Texas, where young adult males delayed mar- local

The use of behavior modification techniques to successfully manage the child dental patient.

PubMed

Barenie, J T; Ripa, L W

1977-02-01

Techniques of desensitization, modeling, and contingency management that can be used in the dental office for reducing anxiety and encouraging appropriate behavior in children are discussed. The "tell, show and do" approach is one desensitization technique easily applied in the private practice. Language should be at the child's level of understanding. An older sibling will frequently serve as an excellent model for a fearful child. Social reinforcers-a handshake, a smile, or praise-should be dispensed throughout dental treatment. Rewards should only follow desired behavior.

Can parents' concerns predict autism spectrum disorder? A prospective study of high-risk siblings from 6 to 36 months of age.

PubMed

Sacrey, Lori-Ann R; Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie; Bryson, Susan; Brian, Jessica; Smith, Isabel M; Roberts, Wendy; Szatmari, Peter; Roncadin, Caroline; Garon, Nancy; Novak, Christopher; Vaillancourt, Tracy; McCormick, Theresa; MacKinnon, Bonnie; Jilderda, Sanne; Armstrong, Vickie

2015-06-01

This prospective study characterized parents' concerns about infants at high risk for developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD; each with an older sibling with ASD) at multiple time points in the first 2 years, and assessed their relation to diagnostic outcome at 3 years. Parents of low-risk controls (LR) and high-risk infant siblings (HR) reported any concerns that they had regarding their children's development between 6 and 24 months of age regarding sleep, diet, sensory behavior, gross/fine motor skills, repetitive movements, communication, communication regression, social skills, play, and behavioral problems, using a parent concern form designed for this study. At 3 years of age, an independent, gold-standard diagnostic assessment for ASD was conducted for all participants. As predicted, parents of HR children who received an ASD diagnosis reported more concerns than parents of LR and HR children who did not have ASD. The total number of concerns predicted a subsequent diagnosis of ASD as early as 12 months within the HR group. Concerns regarding sensory behavior and motor development predicted a subsequent diagnosis of ASD as early as 6 months, whereas concerns about social communication and repetitive behaviors did not predict diagnosis of ASD until after 12 months. Parent-reported concerns can improve earlier recognition of ASD in HR children. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Early life exposures and the risk of adult glioma.

PubMed

Anic, Gabriella M; Madden, Melissa H; Sincich, Kelly; Thompson, Reid C; Nabors, L Burton; Olson, Jeffrey J; LaRocca, Renato V; Browning, James E; Pan, Edward; Egan, Kathleen M

2013-09-01

Exposure to common infections in early life may stimulate immune development and reduce the risk for developing cancer. Birth order and family size are proxies for the timing of exposure to childhood infections with several studies showing a reduced risk of glioma associated with a higher order of birth (and presumed younger age at infection). The aim of this study was to examine whether birth order, family size, and other early life exposures are associated with the risk of glioma in adults using data collected in a large clinic-based US case-control study including 889 glioma cases and 903 community controls. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on family structure, childhood exposures and other potential risk factors. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between early life factors and glioma risk. Persons having any siblings were at significantly lower risk for glioma when compared to those reporting no siblings (OR=0.64; 95% CI 0.44-0.93; p=0.020). Compared to first-borns, individuals with older siblings had a significantly lower risk (OR=0.75; 95% CI 0.61-0.91; p=0.004). Birth weight, having been breast fed in infancy, and season of birth were not associated with glioma risk. The current findings lend further support to a growing body of evidence that early exposure to childhood infections reduces the risk of glioma onset in children and adults.

Sibling relationship quality and psychosocial outcomes among adult siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder and individuals with intellectual disability without autism.

PubMed

Tomeny, Theodore S; Ellis, Brandi M; Rankin, James A; Barry, Tammy D

2017-03-01

Research on adult typically-developing (TD) siblings of individuals with developmental disabilities remains limited, and outcomes for TD siblings appear to vary widely. For the current study, 82 adult TD siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or intellectual disability (ID) completed questionnaires about themselves and their affected sibling. Results of this study suggest that the attitudes possessed by adult TD siblings are important to consider when understanding adult TD sibling outcomes. Specifically, data indicate that higher levels of positive sibling relationship attitudes are related to TD siblings providing more aid/support to their sibling with a disability, along with having higher levels of general life satisfaction, and negatively related to levels of stress and depressive symptoms among TD siblings. Consistent with previous child research, siblings of individuals with ASD reported fewer positive sibling relationship attitudes compared to siblings of individuals with ID. Finally, group membership related to aid provided, depressive symptoms, and stress of TD siblings indirectly through sibling relationship attitudes. Overall, results indicate that sibling relationship attitudes may be particularly important to consider when conceptualizing sibling relationships when one sibling has an intellectual or developmental disability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An initial look at sibling reports on children's behavior: comparisons with children's self-reports and relations with siblings' self-reports and sibling relationships.

