Family and social networks are widely believed to influence important life decisions but identifying their causal effects is notoriously difficult. Using admissions thresholds that directly affect older but not younger siblings' college options, we present evidence from the United States, Chile, Sweden and Croatia that older siblings' college and…

Background: The presence of health problems in a child is known to be negatively associated with later academic achievement, but less is known about the educational outcomes for siblings of children in poor health. The study investigated how having a sibling with health problems affects a healthy sibling's academic achievement. Methods: We…

This paper explores family language policy in Turkish-speaking families in Sweden. Questionnaires were administered to the parents of 105 Turkish/Swedish children (age 4-7), targeting family language practices (including parent-parent, parent-child, child-parent, child-and-sibling conversation and language-fostering activities such as joint book…

The aim of the study is to examine students' experiences of school performance as a stressor. Accounts of school-performance stress at both the individual level and in relation to group mechanisms are studied through qualitative interviews with eighth-grade students in a high-performing school in Stockholm, Sweden (n = 49). Using qualitative…

Despite high prevalence rates of social anxiety disorder (SAD) and high rates of victimization in adolescents, studies on the relationship between these phenomena are missing. In the present study we report associations between SAD and multiple victimization experiences in a community sample of adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted on…

Some children with autism and learning disabilities also have aberrant behaviours that are difficult to regulate and stressful for both the child and family members. This case study concerns experiences of 10 parents from five families before and 2 years after entrusting their 10- to 11-year-old child with autism to a group home. Hermeneutic…