Mounting evidence finds that early life environmental factors increased the probability of autism spectrum disorder. We estimated prospective associations between early life environmental factors and autism spectrum disorder symptoms in children at the age of 2 years in a population-derived birth cohort, the Barwon Infant Study. Autism spectrum…

Previous literature has shown that family structure affects language development. Here, factors relating to older siblings (their presence in the house, sex, and age gap), mothers (maternal stress), and household size and residential crowding were assessed to systematically examine the different roles of these factors. Data from mother-child dyads…

Each year since 1997, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has published a report on the well-being of children and families. The "America's Children" series provides accessible compendiums of indicators drawn across topics from the most reliable official statistics; it is designed to complement other more…

Fifty-two 44-month-old children were observed in a nursery school over a period of two weeks with peer and adult oriented behaviors recorded, and data analyzed in terms of the subjects' sex and birth order. Sex effects were as expected, but birth-order effects highlighted the second-born child as representing a distinct category. In particular,…

Explores the relationship between birth order and academic attainment for 817 men and women from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Suggests that birth order produces an impact on total years of education only among members of the middle class. These findings support a resource-dilution hypothesis. (MJP)

The present study examined the midlife outcomes of 548 adults who became parents before the age of 20. Participants were from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) and were followed prospectively from age 18 until age 53. Their life-course development was compared to sample members who gave birth at the mean age for the WLS. Midlife outcomes were…

This paper explores the literature on attachment disorders in order to discover if the school setting can be an appropriate treatment option for children with mild attachment disorders, and in order to investigate how counselors can implement this treatment option. The introduction discusses the effects of recent changes in family structure on…

Surveyed 291 mother-child and 221 father-child dyads to examine adolescent perceptions of parental educational goals. Results showed family size and student's age had no effect, but birth order and sibling sex composition interact with sex of the parent and the adolescent in effects on accuracy of perception. (JAC)

Siblings of handicapped children may have adjustment problems associated with increased family responsibilities, increased parental expectations, and perceived parental neglect in favor of the disabled sibling. Problems may be related to socioeconomic status; family size; age, sex, and birth order of the sibling; and severity of the handicap. (GDC)

This study attempted to determine what expectations or beliefs adults might hold about a child based on his or her sibling status alone. Ratings on 50 adjective pairs for each of three sibling status types, only, oldest, and youngest child, were assessed in relation to adult expectations, birth order, and parental status of rater. (Author/DST)

This study examined the effects of birth order on interpersonal trust and sex role orientation among firstborn and only children in late adolescence. The following hypotheses were posed: (1) only children will demonstrate higher degrees of interpersonal trust than firstborn children; (2) only children will show higher degrees of androgyny than…

In this study we compare the distribution of parental educational styles and the scores reported both by parents and students for various family characteristics (acceptance, control, involvement, and expectations) and socio-demographic factors (socio-economic status, family structure, number of children, and order of birth of the children) in a…

This paper deals with two sets of data-one that fails to find any long-term sex differences in adults, and another which seems to find such differences. The Berkeley Guidance Study offers longitudinal data in which no variables differentiate between the two sexes at all age levels. From these results, the authors conclude that the normal course of…

This volume in the Applied Developmental Psychology Series consists of a collection of papers on current sibling research and theory. Prominent researchers and academicians in developmental psychology present reports on aspects of sibling relations in an effort to better understand individual and family growth. These scholars have dealt with…

Issues of equality and fairness and invasion of the personal domain, 2 previously identified topic areas of adolescent sibling conflict (N. Campione-Barr & J. G. Smetana, 2010), were examined in 145 dyads ("M" [subscript first-born] = 14.97, "SD" = 1.69 years; "M" [subscript second-born] = 12.20,…