PubMed

Epkins, C C; Dedmon, A M

1999-10-01

The authors examined siblings' reports of children's depression, anxiety, and aggression, and their reports of the sibling relationship, and compared them with children's self-reports. In two samples, including 169 sibling pairs (age M = 9.98 years, SD = 1.51), no significant differences emerged in the levels of depression and anxiety found in siblings' reports of children's behavior and children's self-reports, although siblings reported children to have significantly higher levels of aggression than the children self-reported. Age, the difference in ages between siblings, sex, and sibling sex were not related to siblings' reports of children's behavior. The relations between children's and siblings' reports of children's behavior were significant, yet moderate (average r = .22). Both siblings' self-reports of internalizing behavior and their perceptions of aspects of the sibling relationship (affection, rivalry, hostility, and satisfaction with the sibling relationship) explained significant, and unique, variance in siblings' reports of children's internalizing behavior. The findings for aggressive behavior were similar, although siblings' perceptions of affection in the sibling relationship were not significantly related to their reports of children's aggression. The potential uses and benefits of sibling reports of children's behavior, and sibling and family relationships, are discussed.

Behavioral Risk Assessment From Newborn to Preschool: The Value of Older Siblings.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Michelle; Binnoon-Erez, Noam; Plamondon, Andre; Jenkins, Jennifer M

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to examine the plausibility of a risk prediction tool in infancy for school-entry emotional and behavioral problems. Familial aggregation has been operationalized previously as maternal psychopathology. The hypothesis was tested that older sibling (OS) psychopathology, as an indicator of familial aggregation, would enable a fair level of risk prediction compared with previous research, when combined with traditional risk factors. By using a longitudinal design, data on child and family risk factors were collected on 323 infants ( M = 2.00 months), all of whom had OSs. Infants were followed up 4.5 years later when both parents provided ratings of emotional and behavioral problems. Multiple regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were conducted for emotional, conduct, and attention problems separately. The emotional and behavioral problems of OSs at infancy were the strongest predictors of the same problems in target children 4.5 years later. Other risk factors, including maternal depression and socioeconomic status provided extra, but weak, significant prediction. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for emotional and conduct problems yielded a fair prediction. This study is the first to offer a fair degree of prediction from risk factors at birth to school-entry emotional and behavioral problems. This degree of prediction was achieved with the inclusion of the emotional and behavioral problems of OSs (thus limiting generalizability to children with OSs). The inclusion of OS psychopathology raises risk prediction to a fair level. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Anxiety symptoms in regular school students in Mumbai City, India.

PubMed

Karande, S; Gogtay, N J; Bala, N; Sant, H; Thakkar, A; Sholapurwala, R

2018-01-01

Anxiety disorders usually remain undiagnosed in school students owing to the internalized nature of their symptoms. The present study was conducted with the primary objective of evaluating the prevalence of anxiety symptoms in school students in Mumbai. A secondary objective was to assess the impact of variables (age, gender, presence of sibling, and type of school curriculum or school) on anxiety symptoms. Study cases (8-15 year olds) were recruited by nonprobability sampling from four English-medium schools. Anxiety was measured using Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS)-child self-report questionnaire. T-scores (total and subscales) were calculated and cut-off scores of> 60 were considered as significant. Symptoms of overall anxiety were present in 10.8% (53/493) of the students. Older students (12-15 year olds) had greater odds of having overall anxiety symptoms (crude OR = 4.36, 95% CI 2.27 to 8.39, P < 0.0001). Symptoms of all anxiety disorders were present in the 493 participants, with obsessions/compulsions and fears of physical injury being the most common (in 29.6% and 27.2%, respectively). Older students and boys had greater odds of having obsessions/compulsions (crude OR = 2.32, 95% CI 1.56 to 3.44, P < 0.0001; and crude OR = 1.54, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.27, P= 0.035, respectively]. Students with sibling (s) had greater odds of having fears of physical injury (crude OR = 0.48, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.78, P= 0.003). There is an urgent need to screen school students in our city for anxiety disorders.

Caregiver Stress and Mental Health: Impact of Caregiving Relationship and Gender.

PubMed

Penning, Margaret J; Wu, Zheng

2016-12-01

This study compared the stress and mental health implications of caregiving to a spouse, children, siblings, other family members, friends, and others among middle-aged and older male and female caregivers. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted using 2007 Canadian General Social Survey data collected on a subsample of caregivers aged 45 and older. Our analyses revealed that for women, caring for a spouse or children was more stressful and detrimental to mental health than caring for parents or others. Similarly, for men, caring for a spouse and for children was more stressful than caring for others but did not adversely affect overall mental health. The findings suggest that spousal and child caregiving tend to be more rather than less stressful and detrimental to middle-aged and older caregivers' mental health than is caregiving to most others but that gender differences need to be considered. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Mild clinical phenotype of Kindler syndrome associated with late diagnosis and skin cancer.

PubMed

Has, C; Burger, B; Volz, A; Kohlhase, J; Bruckner-Tuderman, L; Itin, P

2010-01-01

Kindler syndrome (KS) is a heritable skin disorder with a complex phenotype consisting of congenital skin blistering, photosensitivity, progressive generalized poikiloderma and extensive skin atrophy. Here we describe 2 siblings with KS, who are, to the best of our knowledge, the oldest patients reported so far in the literature. The diagnosis was established in their seventh and eighth decades of life, and confirmed by mutation analysis. Both patients were homozygous for the recurrent FERMT1 mutation, c.328C→T, p.R110X. Because of a relatively mild course of the disease, mucosal membranes in the eyes and oesophagus being predominantly affected in recent years, they had been treated under other diagnoses, such as scleroderma. Cutaneous precancerous lesions and epithelial skin cancer arose in both siblings after the age of 50 years and were treated in an early stage. Taken together, we describe the natural course of KS, the morphological abnormalities occurring in the skin of older KS patients, we discuss the differential diagnosis and the association between KS and squamous cell carcinoma. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Mothers’ Parenting and Child Sex Differences in Behavior Problems among African American Preschoolers

PubMed Central

Barnett, Melissa A.; Scaramella, Laura V.

