Strategic parenting, birth order, and school performance.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hotz VJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4565797 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Strategic parenting, birth order, and school performance.
Hotz V Joseph VJ Pantano Juan J
Journal of population economics 20151001 4
Fueled by new evidence, there has been renewed interest about the effects of birth order on human capital accumulation. The underlying causal mechanisms for such effects remain unsettled. We consider a model in which parents impose more stringent disciplinary environments in response to their earlier-born children's poor performance in school in order to deter such outcomes for their later-born offspring. We provide robust empirical evidence that school performance of children in the National Lo ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:ObjectiveTo investigate if the lack of gestational age correction may explain some of the school failure seen in ex-preterm infants.DesignA cohort study based on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). The primary outcome was a low Key Stage 1 score (KS1) score at age 7 or having special educational needs (SEN). Exposure groups were defined as preterm (<37 weeks gestation, n = 722) or term (37-42 weeks, n = 11,268). Conditional regression models were derived, matching preterm to term infants on date of birth (DOB), expected date of delivery (EDD) or expected date of delivery and year of school entry. Multiple imputation was used to account for missing covariate data.ResultsWhen matching for DOB, infants born preterm had an increased odds of a low KS1 score (OR 1.73 (1.45-2.06)) and this association persisted after adjusting for potential confounders (OR 1.57 (1.25-1.97)). The association persisted in the analysis matching for EDD (fully adjusted OR 1.53 (1.21-1.94)) but attenuated substantially after additionally restricting to those infants who entered school at the same time as the control infants (fully adjusted OR 1.25 (0.98-1.60)). A compatible reduction in the population attributable risk fraction was seen from 4.60% to 2.12%, and year of school entry appeared to modify the association between gestational age and the risk of a poor KS1 score (p = 0.029).ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that the school year placement and assessment of ex-preterm infants based on their actual birthday (rather than their EDD) may increase their risk of learning difficulties with corresponding school failure.
| S-EPMC3797787 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Poor school performance may increase the risk of crime and violence via effects on self-esteem, risky behaviours, peer networks, and perceived stakes in society. Despite very high rates of violence in Latin America, no longitudinal research has addressed this issue in the region. Two aspects of educational performance (grade repetition and school completion) were examined during adolescence in a population-based Brazilian birth cohort study (n = 3584). Violent and non-violent crime were measured at age 22 years in confidential self-reports; sociodemographic, family, and individual confounders were measured between birth and age 11 years, and potential mediators were measured at age 18 years. The prevalence of violent and non-violent crimes at 22 years was 8.2% and 3.3%, respectively, referring to acts in the previous twelve months. For youth repeating school grades three times or more, the odds of violent crime were 2.4 (95%CI: 1.6-3.6) times higher than for those who had not repeated any school grade. Youth completing school had a lower risk for both violent (OR = 0.5; 95%CI: 0.4-0.7) and non-violent crime (OR = 0.3; 95%CI: 0.2-0.5), compared to those who did not finish school by the expected age. The protective effect of completing school was independent of the number of grades previously repeated. In conclusion, repeating school grades was associated with increased risk for crime; however, successfully managing to complete school by the expected age was an important protective factor against crime, even after multiple grade repetitions.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40865-022-00214-x.
| S-EPMC9825356 | biostudies-literature
Project description:An association between birth order and reduced unaided vision (a surrogate for myopia) has been observed previously. We examined the association between birth order and myopia directly in four subject groups.Subject groups were participants in (1) the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; UK; age 15 years; N = 4401), (2) the Singapore Cohort Study of Risk Factors for Myopia (SCORM; Singapore; age 13 years; N = 1959), (3) the Raine Eye Health Study (REHS; Australia; age 20 years; N = 1344), and (4) Israeli Defense Force Pre-recruitment Candidates (IDFC; Israel; age 16-22 years; N = 888,277). The main outcome was odds ratios (OR) for myopia in first-born versus non-first-born individuals after adjusting for potential risk factors.The prevalence of myopia was numerically higher in first-born versus non-first-born individuals in all study groups, but the strength of evidence varied widely. Adjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals, CIs) were: ALSPAC, 1.31 (1.05-1.64); SCORM, 1.25 (0.89-1.77); REHS, 1.18 (0.90-1.55); and IDFC, 1.04 (1.03-1.06). In the large IDFC sample, the effect size was greater (a) for the first-born versus fourth- or higher-born comparison than for the first-born versus second/third-born comparison (p < 0.001) and (b) with increasing myopia severity (p < 0.001).Across all studies, the increased risk of myopia in first-born individuals was low (OR < 1.3). Indeed, only the studies with >4000 participants provided strong statistical support for the association. The available evidence suggested the relationship was independent of established risk factors such as time outdoors/reading, and thus may arise through a different causal mechanism.
