Essay 1: We use data from a large sample of adoptees born in Sweden to decompose the intergenerational persistence in health inequality across generations into one pre-birth component, measured by the biological parents’ longevity, and one post-birth component, measured by the adopting parents’ longevity. We find that most of the health inequality is transmitted via pre-birth factors. In the second part of the paper, we study the background to why children of parents with better educational attainments have better health by decomposing the association into one component attributed to the education of the biological parents and one to the adopting ones. We find that the association can mostly be attributed to the adopting parents, suggesting that parental resources per se, rather than pre-birth (genetic) differences, make up the parental education gradient in child health. Essay 2: There are large differences in health across neighborhoods in Sweden. To try to answer if there is a causal link between neighborhood conditions in childhood and youth health, I apply two different empirical strategies. First, I use population wide data on families living in different areas in Sweden, and estimate the effects of childhood neighborhood on youth health using data on families that move across the country. Since the choice of moving and where to live is endogenous, I exploit the timing of moves and estimate the effect of siblings’ different exposure time to neighborhoods. The second approach utilizes a governmental policy that assigned refugees to their initial neighborhood in Sweden, potentially offering exogenous variation in neighborhoods and allowing me to study the effect of different neighborhoods on youth health. The findings from the two strategies together imply that there are significant neighborhood effects on youth health, but that the effects are contemporaneous and there is no evidence of exposure time effects. Essay 3: Previous research has shown that birth order affects outcomes such as educational achievements, IQ and earnings. The mechanisms behind these effects are still largely unknown. We examine birth order effects on health, and whether health at young age could be a transmission channel for birth order effects observed later in life. Our results show that firstborn children have worse health at birth. This disadvantage is reversed in early age and later-born siblings are more likely to be hospitalized for injuries and avoidable conditions. In adolescence and as young adults, younger siblings are more likely to be of poor mental health and to be admitted to hospital for alcohol induced health conditions. We also test for reverse causality by estimating fertility responses to the health of existing children. Overall our results suggest that birth order effects are due to differential parental investment because parents’ time and resources are limited. Essay 4: We study the short-, medium- and long-term consequences of health at birth using administrative data from Sweden for individuals born in the years 1973-1979. We contribute to a better understanding of the consequences of early life health by contrasting the effects of birth weight with two other measures of neonatal health: the length and the head circumference of the newborn. Our findings suggest that the use of birth weight alone might lead to an underestimation of the importance of early health. Furthermore, we find that there is a persistent effect of neonatal health on a variety of human capital measures in adolescence and adulthood.

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The present study explored how behavioral interactions in two-male sibling families during structured play may be affected by the relative ages of siblings and by the interaction situations involved. Six dyadic interaction situations of 30 minutes duration each were observed among members of 12 normal families in their homes, once a week for five consecutive weeks. Families were categorized into three groups: (a) a younger sibling and an older sibling between 2-5 years of age, (b) 2-5 year-old younger sibling and 6-9 year-old older sibling, and (c) a younger sibling and an older sibling between 6-9 years of age. The interaction situations consisted of (a) child-directed interaction with mother, (b) child-directed interaction with father, (c) child directed interaction with older sibling, (d) mother-directed interaction, (e) father-directed interaction, and (f) older sibling-directed interaction. The coding system included 34 discrete behaviors. When interaction situations were combined into parent-child and older sibling-child interaction situations, a linear combination of six behaviors correctly classified cases 89% of the time. A second stepwise discriminant analysis grouped families such that one group contained older siblings that were of preschool age and the second group contained older siblings of elementary school age. A linear combination of five behaviors was able to correctly classify cases 87% of the time. Three canonical correlations showed significant relationships between parent/sibling and child behaviors. The nature of these relationships tended to support reciprocal influence as an important element in family interaction. Results of discriminant analyses indicated that, for families with a preschool male, patterns of interaction are influenced by whether the older male sibling is of preschool or elementary school age.