2014-01-01

Sex differences in rates of behavior problems, including internalizing and externalizing problems, begin to emerge during early childhood. These sex differences may occur because mothers parent their sons and daughters differently, or because the impact of parenting on behavior problems is different for boys and girls. This study examines whether associations between observations of mothers’ positive and negative parenting and children’s externalizing and internalizing behaviors vary as a function of child sex. The sample consists of 137 African American, low-income families with one sibling approximately two-years-old and the closest aged older sibling who is approximately four-years-old. Results from fixed-effects within-family models indicate clear sex differences regardless of child age. Mothers were observed to use less positive parenting with sons than with daughters. Higher levels of observed negative parenting were linked to more externalizing behaviors for boys, while lower levels of positive parenting were linked to more externalizing behaviors for girls. No child sex differences emerged regarding associations between observed positive and negative parenting and internalizing behaviors. PMID:23937420

"Convivência" groups: building active and healthy communities of older adults in Brazil.

PubMed

Benedetti, Tânia R Bertoldo; d'Orsi, Eleonora; Schwingel, Andiara; Chodzko-Zajko, Wojtek J

2012-01-01

In old age, social groups can be a crucial component for health and well-being. In 2009-2010, a follow-up survey was carried out in Florianópolis, Brazil to understand the impact of a variety of programs established since 2002 that were designed to enhance social activities among the older adult population. This study employed two surveys within the population of older adults in Florianópolis. The first survey interviewed a total of 875 older adults in 2002, and the second survey involved 1,705 older adults between 2009 and 2010. By 2010, many new programs were offered in the community and the enrollment of older adults in social programs followed similar trends. "Convivência" groups stood out as extremely popular social groups among this population. This paper discusses some of the potential outcomes associated with participation in "convivência" groups.

“Convivência” Groups: Building Active and Healthy Communities of Older Adults in Brazil

PubMed Central

Benedetti, Tânia R. Bertoldo; d'Orsi, Eleonora; Schwingel, Andiara; Chodzko-Zajko, Wojtek J.

2012-01-01

In old age, social groups can be a crucial component for health and well-being. In 2009-2010, a follow-up survey was carried out in Florianópolis, Brazil to understand the impact of a variety of programs established since 2002 that were designed to enhance social activities among the older adult population. This study employed two surveys within the population of older adults in Florianópolis. The first survey interviewed a total of 875 older adults in 2002, and the second survey involved 1,705 older adults between 2009 and 2010. By 2010, many new programs were offered in the community and the enrollment of older adults in social programs followed similar trends. “Convivência” groups stood out as extremely popular social groups among this population. This paper discusses some of the potential outcomes associated with participation in “convivência” groups. PMID:22830022

Profiles of sibling bullying.

PubMed

Skinner, Jessica A; Kowalski, Robin M

2013-05-01

Considerable research has been done on childhood bullying, including its antecedents and consequences. Yet, with all of the attention on bullying, particularly school bullying, sibling bullying has been vastly overlooked. Sibling bullying is a type of violence prevalent in the lives of most children, but little is known about the phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to profile sibling bullying by examining prevalence rates, the extent to which siblings perceive sibling bullying to be normative, and victim-perpetrator differences in perceptions of sibling bullying. Twenty-seven sibling pairs who wrote stories about personal experiences of sibling bullying and victimization completed questionnaires about these experiences and responded to their sibling partners' stories. Of the siblings surveyed, 78% reported being bullied by their sibling and 85% reported bullying their sibling during their childhood. This is far greater than published statistics on peer bullying. Not surprisingly, victims viewed sibling bullying more negatively than perpetrators. Sadly, there was a norm of acceptance of sibling bullying among most of the sibling pairs. Practical implications are discussed.

The effects of sibling relationships on social adjustment among Japanese twins compared with singletons.

PubMed

Nozaki, Mari; Fujisawa, Keiko K; Ando, Juko; Hasegawa, Toshikazu

2012-12-01

This study examined the link between sibling relationships and children's social adjustment by comparing twin siblings and siblings with different ages (singleton siblings}, and clarified the role of reciprocity in sibling relationships on children's social development. Mothers of 58 monozygotic twin pairs, 48 dizygotic twin pairs, and 86 singleton sibling pairs reported their children's sibling relationships and social adjustment.This study showed that the effects of sibling relationships on the prosocial behaviors and conduct problems of each child are stronger for twins than for singleton siblings. Moreover, positivity toward one's sibling increased peer problems only among monozygotic twins. The opposite tendency was present among dizygotic twins and singleton siblings. This study suggests the importance for children's social development of having many interactions with siblings and establishing reciprocity in sibling relationships. Moreover, our results suggest that the quality of sibling relationships among monozygotic twins may be different from those among dizygotic twins and singleton siblings.

Longitudinal characterization of two siblings with frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 associated with the S305N tau mutation.

