PSYCH 130 Chapter 14.4: 14.4
Document Summary
Causes: more effective birth control, woman entering workforce, delay children until well established professionally and secure economically, expenses of raising child. Children"s mental test performance does not decline with birth order. Larger family lower scores among all siblings. Mothers who score lower in intelligence give birth to more children. Economically advantaged mothers, family size-iq correlation does not exist. Additional births do not reduce child rearing effectiveness and thus intelligence and life chances. Arrival of new baby can be stressful for preschoolers who realize they need to share parent"s attention and affection. Attachment security can decline esp for children >2 and stressed mothers. Siblings close in age engage in joint pretend, talk about feelings, and when conflict arises, call attention to their own wants and needs. Contribute to understanding of emotions and other mental states, perspective taking, etc. Sibling that gets less affection or fewer material resources is likely to show poorer adjustment over time.