| S-EPMC3833053 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundLow birth weight (BW) is associated with lower cognitive functioning, but less is known of these associations across the full range of the BW distribution and its components. We analyzed how BW, birth length (BL) and birth ponderal index (BPI, kg/m3) are associated with school performance and how childhood family social position modifies these associations.MethodsMedical birth records of all Finnish children born in 1987-1997 were linked to school performance records at 16 years of age (N = 642,425). We used population averaged and within-siblings fixed-effects linear regression models.ResultsBL showed a linear and BW a curvilinear association with school performance whereas for BPI the association was weak. The strongest association was found for BL explaining 0.08% of the variation in school performance in boys and 0.14% in girls. Demographic, gestational and social factors partly explained these associations. Similar but weaker associations were found within sibships. The association of BL with school performance was stronger at lower levels of family social position.ConclusionBL shows a linear association with school performance and can explain more school performance variation than BW. At the population level, BL can offer useful information on intrauterine environmental factors relevant for cognitive performance.ImpactBirth length is linearly associated with school performance in late adolescence and explains a larger proportion of school performance variation than birth weight. The association between birth length and school performance is stronger in families with lower socio-economic position. At the population level, birth length can offer information on the intrauterine environment relevant for later cognitive performance.
| S-EPMC10665183 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundOur objective was to assess the impact of obstetric mode of delivery, and in particular birth by Caesarean section (CS), on school performance in adolescents using a large, population-based cohort.MethodsWe extracted data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register and National School Register. We included all live singleton births in Sweden from 1982-1995 (n = 1,489,925). School grades were reported on a scale from 0 to 320, scores less than 160 (i.e. "pass") were considered to be "poor school performance." Mode of delivery was categorised as: unassisted vaginal delivery (VD), assisted VD, elective CS and emergency CS. We measured the association between mode of delivery and "poor school performance" using logistic regression. We then used quantile regression to assess the association between mode of delivery and school performance across the distribution of scores. We adjusted for maternal age, parity, small and large for gestational age, gestational age, maternal country of birth, maternal depression, non-affective disorder or bipolar disorder, parental income at time of birth, and parental social welfare at time of birth. We also conducted sensitivity analyses to investigate the association further.ResultsWith logistic regression analysis, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of assisted VD and poor school performance, compared to unassisted VD, was 1.06 (95% CI: 1.03-1.08). For elective CS it was 1.06 (95% CI:1.03-1.09) and for emergency CS it was 1.12 (95% CI: 1.09-1.15). With quantile regression, assisted VD showed little difference in scores, when compared to unassisted VD, at any point across the distribution. Elective CS was associated with a 1-3 point decrease in scores, and emergency CS was associated with a 2-5 point decrease in scores.ConclusionA slight association was found between birth by CS and school performance. However, the effect was quite small and given the complex nature of the relationship, should be interpreted with caution.
| S-EPMC5392943 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC11327446 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Despite evidence that neighborhoods confer both risk and resilience for youth development, the existing neighborhood research has a number of methodological limitations including lack of diversity in neighborhoods sampled and neighborhood characteristics assessed. The purpose of this study was to address these methodological limitations of existing research and to examine the relationship of neighborhood structural and social characteristics to family-level social processes and teacher-reported social competence during early adolescence. The study sample of 3,624 fifth graders (51 % girls) was ethnically diverse, including roughly even proportions of non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic youth. Neighborhood measures included economic disadvantage derived from the U.S. Census, physical and social disorder obtained by direct observation, and social capital from parental reports. Family-level social processes included parent reported family cohesion and youth reported maternal and paternal nurturance. We found that neighborhood factors significantly associated with youth social aggression and social competence but not social withdrawal, after controlling for individual demographic characteristics and parenting factors. There was limited evidence of moderation of family influences by neighborhood characteristics as well as the moderation of neighborhood effects by children's gender. Neighborhood physical disorder was associated with increased social aggression among boys but with increased social withdrawal among girls. Implications of the study's findings for research on neighborhoods and adolescent development and the development of preventive interventions are discussed.