PubMed

Boeve, Bradley F; Tremont-Lukats, Ivo W; Waclawik, Andrew J; Murrell, Jill R; Hermann, Bruce; Jack, Clifford R; Shiung, Maria M; Smith, Glenn E; Nair, Anil R; Lindor, Noralane; Koppikar, Vinaya; Ghetti, Bernardino

2005-04-01

The background to this study began with the reporting of two Japanese kindreds with the S305N tau mutation. Although the pathological findings in the autopsied cases were well characterized, only limited ante-mortem data were presented. In this study, longitudinal characterization was carried out in two siblings of European ancestry found to have frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17) through comprehensive neurobehavioural examinations and other scales at approximate 6-month intervals. Scales included the Mini-Mental State Examination, Short Test of Mental Status, modified motor subtest of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, detailed neuropsychological testing, and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Changes in whole-brain volume and ventricular volume were measured from serial MRI studies. All members of the kindred underwent molecular genetic analyses to elucidate the mechanism of inheritance. The missense mutation in tau, S305N, was detected in the proband (onset age 30), who has undergone serial evaluations for almost 4 years. Her older sister (onset age 36) was subsequently found to have the same mutation, and has undergone serial evaluations for 2 years. This mutation is absent in both parents and the only other sibling, and non-paternity was excluded by additional analyses. The siblings have exhibited cognitive and behavioural features typical of FTDP-17, which have proved challenging to manage despite aggressive pharmacological and behavioural therapies. The proband's sister has demonstrated an atypical profile of impairment on neuropsychological testing. Both siblings have developed striking atrophy of the anterior part of temporal lobes and moderate atrophy of the dorsolateral and orbitofrontal cortical regions, which in both cases is relatively symmetrical. The annualized changes in whole-brain volume and ventricular volume, respectively, were -35.2 ml/year (3.23% decrease per year) and +20.75 ml/year (16.93% increase per year) for the proband, and -30.75 ml/year (2.77% decrease per year) and +5.01 ml/year (3.11% increase per year) for the proband's sister. In conclusion, the mutation in these siblings may have arisen during oogenesis in the mother and probably represents germline mosaicism. Although both patients have exhibited the typical cognitive and behavioural features of FTDP-17, one patient is exhibiting an atypical neuropsychological profile. Also, despite a similar topographic pattern of progressive atrophy on MRI, the rates of change in whole-brain volume and ventricular volume between the two patients are quite different. These findings have implications for future drug trial development in FTDP-17 and the sporadic tauopathies.

Type of insurance and use of preventive health services among older adults in Mexico

PubMed Central

Rivera-Hernandez, Maricruz; Galarraga, Omar

2016-01-01

Objectives The main purpose of this paper was to assess the differences between Seguro Popular (SP) and employer-based health insurance in the use of preventive services, including screening tests for diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension, cervical cancer and prostate cancer among older adults at more than a decade of health care reform in Mexico. Methods Logistic regression models were used with data from the Mexican Health and Nutrition Survey 2012. Results After adjusting for other factors influencing preventive service utilization, SP enrollees were more likely to use screening tests for diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension and cervical cancer than the uninsured; however, those in employment-based and private insurances had higher odds of using preventive care for most of these services, except Pap smears. Discussion Despite all the evidence that suggests that Seguro Popular has increased access to health insurance for the poor, inequalities in healthcare access still exist in Mexico. PMID:25804897

Introduction of peanuts in younger siblings of children with peanut allergy: a prospective, double-blinded assessment of risk, of diagnostic tests, and an analysis of patient preferences.

PubMed

Bégin, P; Graham, F; Killer, K; Paradis, J; Paradis, L; Des Roches, A

2016-12-01

The prevalence of peanut allergy in younger siblings of children with peanut allergy has been reported between 7% and 8.5%, but the anaphylactic risk at the time of introduction is currently unknown, which limits our ability to best counsel parents on this issue. To determine the risk of anaphylaxis and working parameters of allergy testing in this context. One hundred and fifty-four peanut-naïve younger siblings of peanut-allergic children underwent double-blinded skin testing, followed by parent-led peanut introduction. Questionnaires were dispensed to parents to investigate preferences with regard to peanut introduction in this subgroup. Eight participants (5.2%) presented unequivocal IgE-mediated reactions to peanut upon introduction, including five anaphylaxes. These participants were significantly older compared to the rest of the cohort (median 4.0 vs 1.9 years, P = 0.04). The negative predictive value of skin prick test with peanut extract and peanut butter and of specific IgE was 99%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. Six peanut-tolerant participants had positive peanut allergy tests. The option of introducing at home without prior skin testing was associated with high levels of anxiety (median 8.4 on 10-point Likert scale) when compared to supervised introduction (median 3.8, P < 0.0001) or home introduction after negative skin test (median 4.3, P < 0.0001). There is an increased risk of anaphylaxis upon peanut introduction in siblings of children with peanut allergy, and parents are reluctant to introduce at home without testing. Allergy testing prior to introduction is negative in over 90% of cases and carries a high negative predictive value. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Genetic heterogeneity and consanguinity lead to a “double hit”: Homozygous mutations of MYO7A and PDE6B in a patient with retinitis pigmentosa

PubMed Central

Goldenberg-Cohen, Nitza; Banin, Eyal; Zalzstein, Yael; Cohen, Ben; Rotenstreich, Ygal; Rizel, Leah; Basel-Vanagaite, Lina

