Do Siblings Matter? The Effect of Siblings on Socio-Emotional Development and Educational Aspirations among Early Adolescents

• In Event: 054 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 16. Parent-Child and Sibling Relationships

Abstract

Most prior research on siblings has mainly focused on the quantity of siblings and explores their effects on educational and cognitive outcomes. This study focuses on child-sibling relationship quality in addition to number of siblings and other sibling characteristics, and extends its scope to early adolescence. We analyze 4,184 and 3,500 10-15 years olds from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) to test the relationship between sibship size, other sibling characteristics and child-sibling relationship quality and educational aspirations and socio-emotional development respectively. The results suggest that sibship size has no effect on educational aspirations or socio-emotional development. Sibling relationship quality, however, has a significant effect on socio-emotional development. Specifically, those adolescents with good sibling relationship quality are more likely to have higher socio-emotional well-being. Lastly, adolescents with adopted or foster siblings are less likely to aspire for college, whereas adolescents with half- and step-siblings and those with younger siblings are less likely to have higher socio-emotional development.

Authors

• Deniz Yucel, William Paterson University

• Anastasia S. Vogt Yuan, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University