The Effect of Older Siblings on Adolescent Behavior: Is It Siblings or is it Parents? Laura Argys Department of Economics University of Colorado at Denver Susan Averett Department of Economics and Business Lafayette College Daniel Rees Department of Economics University of Colorado at Denver

Birth Order and Parental Supervision Price (2005) Only study to examine parental time and birth order Uses data from American Time Use Survey Finds that parents spend minutes less per day with later-born children.

Parental Supervision and Child Behaviors Parental (Maternal) work and cognitive outcomes in young children Leibowitz (1977), Blau and Grossberg (1992), Brooks-Gunn, Han and Waldfogel (2002) Parental supervision and risky behaviors substance use – Richardson et al. (1993) behavior problems – Vandall and Ramanan (1991) substance use, theft, truancy – Aizer (2004)

Research Objectives To confirm the existence of a birth-order effect on risky behaviors. To disentangle the effect of: Parents - differential supervision of children by birth-order Siblings - initiation - modeling

Previous Empirical Findings on Economic Outcomes Birth order and Education Olneck and Bill, 1979No Blake, 1981No Hauser and Sewell, 1983No Behrman and Taubman, 1986Yes Birth order and Earnings Olneck and Bill, 1979No Behrman and Taubman, 1986No Kessler, 1991No Sex Composition Butcher and Case, 1994Yes Kaestner, 1997No Hauser and Kuo, 1998No

Previous Empirical Findings on Other Outcomes Birth order on age at first intercourse Rodgers st al., 1992 Rodgers st al., 1992 Older sibling graduation on younger sibling’s graduation Oettinger, 2000 Oettinger, 2000 Older brother characteristics on drug use Brook et al., 1991 Brook et al., 1991 Older sibling sexual behavior on sexual initiation Widmer, 1997 Widmer, 1997 Haurin and Mott, 1990 Haurin and Mott, 1990 Older sibling behavior on substance use Ouyang, 2004

Model = An individual’s propensity to engage in a particular risky activity = A dichotomous variable indicating an older sibling = A vector of controls for family size = Other individual and family characteristics Eq.(1) * i R i S i F i X

Figure 1: Older siblings and substance use and sexual behavior ** **.267**.400**.455**.491**.226**.346**

Figure 2: Older siblings and criminal and delinquent activities

Data National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health Over 20,000 adolescents In grades 7-12 in 1995 Household roster and family structure Risk-taking activities Family background Parental Supervision

Conclusions The existence of an older sibling: Increases the probability of cigarette, alcohol and marijuana use and sexual activity Has no consistent effect on younger siblings delinquent activities Parental Supervision does not explain the older sibling effect: Parental supervision reduces risky behaviors …. But the effect of older siblings remains.

Table 1. Sample Means of Child Outcomes, by Gender and the Presence of an Older Sibling

Table 2. Sample Means, by Gender and the Presence of an Older Sibling Standard deviations are shown in parentheses.

Table 2. Sample Means, by Gender and the Presence of an Older Sibling (Continued) Standard deviations are shown in parentheses.

Table 3a. Determinants of Substance Use and Sexual Activity – Females

Table 3a. Determinants of Substance Use and Sexual Activity – Females (Continued) Standard errors are shown in parentheses. Statistically significant at the *** 99%, ** 90%, and * 90% confidence level. Controls also include dichotomous variables identifying missing values for categorical variables.

Table 3b. Determinants of Substance Use and Sexual Activity – Males

Table 3b. Determinants of Substance Use and Sexual Activity – Males (Continued) Standard errors are shown in parentheses. Statistically significant at the *** 99%, ** 90%, and * 90% confidence level. Controls also include dichotomous variables identifying missing values for categorical variables.

Table 4a. Determinants of Delinquent Behaviors – Females

Table 4a. Determinants of Delinquent Behaviors – Females (Continued) Standard errors are shown in parentheses. Statistically significant at the *** 99%, ** 90%, and * 90% confidence level. Controls also include dichotomous variables identifying missing values for categorical variables.

Table 4b. Determinants of Delinquent Behaviors – Males

Table 4b. Determinants of Delinquent Behaviors – Males (Continued) Standard errors are shown in parentheses. Statistically significant at the *** 99%, ** 90%, and * 90% confidence level. Controls also include dichotomous variables identifying missing values for categorical variables.

Table 5a. Proportion Reporting Parental Supervision, by Gender, Family Size and the Presence of an Older Sibling

Table 5a. Proportion Reporting Parental Supervision, by Gender, Family Size and the Presence of an Older Sibling: Two Child Family

Table 5b. Regressions of Parental Supervision on Family Structure Standard errors are shown in parentheses. Statistically significant at the *** 99%, ** 90%, and * 90% confidence level.

Table 6. Determinants of Substance Use and Sexual Activity, Selected Marginal Probabilities Standard errors are shown in parentheses. Statistically significant at the ***99%, **90%, and *90% confidence level. Tables control for the same variables that appear in tables 3a. and 3b. Controls also include dichotomous variables identifying missing values for categorical variables.

Table 7. Determinants of Delinquent Behaviors, Selected Marginal Probabilities Standard errors are shown in parentheses. Statistically significant at the ***99%, **90%, and *90% confidence level. Tables control for the same variables that appear in tables 4a. and 4b. Controls also include dichotomous variables identifying missing values for categorical variables.

Table 8. Regressions of Parental Supervision on Sibling Gender and Family Structure

Table 9a. Effects of Siblings on Substance Use and Sexual Activity, Selected Marginal- Probabilities – Females Standard errors are shown in parentheses. Statistically significant at the ***99%, **90%, and *90% confidence level. Tables control for the same variables that appear in tables 3a. and 3b. Controls also include dichotomous variables identifying missing values for categorical variables.

Table 9b. Effects of Siblings on Substance Use and Sexual Activity, Selected Marginal- Probabilities – Males Standard errors are shown in parentheses. Statistically significant at the ***99%, **90%, and *90% confidence level. Tables control for the same variables that appear in tables 3a. and 3b. Controls also include dichotomous variables identifying missing values for categorical variables.