2013-01-01

Purpose Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the most genetically heterogeneous disorder in humans, actually represents a group of pigmentary retinopathies characterized by night blindness followed by visual-field loss. RP can appear as either syndromic or nonsyndromic. One of the most common forms of syndromic RP is Usher syndrome, characterized by the combination of RP, hearing loss, and vestibular dysfunction. Methods The underlying cause of the appearance of syndromic and nonsyndromic RP in three siblings from a consanguineous Israeli Muslim Arab family was studied with whole-genome homozygosity mapping followed by whole exome sequencing. Results The family was found to segregate novel mutations of two different genes: myosin VIIA (MYO7A), which causes type 1 Usher syndrome, and phosphodiesterase 6B, cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific, rod, beta (PDE6B), which causes nonsyndromic RP. One affected child was homozygous for both mutations. Since the retinal phenotype seen in this patient results from overlapping pathologies, one might expect to find severe retinal degeneration. Indeed, he was diagnosed with RP based on an abnormal electroretinogram (ERG) at a young age (9 months). However, this early diagnosis may be biased, as two of his older siblings had already been diagnosed, leading to increased awareness. At the age of 32 months, he had relatively good vision with normal visual fields. Further testing of visual function and structure at different ages in the three siblings is needed to determine whether the two RP-causing genes mutated in this youngest sibling confer increased disease severity. Conclusions This report further supports the genetic heterogeneity of RP, and demonstrates how consanguinity could increase intrafamilial clustering of multiple hereditary diseases. Moreover, this report provides a unique opportunity to study the clinical implications of the coexistence of pathogenic mutations in two RP-causative genes in a human patient. PMID:23882135

Genetic heterogeneity and consanguinity lead to a "double hit": homozygous mutations of MYO7A and PDE6B in a patient with retinitis pigmentosa.

PubMed

Goldenberg-Cohen, Nitza; Banin, Eyal; Zalzstein, Yael; Cohen, Ben; Rotenstreich, Ygal; Rizel, Leah; Basel-Vanagaite, Lina; Ben-Yosef, Tamar

2013-01-01

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the most genetically heterogeneous disorder in humans, actually represents a group of pigmentary retinopathies characterized by night blindness followed by visual-field loss. RP can appear as either syndromic or nonsyndromic. One of the most common forms of syndromic RP is Usher syndrome, characterized by the combination of RP, hearing loss, and vestibular dysfunction. The underlying cause of the appearance of syndromic and nonsyndromic RP in three siblings from a consanguineous Israeli Muslim Arab family was studied with whole-genome homozygosity mapping followed by whole exome sequencing. THE FAMILY WAS FOUND TO SEGREGATE NOVEL MUTATIONS OF TWO DIFFERENT GENES: myosin VIIA (MYO7A), which causes type 1 Usher syndrome, and phosphodiesterase 6B, cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific, rod, beta (PDE6B), which causes nonsyndromic RP. One affected child was homozygous for both mutations. Since the retinal phenotype seen in this patient results from overlapping pathologies, one might expect to find severe retinal degeneration. Indeed, he was diagnosed with RP based on an abnormal electroretinogram (ERG) at a young age (9 months). However, this early diagnosis may be biased, as two of his older siblings had already been diagnosed, leading to increased awareness. At the age of 32 months, he had relatively good vision with normal visual fields. Further testing of visual function and structure at different ages in the three siblings is needed to determine whether the two RP-causing genes mutated in this youngest sibling confer increased disease severity. This report further supports the genetic heterogeneity of RP, and demonstrates how consanguinity could increase intrafamilial clustering of multiple hereditary diseases. Moreover, this report provides a unique opportunity to study the clinical implications of the coexistence of pathogenic mutations in two RP-causative genes in a human patient.

The Influence of Older Age Groups to Sustainable Product Design Research of Urban Public Facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen-juan, Zhang; Hou-peng, Song

2017-01-01

Through summarize the status quo of public facilities design to older age groups in China and a variety of factors what influence on them, the essay, from different perspective, is designed to put forward basic principle to sustainable design of public facilities for the aged in the city, and thus further promote and popularize the necessity of sustainable design applications in the future design of public facilities for elderly people.

Congenital yellow nail syndrome: a case report and its relationship to nonimmune fetal hydrops.

PubMed

Nanda, Arti; Al-Essa, Fahad H; El-Shafei, Wael M; Alsaleh, Qasem A

2010-01-01

Yellow nail syndrome (YNS) is an uncommon disorder characterized by a triad of nail dystrophy, lymphedema, and pleural effusion. It is rare in children and congenital occurrence of YNS has been very rarely described. We report a 2-year-old Arab boy having congenital yellow nail syndrome with mild facial dysmorphism and bilateral conjunctival pigmentation born to consanguineous parents. One of his older siblings had died of nonimmune fetal hydrops (NIFH). The case supports the genetic basis of yellow nail syndrome with a possible relationship to nonimmune fetal hydrops. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

SIBLING CONFLICTS IN FULL- AND HALF-SIBLING HOUSEHOLDS IN THE UK.