The effects of birth order on achievement have been under investigation continually resulting in reported prominence of first born children in various areas of achievement. The purpose of this study was to provide further investigation into the effects of birth order on the achievement hypothesis using the attainment of the Eagle Scout Award as the dependent variable. Five hypotheses were formulated from a review of literature which included: (1) boys in the first born position are more likely to attain the Eagle Scout Award than boys in later born positions, (2) family income is associated with attaining the Eagle Scout Award, (3) high scores on the Ignoring scale by the mothers are associated with attaining the Eagle Scout Award, (4) high scores on the Dominance scale by the mothers are associated with attaining the Eagle Scout Award, (5) low scores on the Possessive scale by the fathers are associated with attaining the Eagle Scout Award. One hundred ten families with at least one son who had attained the Eagle Scout Award were included in the study. Each parent was asked to complete a questionnaire which provided information concerning family demographics such as parents' birth order, birth order and sex of children, highest scouting award of male children and the father, religious attendance of parents and scouts, education level of parents, occupations of parents, and family income. Parents were asked to report the supportive actions they provided for their sons in scouting activities and their perceived strength of the troops' programs, and importance of selected individuals to their sons attaining the Eagle Award. Chi-square tests calculated for the formulated hypotheses gave the following results: (1) boys from later born positions were just as likely to attain the Eagle Scout Award as boys in the first born position, (2) families of lower income levels were just as likely to have multiple Eagles within their families as families of higher income levels, (3) mothers who scored low on the Ignoring scale were just as likely to have multiple Eagles in their families as mothers who scored high on the Ignoring scale, (4) mothers who scored low on the Dominance scale were just as likely to have multiple Eagles in their families as mothers who scored high on the Dominance scale, (5) fathers who scored high on the Possessive scale were just as likely to have multiple Eagles in their families as fathers who scored low on the Possessive scale.

The observation that more boys were born than girls was noted in the late 1660’s. Recent studies suggest the secondary sex ratio (SSR) is declining in industrialized countries. SSR is proposed as a sentinel for reproductive health. Declining SSR may reflect environmental factors or other influences of reproductive outcomes. We evaluated maternal age, birth order and SSR in the Old Order Amish (OOA), a homogenous sub-group with large family sizes. We used data from the Anabaptist Genealogy Database consisting of records for live births from 1696-2003. We used t-tests to compare mean maternal age and birth order by offspring sex, ANOVA to evaluate whether SSR has changed over time, and logistic regression for multivariable models. We evaluated clustering of SSR within families using random effects models and likelihood ratio tests of random effects. Maternal age was not associated with SSR (OR=1.003 [95% CI, 0.995-1.010), even after adjusting for birth order (AOR=1.000 [95% CI, 0.989-1.012). Similarly, we did not find an association between birth order and SSR in both unadjusted models (OR=1.007 [95% CI, 0.991-1.022), and those adjusted for maternal age (AOR= 1.006 [95% CI, 0.982-1.032]). The proportion of male births varied, however, there was no significant trend overtime. Lastly, we found a significant random effect (P<0.05), which may provide indication that having male births is heritable in families. Conclusions: Neither maternal age nor birth order is associated with the sex of an offspring. These findings suggest that decreases in SSR are unrelated to demographic factors, and rather may be related to other factors such as environmental exposures or other xenobiotic chemicals. These results may be relevant in providing information to the leading indicators to the decline in SSR.

Pediatric injury is both common and expensive. Finding ways to prevent pediatric injury is a major public health concern. Many studies have investigated various aspects of pediatric injury, and some suggest that birth order may be an important risk factor for pediatric injury. This study further examined the relationship of birth order with pediatric injury, specifically studying the association of birth order with emergency department-attended infant injury while adjusting for other important family and individual covariates. Data for analysis included Utah birth certificate, death certificate, and hospital emergency department datasets, which were probabilistically linked to obtain complete demographic and injury information for infants born in 1999—2002. Three groups of risk factors were defined for analysis: maternal demographics, maternal risk behaviors, and infant demographics. Two outcome variables were defined for this study, “injury event” and “severe injury event.” Data was analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEE). Birth order was associated with infant injury events and severe infant injury events. Birth order 4th or greater had the greatest effect for both injury outcomes. Additionally, several maternal characteristics were associated with infant injury events and severe infant injury events. In particular, maternal age and maternal smoking behavior were associated with increased infant injury risk. This study identified two targeted populations that are well-suited to injury prevention efforts: infants born to mothers who smoke, and infants born to mothers who are young and have many other children.