| S-EPMC5549787 | biostudies-other
Project description:Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant problem of public health importance worldwide. Large population-based studies on the effect of birth order on health phenomena are exceedingly rare. This study examines the relationship between birth order and risk for pediatric TBI among sibling groups. We performed a retrospective cohort study following 59,469 Finnish newborns from 1987 until age 18 years. Data on first diagnosis of TBI was recorded within the 1987 Finnish Birth Cohort (FBC). Compared with first born siblings, later born siblings had an increased risk of TBI during the follow-up period (hazard ratio [HR] 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.91-1.14 for second born, HR 1.09; 95% CI 0.95 1.26 for third born, HR 1.28; 95% CI 1.08-1.53 for fourth or higher). When adjusted for sex and maternal age at child's birth, HRs (95% CIs) for TBI during the follow-up period were 1.12 (0.99-1.26) for second born, 1.31 (1.12-1.53) for third born and 1.61 (1.33-1.95) for fourth born or higher children, respectively. Within this large register-based population-wide study, order of birth modified risk for pediatric TBI among sibling groups. Taken together, these study findings may serve to stimulate further inquiry into genetic, psychological, or psychosocial factors which underlie differences in risk and depth of effect within and between sibling groups.
| S-EPMC9402548 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A substantial amount of research shows that younger siblings perform worse than their older sisters and brothers in several socioeconomic outcomes, including educational achievement. Most of these studies examined stable families and excluded half-siblings. However, the increasing prevalence of multipartnered fertility implies that many children grow up in nonnuclear families. We examine whether there is evidence for birth order effects in this context, which offers an opportunity to test and potentially expand the explanatory scope of the two main theories on birth order effects. We use comprehensive Norwegian registry data to study siblings in the 1985-1998 cohorts born to mothers or fathers who parented children with at least two partners. We provide evidence for negative effects of birth order on lower secondary school grades in both cases. Children born to fathers displaying multipartnered fertility tend to have lower grades than older full siblings but perform more similarly or better compared with older half-siblings. For siblings born to mothers with the multipartnered fertility pattern, later-born siblings do worse in school compared with all older siblings. This indicates that negative birth order effects tend to operate either within or across sets of full siblings, depending on the sex of the parent displaying multipartnered fertility. We argue that these findings can be explained by a combination of resource dilution/confluence theory and sex differences in residential arrangements following union dissolutions. We also suggest an alternative interpretation: maternal resources could be more important for generating negative birth order effects.
| S-EPMC7584560 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPerformance in primary school is a determinant of children's educational attainment and their socio-economic position and health inequalities in adulthood. We examined the relationship between five common childhood health conditions (asthma symptoms, eczema, general health, frequent respiratory infections, and overweight), health related school absence and family socio-economic status on children's school performance.MethodsWe used data from 1,865 children in the Dutch PIAMA birth cohort study. School performance was measured as the teacher's assessment of a suitable secondary school level for the child, and the child's score on a standardized achievement test (Cito Test). Both school performance indicators were standardised using Z-scores. Childhood health was indicated by eczema, asthma symptoms, general health, frequent respiratory infections, overweight, and health related school absence. Children's health conditions were reported repeatedly between the age of one to eleven. School absenteeism was reported at age eleven. Highest attained educational level of the mother and father indicated family socio-economic status. We used linear regression models with heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors for our analyses with adjustment for sex of the child.ResultsThe health indicators used in our study were not associated with children's school performance, independently from parental educational level, with the exception of asthma symptoms (-0.03 z-score / -0.04 z-score with Cito Test score after adjusting for respectively maternal and paternal education) and missing more than 5 schooldays due to illness (-0.18 z-score with Cito Test score and -0.17 z-score with school level assessment after adjustment for paternal education). The effect estimates for these health indicators were much smaller though than the effect estimates for parental education, which was strongly associated with children's school performance.ConclusionChildren's school performance was affected only slightly by a number of common childhood health problems, but was strongly associated with parental education.
| S-EPMC4527686 | biostudies-literature