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Number of Siblings, Social Skills, and Social Capital

Yucel, Deniz
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1322578334

Abstract Details

2011, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Sociology.
While population increases have long been the concern of demographers, today, significant decline in fertility is a new concern. Despite the many implications of fertility decline on society, politics, and economics, most discussion has focused on its causes rather than its consequences. This study contributes to prior literature by examining the relationship between sibship size and social skills among children, and then social capital among adults. First, using fifth and eighth grade data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study- Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), I empirically test the relationship between sibship size and children’s social skills. I find that teachers rate children who have no siblings as having poorer interpersonal skills, worse self-control, and more externalizing problem behaviors than those who have one sibling. This relationship, however, exists only among fifth graders; the evidence that having at least one sibling is beneficial disappears among eighth graders. In the second part of the dissertation, I propose a new theoretical framework that predicts a link between sibship size and social capital. Using General Social Survey (GSS) data, I also test the relationship between sibship size and generalized trust and participation in voluntary associations among adults. I find that there is only a modest, negative relationship between sibship size and both dimensions, but only for adults who have at least five siblings. Additionally, I note that social network composition does not mediate the main relationship, and that it does not vary across birth cohorts. The findings of this dissertation have implications for the literature and research that seeks to understand better the consequences of decline in sibship size.
Douglas B. Downey, PhD (Committee Chair)
Edward Crenshaw, PhD (Committee Member)
John Casterline, PhD (Committee Member)
229 p.
Sociology
siblings; social skills; bonding and bridging social capital; social network; generalized trust; voluntary association

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Yucel, D. (2011). Number of Siblings, Social Skills, and Social Capital [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1322578334

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Yucel, Deniz. Number of Siblings, Social Skills, and Social Capital. 2011. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1322578334.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Yucel, Deniz. "Number of Siblings, Social Skills, and Social Capital." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1322578334

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1322578334
3,744
© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.