Birth order and preschool children's cooperative abilities: A within‐family analysis

Abstract

There is evidence for a laterborn sibling advantage in some social skills, although this has not been investigated in children's early capacities for cooperation. Using a within-family design, this study compared firstborn and laterborn (i.e., middle and youngest) siblings on their cooperative abilities when they were aged around 3 years. Further, the study investigated whether the association between children's birth order and cooperative abilities was dependent on the prosocial behaviour of other siblings in the home. The sample included 288 ethnically and sociodemographically diverse children clustered within 144 families. Cooperation was directly assessed using a problem-solving paradigm requiring two simultaneous and complementary actions of the child and adult tester to achieve a joint goal. Parents reported on the prosocial behaviour of up to four siblings in the home. Results of a multilevel analysis indicated that youngest children were more advanced in their cooperative abilities, compared to firstborn children, irrespective of their siblings' prosociality. Middle children, in contrast, were only advantaged over firstborn children if their siblings showed high levels of prosociality. The analysis accounted for a number of potential family-wide confounds, providing evidence that this is a child-specific effect related to birth order. Findings are discussed from a social constructivist perspective with an emphasis on the sibling relationship as a context for cooperative interactions that facilitate sociocognitive development. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? There are individual differences in children's early capacities for cooperation. Children's early cooperation has not been considered in relation to birth order and/or sibling interaction quality. What does this study add? Youngest children are advantaged in their cooperation as compared to firstborn children. Middle children are also advantaged, but only if their siblings are prosocial. The use of a developmentally sensitive within-family design reduces confounds common to birth order studies.

Socioeconomic and Familial Factors Associated with Gross Motor Skills among US Children Aged 3–5 Years: The 2012 NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey

“…Studies have shown increased imitation among young children with older siblings, though this has been seen more so for play than in areas specific to motor development [44]. Furthermore, older siblings frequently engage in teaching behaviors with younger siblings, engaging in a relationship that becomes more bidirectional and cooperative with time [45], and some studies have indicated that with descending birth order, cooperative abilities increase [46]. It could be hypothesized that older siblings above the age of 6 years are more proficient in teaching their preschool-aged siblings new ball skills, for example, and preschool-aged children may be socially motivated to master these skills in order to encourage continued back-and-forth play exchanges with their older siblings.…”

Promoting Physical Activity Through Youth Sports Programs: It’s Social

“…118 It is possible that total number of siblings, and not birth order may be more important, which may be indicative of family socioeconomics or differences in parenting strategies 118 ; however, birth order has shown to be associated with other types of achievement such as educational attainment 119 and related skills such as cooperation. 120 While family structure is not an easily modifiable factor, it may help to target resources toward youth in particular family situations who are less likely to gain the benefits from sports.…”

The roles of temperamental inhibition in affective and cognitive empathy in Chinese toddlers

“…Thus, future research needs a larger sample to determine whether the moderation effect of self-regulation on the relation between BI and cognitive empathy was only existed in only children instead non-only children. Recently, a great number of studies have come to suggest that siblings' interactions and relationships play greater roles in predicting children's social ability than the number of siblings (Foote & Holmes-Lonergan, 2003;Prime, Plamondon, & Jenkins, 2017;Randell & Peterson, 2009), and thus, the presence of a very young infant sibling or a teenager sibling who is hard to interact or communicate with for children exerts no benefit (Peterson, 2000). However, because of the limited number of non-only children, we do not have a sample large enough to explore relevant aspects of siblings such as siblings' birth order, gender, or relationships.…”