Asynchronous hatching and sibling competition in western grebes

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 994-998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary L. Nuechterlein
Keyword(s):  
Sibling Competition ◽  
Food Call ◽  
Feeding Experiments ◽  
Asynchronous Hatching ◽  
Rapid Formation ◽  
Western Grebe ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

Observations of western grebe broods during the 3–4 day period of asynchronous hatching revealed brief but intense bouts of pecking occurring between siblings. Feeding experiments conducted on two live-captured pairs and their newly hatched broods showed that older chicks suppressed the responses of their younger siblings to playbacks of the parental food call. Subordinate chicks that emerged from the parent's back feathers and begged simultaneously with their older siblings usually were pecked, and soon refrained from emerging until the older sibling was satiated. Control experiments that involved separating the two chicks and placing one on each of the parents eliminated suppression by the dominant chick. Possibly, asynchronous hatching in grebes provides a means by which parents can create initial asymmetries in the fighting potential of their newly hatched chicks, thereby promoting rapid formation of a self-regulating dominance system among their offspring.

INFLUENCE OF SIBLINGS ON STUDENT SMOKING PATTERNS

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1963 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-572
Author(s):  
Eva J. Salber ◽  
Brian MacMahon ◽  
Sarah V. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Habits ◽  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Public High School ◽  
Sibship Size ◽  
The Public ◽  
Smoking Patterns ◽  
Education Campaigns ◽  
To Come ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

Questionnaires on the smoking habits of school children, their parents, and their siblings were completed by 6,810 students (91%) in the public high school system of Newton, Massachusetts. Smokers tend to come from larger families than do nonsmokers. The larger sibship size results from smokers having more older siblings rather than more younger siblings. Frequency of smoking is much higher among children who are members of families in which there is an older sibling who smokes than among children of families where there are older siblings who do not smoke or where there are no older siblings. The risk of smoking to the index child does not vary with the sex of the older sibling to whom he is exposed. Older siblings who do not themselves smoke exert a slight deterrent effect on student smoking. These findings, together with earlier reports of the influence of parental smoking habits on the smoking patterns of children, are consistent with general concepts of the motivation of American (and perhaps all) teen-agers. They raise questions as to the advisability of health-education campaigns directed exclusively at children.

Effects of Older Siblings on the Language Young Children Hear and Produce

1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance J. Wellen
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
The Other ◽  
Younger Child ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

Mothers told stories to their children, inserting 30 questions about each story under two conditions. In one situation, mothers were alone with their younger child, and in the other condition, an older sibling was also present. During the question-answer interactions, older siblings responded to 60%–65% of all mothers' questions before younger children had a chance to respond and provided direct answers to the questions in 57%–65% of those instances. Mothers responded by producing fewer rephrased questions, fewer questions providing hints and answers, fewer questions functioning as repetitions and expansions, and more directly repeated questions when the older sibling was present. The effect of older siblings' first responses also reduced by half the number of younger children's utterances. The younger children produced fewer noncontent and content answers and more imitated answers in the presence of the older sibling. It is concluded that the presence of older siblings may influence the language young children hear and produce.

scholarly journals O Brother, Where Start Thou? Sibling Spillovers on College and Major Choice in Four Countries*

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Altmejd ◽  
Andrés Barrios-Fernández ◽  
Marin Drlje ◽  
Joshua Goodman ◽  
Michael Hurwitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Capital Investment ◽  
College Major ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
The United States ◽  
Major Choice ◽  
College Experiences ◽  
Multiplier Effects ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

Abstract Family and social networks are widely believed to influence important life decisions, but causal identification of those effects is notoriously challenging. Using data from Chile, Croatia, Sweden, and the United States, we study within-family spillovers in college and major choice across a variety of national contexts. Exploiting college-specific admissions thresholds that directly affect older but not younger siblings’ college options, we show that in all four countries a meaningful portion of younger siblings follow their older sibling to the same college or college-major combination. Older siblings are followed regardless of whether their target and counterfactual options have large, small, or even negative differences in quality. Spillover effects disappear, however, if the older sibling drops out of college, suggesting that older siblings’ college experiences matter. That siblings influence important human capital investment decisions across such varied contexts suggests that our findings are not an artifact of particular institutional detail but a more generalizable description of human behavior. Causal links between the postsecondary paths of close peers may partly explain persistent college enrollment inequalities between social groups, and this suggests that interventions to improve college access may have multiplier effects.

Birth spacing and infant and early childhood mortality in a high fertility area of Bangladesh: age-dependent and interactive effects

1995 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurul Alam
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Birth Interval ◽  
Neonatal Period ◽  
Birth Spacing ◽  
Childhood Mortality ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Birth Intervals ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

SummaryTo examine the effects of birth spacing on early childhood mortality, 3729 singleton births in 1983–84 were followed for 3 years in rural Bangladesh. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess whether the survival of older siblings modifies the effect of preceding birth intervals and to see if the effects of preceding and succeeding birth intervals are inter-related, controlling for the effects of sex of the child, mother's age and household economic status. With the exception of the neonatal period, birth spacing effects were highly significant. A preceding birth interval of <15 months was associated with a greater mortality risk in the post-neonatal period for children with an older sibling who survived infancy. However, a short preceding birth interval did not adversely affect post-neonatal mortality if the older sibling died in infancy. Neonatal and post-neonatal deaths were higher if older siblings had died in respective age intervals. A pregnancy interval of <12 months after childbirth raised the risk of death at ages 1–2 years considerably if the child was born after a short birth interval (<15 months). The results suggest that the high mortality risks of closely spaced children are due to sibling competition for parental resources.