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The aim of this study is to explore and describe children’s experiences of the repositioning of their psychological birth order in a reconstituted family. The aim of this study is also to contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon to aid the parents of these children as well as professionals working with such families. The systems theory was used as the meta-theory of this study. Gestalt field theory formed the connection between the systems theory and Adlerian theory, to portray the interaction between the individual and the different subsystems of which they are part, and formed the lens through which the study was done. Adlerian theory was used to explain the subsystems function in the micro system, with the focus on children’s experiences of the repositioning of their birth order in a reconstituted family. A qualitative research method with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used as research design. Eight children took part in this study. The researcher used semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences of the repositioning of their psychological birth order and the data was analysed thematically. The researcher had a discussion with the participants’ parents to determine the children’s psychological birth order and to obtain background information regarding the original and reconstituted families. The findings indicated that children’s experiences in relation to their parents and siblings had the most profound effect on how they experienced the repositioning of their psychological birth order in a reconstituted family. It seemed that participants preferred their parents treating them congruent to their psychological birth order within the reconstituted family and they experienced incongruent treatment to their psychological birth order, as negative. Participants enjoyed being favoured by their parents. If the sibling who caused the repositioning was favoured, or his or her parents unfairly blamed the relevant participant, it contributed to tension in the sibling and child-parent relationships. Participants seemed to associate less time spent with parents as well as less attention from parents with step- and half-siblings in the reconstituted family. Participants expressed less responsibility in the reconstituted family as a favourable aspect and more responsibilities in the reconstituted family as a unfavourable aspect of being repositioned. In the participants’ experiences, which related to their siblings, the children seemed to defend their psychological positions in their renegotiation for new positions and roles in the reconstituted family often resulting in power struggles and sibling rivalry. Age and gender differences played a role in this process. When participants were ineffective in their negotiation of a new position within the new sibling subsystem, feelings of isolation were reported. Participants experienced frustration when they were unsuccessful in their negotiations regarding former roles associated with their psychological birth order in the new family system. Participants expressed companionship with a step- or half-sibling of the same gender as a favourable experience in their repositioning. The time elapsed since the reconstitution of the family, seemed to play an important role in how children experienced the repositioning of their psychological birth order. / Thesis (MA (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The aim of this study is to explore and describe children’s experiences of the repositioning of their psychological birth order in a reconstituted family. The aim of this study is also to contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon to aid the parents of these children as well as professionals working with such families. The systems theory was used as the meta-theory of this study. Gestalt field theory formed the connection between the systems theory and Adlerian theory, to portray the interaction between the individual and the different subsystems of which they are part, and formed the lens through which the study was done. Adlerian theory was used to explain the subsystems function in the micro system, with the focus on children’s experiences of the repositioning of their birth order in a reconstituted family. A qualitative research method with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used as research design. Eight children took part in this study. The researcher used semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences of the repositioning of their psychological birth order and the data was analysed thematically. The researcher had a discussion with the participants’ parents to determine the children’s psychological birth order and to obtain background information regarding the original and reconstituted families. The findings indicated that children’s experiences in relation to their parents and siblings had the most profound effect on how they experienced the repositioning of their psychological birth order in a reconstituted family. It seemed that participants preferred their parents treating them congruent to their psychological birth order within the reconstituted family and they experienced incongruent treatment to their psychological birth order, as negative. Participants enjoyed being favoured by their parents. If the sibling who caused the repositioning was favoured, or his or her parents unfairly blamed the relevant participant, it contributed to tension in the sibling and child-parent relationships. Participants seemed to associate less time spent with parents as well as less attention from parents with step- and half-siblings in the reconstituted family. Participants expressed less responsibility in the reconstituted family as a favourable aspect and more responsibilities in the reconstituted family as a unfavourable aspect of being repositioned. In the participants’ experiences, which related to their siblings, the children seemed to defend their psychological positions in their renegotiation for new positions and roles in the reconstituted family often resulting in power struggles and sibling rivalry. Age and gender differences played a role in this process. When participants were ineffective in their negotiation of a new position within the new sibling subsystem, feelings of isolation were reported. Participants experienced frustration when they were unsuccessful in their negotiations regarding former roles associated with their psychological birth order in the new family system. Participants expressed companionship with a step- or half-sibling of the same gender as a favourable experience in their repositioning. The time elapsed since the reconstitution of the family, seemed to play an important role in how children experienced the repositioning of their psychological birth order. / Thesis (MA (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.