PubMed

Tanskanen, Antti O; Danielsbacka, Mirkka; Jokela, Markus; Rotkirch, Anna

2017-01-01

Sibling relations are by nature ambivalent with high levels of both altruistic helping and competition. Higher relatedness is often assumed to reduce the occurrence of conflicts between siblings, but evidence of this has been scarce and mixed. Siblings typically compete over resources and parental attention, and parental constellations vary with sibship types. Since full-siblings compete over the same two biological parents, while half-siblings have only one shared biological parent and often a higher number of parents overall, it is hypothesized that conflicts are more common between full- than half-siblings. This study tested this assumption using the British Millennium Cohort Study (n=7527 children at age 11). Conflicts were measured as children's reports of how much siblings picked on and hurt each other. Households with full-siblings only, maternal half-siblings only, and both full- and maternal half-siblings were compared. The results show that children who were living with only their full-siblings were more likely to experience sibling conflicts compared with children living with their maternal half-siblings only. This was the case also after controlling for several potentially confounding variables. The results suggest that differential access to parental resources of available biological and step-parents may explain the higher amount of sibling conflict between full- compared with maternal half-siblings.

What makes siblings different? The development of sibling differences in academic achievement and interests.

PubMed

Jensen, Alexander C; McHale, Susan M

2015-06-01

To illuminate processes that contribute to the development of sibling differences, this study examined cross-lagged links between parents' beliefs about sibling differences in academic ability and differences between siblings' grade point averages (GPAs), and cross-lagged links between differences in siblings' GPAs and sibling differences in academic interests. Data were collected from mothers, fathers, firstborn youth (M age at Time 1 = 15.71, SD = 1.07), and secondborn youth (M age at Time 1 = 13.18, SD = 1.29) from 388 European American families on 3 annual occasions. Findings revealed that, after controlling for siblings' average grades and prior differences in performance, parents' beliefs about sibling differences in academic ability predicted differences in performance such that youth rated by parents as relatively more competent than their sibling earned relatively higher grades the following year. Siblings' relative school performance, however, did not predict parents' beliefs about differences between siblings' competencies. Further, after controlling for average interests and grades, sibling differences in GPA predicted differences in siblings' interests such that youth who had better grades than their siblings reported relatively stronger academic interests the following year. Differences in interest, however, did not predict sibling differences in GPA. Findings are discussed in terms the role of sibling dynamics in family socialization. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Child, parent and family factors as predictors of adjustment for siblings of children with a disability.

PubMed

Giallo, R; Gavidia-Payne, S

2006-12-01

Siblings adjust to having a brother or sister with a disability in diverse ways. This study investigated a range of child, parent and family factors as predictors of sibling adjustment outcomes. Forty-nine siblings (aged 7-16 years) and parents provided information about (1) sibling daily hassles and uplifts; (2) sibling coping; (3) parent stress; (4) parenting; and (5) family resilience. Multiple regression techniques were used. It was found that parent and family factors were stronger predictors of sibling adjustment difficulties than siblings' own experiences of stress and coping. Specifically, socio-economic status, past attendance at a sibling support group, parent stress, family time and routines, family problem-solving and communication, and family hardiness-predicted sibling adjustment difficulties. Finally, siblings' perceived intensity of daily uplifts significantly predicted sibling prosocial behaviour. The results revealed that the family level of risk and resilience factors were better predictors of sibling adjustment than siblings' own experiences of stress and coping resources, highlighting the importance of familial and parental contributions to the sibling adjustment process. The implications of these results for the design of interventions and supports for siblings are discussed.

Interpretations of smoking in film by older teenagers.

PubMed

McCool, Judith P; Cameron, Linda D; Petrie, Keith J

2003-03-01

Research testifies that images of tobacco use in popular films are highly pervasive and typically glamorised. There are concerns that these images may promote motivations to smoke in adolescents, but little is known about how these images are interpreted by members of this age group. A qualitative study was conducted to explore how older teenagers interpret and decode smoking imagery in film. This study builds on earlier work with a younger age group (12 and 13 years) to explore how various interpretations of smoking imagery shape and support common understandings about smoking among older teenagers. Data were collected through focus groups. Eighty-eight 16 and 17 year old students were interviewed at school. Participants discussed their recollections of and responses to recently viewed films. Older teens were receptive to smoking imagery when it was used in a credible manner to portray an emotional state, sub-culture affiliation, and lifestyle. Experience as a smoker appeared to inflate the credibility of realistic smoking images, particularly those presented in gritty realism/drama film. Older teens perceived realistic images, as opposed to stereotypical images, as a salient reference to their own lives. Stereotypical images were also readily recalled and appeared to perform an important role in supporting misconceptions about smoking and contributing to popular ideologies about tobacco use. Stereotypical images presented in comedy and action genre also serve to present paradoxical and contradictory messages about tobacco use. In particular, participants recalled tobacco use in film as associated with stress and anxiety, drug use, and seduction. Film images of tobacco use in specific contexts appear to hold specific and significant meanings for older teens. Realistic images offered salient representations of the perceived reality of smoking for this group. Pervasive and credible smoking scenes in film may offer support and reassurance to older teens who currently smoke or hold ambivalent views about smoking. Consistent with younger adolescents, older teens presented a predominantly nonchalant response to smoking imagery in film, which is a powerful indicator of the pervasiveness and acceptability of smoking in general. In contrast with younger adolescent, older teens tend to draw upon their own experience with tobacco use when interpreting smoking images in film.

Bullying among Siblings: The Role of Personality and Relational Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menesini, Ersilia; Camodeca, Marina; Nocentini, Annalaura

2010-01-01

This study aimed to investigate: (1) the influence of gender, sibling age, and sibling gender on sibling bullying and victimization; (2) the links between personality characteristics, quality of the sibling relationship, and sibling bullying/victimization; (3) the association between sibling and school bullying/victimization, and the direct and…

Sibling eating behaviours and parental feeding practices with siblings: similar or different?

