Children's Experiences After the Unintended Birth of a Sibling

This study examines whether children with a younger sibling whose birth was unintended experience larger declines in the quality of their home environment and larger increases in behavioral problems than children whose younger sibling's birth was intended. We use data from the NLSY79 to estimat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Demography 2011-02, Vol.48 (1), p.101-125
Main Authors: Barber, Jennifer S., East, Patricia L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adjustment
Behavior
Behavioural psychology
Birth Intervals
Birth order
Birth weight
Births
Child
Child Behavior Disorders
Child, Preschool
Childbirth
Children
Children & youth
CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Cognitive ability
Demography
Families & family life
Family environment
Family Relations
Female
Geography
Home Environment
Homes
Humans
Infant
Male
Medicine/Public Health
Mothers
Parenting
Parents
Parents & parenting
Population Economics
Pregnancy
Pregnancy, Unplanned - psychology
Psychological effects
Quality of life
Regression Analysis
Siblings
Siblings - psychology
Social Sciences
Socioeconomic Factors
Sociology
Studies
Time Factors
Women
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Description
Summary:This study examines whether children with a younger sibling whose birth was unintended experience larger declines in the quality of their home environment and larger increases in behavioral problems than children whose younger sibling's birth was intended. We use data from the NLSY79 to estimate cross-lag regression models that assess changes in the home environment and children's behavioral problems after the birth of a sibling (intended or unintended). Results are consistent with our hypotheses, finding that, indeed, unintended births have negative spillover effects. Compared with children whose sibling's birth was intended, both boys and girls whose sibling's birth was unintended experienced larger declines in the quality of their home environment, and boys had larger increases in behavioral problems. We also find some unexpected evidence that mistimed births may have larger negative effects than unwanted births. This deserves further research, and we offer some possible explanations that could guide those investigations.
ISSN:0070-3370
1533-7790
DOI:10.1007/s13524-010-0011-2