The presence or absence of older siblings and variation in infant goal-directed motor development

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Reid ◽  
Daniel Stahl ◽  
Tricia Striano
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Motor Development ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Adult Behavior ◽  
Child Interaction ◽  
Mother Child Interaction ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling ◽  
Sibling Groups

This study investigates the relationship between having an older sibling and early goal-directed motor development. In a longitudinal study, infants were filmed playing with their mother and were observed at 5 and 12 months of age. After each observation, they were assessed with the Mental Bayley Scale. From the mother—child interaction, playing was coded in terms of the production of infant goal-directed actions. Results indicated that infants with siblings produced fewer goal-directed actions at 5 months than infants without older siblings, but at 12 months they produced relatively more goal-directed actions than infants without older siblings. There was no relationship with scores on the Mental Bayley Scale. In order to examine differences in adult behavior that may account for variation in infant motor performance, maternal level of motionese was scored with no differences found between the sibling—no sibling groups.

scholarly journals The Effect of Older Sibling, Postnatal Maternal Stress, and Household Factors on Language Development in Two- to Four-Year-Old Children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Havron ◽  
Irena Lovcevic ◽  
Michelle Z.L Kee ◽  
Helen Chen ◽  
Yap Seng Chong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Family Structure ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Household Size ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Age Gap ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

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 examined to systematically examine the different role of these factors. Data from mother-child dyads in a Singaporean birth cohort, (677-855 dyads; 52% males; 58-61% Chinese, 20-24% Malay, 17-19% Indian) collected when children were 24-, 48-, and 54-months old, were analysed. There was a negative effect of having an older sibling, moderated by the siblings’ age gap, but not by the older sibling’s sex, nor household size or residential crowding. Maternal stress affected language outcomes in some analyses but not others. Implications for understanding the effect of family structure on language development are discussed.

scholarly journals Older sibling influences on the language environment and language development of toddlers in bilingual homes

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
KELLY BRIDGES ◽  
ERIKA HOFF
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
English Language Development ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
Household Members ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

ABSTRACTTwo separate studies examined older siblings’ influence on the language exposure and language development of US-born toddlers who were being raised in bilingual homes. The participants in Study 1 were 60 children between 16 and 30 months who had heard English and another language at home from birth; 26 had older siblings, and 34 did not. The participants in Study 2 were 27 children, assessed at 22 and 30 months, who had heard English and Spanish from birth; 14 had school-aged older siblings, and 13 did not. Both studies found that older siblings used English more in talking to the toddlers than did other household members and that toddlers with older siblings were more advanced in English language development. Study 2 also found that the presence of a school-aged older sibling increased mothers’ use of English with their toddlers and that toddlers without a school-aged older sibling were more advanced in Spanish than the toddlers with a school-aged older sibling. These findings contribute to a picture of the complex processes that shape language use in bilingual homes and cause variability in young children's bilingual development.

scholarly journals The impact of older siblings on the language environment and language development of bilingual toddlers

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Danai Tsinivits ◽  
Sharon Unsworth
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Family Constellation ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Bilingual Parenting ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

Abstract Previous research has suggested that the language development of bilingual children benefits from more exposure and opportunities for language use. Typically, this research has used aggregated measures of exposure and use. The role of specific interlocutors and in particular older siblings has received comparatively little attention. In this study, we examine the impact of having an older sibling on the language environment and language development of a group of 31 bilingual Greek–Dutch toddlers aged 16 to 30 months growing up in the Netherlands. Approximately half (n = 14) of the toddlers had an older sibling. With respect to language environment, toddlers with older siblings were in general found to hear and use more Dutch at home than their first-born peers. There were however no differences between the two groups of toddlers in terms of parental language use. With respect to language development, toddlers with older siblings were found to score higher than first-born peers on measures of Dutch receptive vocabulary, productive vocabulary, and morphosyntactic complexity. For Greek, no such differences were observed. The findings are discussed in light of factors including family constellation, parental language proficiency, bilingual parenting strategies, and the wider sociolinguistic context.

The Interruption of Young Children's Responses by Older Siblings

1982 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Wellen ◽  
Patricia Broen
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Difficulty Level ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Younger Child ◽  
Normal Language ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

A group of language-delayed children, a group of older children with normal language development, and a group of younger children with normal language development served as subjects in this study. Questions were asked after a story was read to a younger child in the presence of an older sibling. The older sibling's interruptions of the question-answer dialogue was scored by frequency, type of interruption, and difficulty level of the questions being interrupted. Older siblings interrupted the question-answer interactions of the language-delayed children with a frequency that was similar to that observed in siblings of younger normal children but the interruptions of the language-delayed children were qualitatively different. Older siblings tended to directly answer questions addressed to language-delayed children rather than to provide prompts or rephrasings of the question as they did for young normal children. Siblings of both the flanguage-delayed and the young normal children interrupted more frequently as the questions increased in difficulty.

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