PubMed

Berge, Jerica M; Tate, Allan D; Trofholz, Amanda; Conger, Katherine; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

2016-09-01

Little is known about whether siblings have similar or different eating behaviours or whether parents tailor their feeding practices to different siblings. The main objectives of the present study were to examine similarities and differences in child eating behaviours and parental feeding practices with siblings and to determine whether child eating behaviours and parental feeding practices differ depending on sibling concordant (i.e. both siblings overweight or healthy weight) or discordant (i.e. one sibling overweight and one sibling healthy weight) weight status. Cross-sectional, mixed-methods study. In-home visits were conducted by research staff. Surveys were conducted with parents and anthropometry was collected on parents and siblings. Children (n 88) aged 6-12 years (mean age 9 (sd 2) years), their parents (mean age 34 (sd 7) years) and near-age siblings (mean age 9 (sd 4) years) from diverse racial/ethnic and low-income households participated. Results indicated that siblings with higher BMI engaged in higher levels of emotional eating compared with siblings with lower BMI. Additionally, results indicated that when families had sibling dyads discordant on weight status, the sibling who was overweight had higher food enjoyment and lower levels of food satiety. Additionally, within siblings with discordant weight status, parents were more likely to use restrictive feeding practices with the overweight sibling and pressure-to-eat and encouragement-to-eat feeding practices with the healthy-weight sibling. Family-based childhood obesity interventions may need to assess for sibling weight status when researching the home environment and intervene with parents to avoid using restriction or pressure-to-eat feeding practices when siblings are discordant on weight status.

Sibling Eating Behaviors and Parental Feeding Practices with Siblings: Similar or Different?

PubMed Central

Berge, Jerica M.; Tate, Allan D.; Trofholz, Amanda; Conger, Katherine; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

2018-01-01

Objective Little is known about whether siblings have similar or different eating behaviors or whether parents tailor their feeding practices to different siblings. The main objectives of this study were to examine similarities and differences in child eating behaviors and parental feeding practices with siblings and to examine whether child eating behaviors or parental feeding practices differ depending on sibling concordant (i.e., both siblings overweight or healthy weight) or discordant (i.e., one sibling overweight and one sibling healthy weight) weight status. Design Cross-sectional, mixed-methods study. Setting In-home visits were conducted by research staff. Surveys were conducted with parents and anthropometry was collected on parents and siblings. Subjects Children (n=88) ages 6–12 years (mean=9; sd=2), their parents (mean age=34; sd=7), and near-age siblings (mean age=9; sd=4) from diverse racial/ethnic and low-income households participated in the current study. Results Results indicated that siblings with higher body mass index engaged in higher levels of emotional eating compared to siblings with lower BMI. Additionally, results indicated that when families had sibling dyads who were discordant on weight status, the sibling who was overweight had higher food enjoyment and lower levels of food satiety. Additionally, within discordant weight status siblings, parents were more likely to use restrictive feeding practices with siblings who were overweight and pressure-to-eat and encouragement-to-eat feeding practices with siblings who were healthy weight. Conclusions Family-based childhood obesity interventions may need to assess for sibling weight status when researching the home environment and intervene with parents to avoid using restriction or pressure-to-eat feeding practices when siblings are discordant on weight status. PMID:27122059

The association between unequal parental treatment and the sibling relationship in Finland: The difference between full and half-siblings.

PubMed

Danielsbacka, Mirkka; Tanskanen, Antti O

2015-06-24

Studies have shown that unequal parental treatment is associated with relationship quality between siblings. However, it is unclear how it affects the relationship between full and half-siblings. Using data from the Generational Transmissions in Finland project (n = 1,537 younger adults), we study whether those who have half-siblings perceive more unequal parental treatment than those who have full siblings only. In addition, we study how unequal parental treatment is associated with sibling relationship between full, maternal, and paternal half-siblings. First, we found that individuals who have maternal and/or paternal half-siblings are more likely to have encountered unequal maternal treatment than individuals who have full siblings only. Second, we found that unequal parental treatment impairs full as well as maternal and paternal half-sibling relations in adulthood. Third, unequal parental treatment mediates the effect of genetic relatedness on sibling relations in the case of maternal half-siblings, but not in the case of paternal half-siblings. After controlling for unequal parental treatment, the quality of maternal half-sibling relationships did not differ from that of full siblings, whereas the quality of paternal half-sibling relationships still did. Fourth, the qualitative comments (n = 206) from the same population reveal that unequal parental treatment presents itself several ways, such as differential financial, emotional, or practical support.

Sibling Relationships: Parent-Child Agreement and Contributions of Siblings With and Without ASD.

PubMed

Braconnier, Megan L; Coffman, Marika C; Kelso, Nicole; Wolf, Julie M

2018-05-01

Research on the experiences of siblings of individuals with ASD and the quality of their sibling relationships has yielded mixed results. The present study examined the significance of parent- versus child-report of both positive and negative behaviors exhibited by siblings and their brothers and sisters with ASD within sibling dyads. Findings indicated that siblings were more positive in their assessment of the sibling relationship than were their parents. Siblings exhibited more positive behaviors within the sibling relationship than did their brothers and sisters with ASD, and were recipients of aggression. These findings are consistent with prior research suggesting that siblings tend to take on a caretaking role, and point to important targets for intervention.

Applied behavior analysis programs for autism: sibling psychosocial adjustment during and following intervention use.

PubMed

Cebula, Katie R

2012-05-01

Psychosocial adjustment in siblings of children with autism whose families were using a home-based, applied behavior analysis (ABA) program was compared to that of siblings in families who were not using any intensive autism intervention. Data gathered from parents, siblings and teachers indicated that siblings in ABA families experienced neither significant drawbacks nor benefits in terms of their behavioral adjustment, sibling relationship quality and self-concept compared to control group siblings, either during or following intervention use. Parents and siblings perceived improvements in sibling interaction since the outset of ABA, with parents somewhat more positive in their views than were siblings. Social support was associated with better sibling outcomes in all groups. Implications for supporting families using ABA are considered.

Self-Representations in Early Adolescence: Variations in Sibling Similarity by Sex Composition and Sibling Relationship Qualities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gamble, Wendy C.; Card, Noel A.; Yu, Jeong Jin

2010-01-01

Self-representations play an important role in adolescent development. This study compared self-representations for siblings and explored whether sibling relationship characteristics are associated with similarities or differences in sibling self-concepts. We examined self-representations of 438 adolescent sibling dyads (M age younger sibling =…

Structural Features of Sibling Dyads and Attitudes toward Sibling Relationships in Young Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riggio, Heidi R.

2006-01-01

This study examined sibling-dyad structural variables (sex composition, age difference, current coresidence, position adjacency, family size, respondent and/or sibling ordinal position) and attitudes toward adult sibling relationships. A sample of 1,053 young adults (M age = 22.1 years) described one sibling using the Lifespan Sibling Relationship…

[Relationship between phenotype and genotype of ABCB11 deficiency in siblings and literature review].

PubMed

Peng, X R; Lu, Y; Zhang, M H; Li, L T; Xie, X B; Gong, J Y; Wang, J S

2018-06-02

Objective: To explore the relationship between genotype and phenotype of ABCB11 deficiency. Methods: Clinical data of two siblings with ABCB11 deficiency were retrospectively analyzed. Related literature from PubMed, CNKI and Wangfang databases was reviewed to date (up to August 2017) with 'ABCB11 gene' or 'bile salt export pump', 'cholestasis' and 'child' as key words. Results: The patients were siblings. Both of them presented as jaundice, pruritus and hepatosplenomegaly since 3 days after birth. Significant laboratory findings on admission of the older sister included high total bilirubin, 170 µmol/L;conjugated bilirubin, 115.8 µmol/L;alanine aminotransferase, 168 U/L;total bile acid 186.3 µmol/L and normal gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. While routine laboratory data of the younger brother were as follows: total bilirubin, 148.8 µmol/L;conjugated bilirubin, 96.3 µmol/L;alanine aminotransferase, 232.8 U/L;total bile acid 226 µmol/L, and normal gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase.Both received ursodeoxycholic acid and fat-soluble vitamins. Liver pathology of the younger brother showed giant hepatocytes with ballooning degeneration, focal necrosis and intrahepatic cholestasis. Both the patients harbor the same compound heterozygous mutations in ABCB11 gene, c.145C>T (p.Q49X) and c.1510G>A (p.E504K). The sister is 9 years old now, with normal liver function. Jaundice faded around 3 months after birth, pruritus relieved at age 5, and medications was stopped since then. The brother progressed to liver failure after an operation on perianal abscess when he was 8-month-old, and received living-related liver transplantation when he was 9 month and 20 days old (from his mother). Now he is 1 year and 5 months old, with normal liver function. Both are under our follow-up. Literature review revealed 18 ABCB11 deficiency patients from 7 families who had apparent different prognoses, within each family the siblings had the same ABCB11 gene mutation. Seven cases relieved after ursodeoxycholic acid therapy and/or partial external biliary diversion, 5 received orthotopic liver transplantation, 2 developed hepatocellular carcinoma and 4 cases died in childhood. Conclusions: The clinical manifestations of ABCB11 deficiency may vary greatly in patients carrying the same genotype, even in siblings. Patients should be managed in individualized maner.

Perceptions of emotion expression and sibling-parent emotion communication in Latino and non-Latino white siblings of children with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Long, Kristin A; Lobato, Debra; Kao, Barbara; Plante, Wendy; Grullón, Edicta; Cheas, Lydia; Houck, Christopher; Seifer, Ronald

2013-06-01

Examine general emotion expression and sibling-parent emotion communication among Latino and non-Latino white (NLW) siblings of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) and matched comparisons. 200 siblings (ages 8-15 years) completed the newly developed Sibling-Parent Emotion Communication Scale and existing measures of general emotion expression and psychosocial functioning. Preliminary analyses evaluated scale psychometrics across ethnicity. Structure and internal consistency of the emotion expression and communication measures differed by respondent ethnicity. Latino siblings endorsed more general emotion expression problems and marginally lower sibling-parent emotion communication than NLW siblings. Siblings of children with ID reported marginally more general emotion expression problems than comparisons. Emotion expression problems and lower sibling-parent emotion communication predicted more internalizing and somatic symptoms and poorer personal adjustment, regardless of ID status. Siblings of children with ID endorsed poorer personal adjustment. Cultural differences in emotion expression and communication may increase Latino siblings' risk for emotional adjustment difficulties.