"Stoppage rules" (responses of parents to the question of having more children when a child has been born seriously handicapped) are discussed. The paper shows that application of stoppage rules to a recent study of 46 families shows that the segregation ratio was underestimated in the original report. (Author/DB)

Using data for 4,316 men and 4,782 women--from the 1975 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study of Social and Psychological Factors in Educational and Occupational Aspirations and Achievement--the relationship between intelligence quotient (IQ) and fertility was assessed. The effect of education on family size predicts the direction of evolution of genotypic…

Objective: To examine the occurrence, type and associations of harsh corporal punishment in Yemen. Methods: Caregiver and teacher reports were obtained on 1,196 Yemeni 7-10-year olds obtained by systematic random sampling of children in the 1st to 4th grades of urban and rural schools. Caregivers (86% mothers) reported on disciplinary practices,…

The relation between intelligence and birth order was shown in a recent publication [Bjerkedal, T., Kristensen, P., Skjeret, G. A. & Brevik, J. I. (2007). Intelligence test scores and birth order among young Norwegian men (conscripts) analyzed within and between families. "Intelligence," 35, 503-514] to be negative. Subjects in this…

This study investigates the impact of sibling ranking and the number of siblings per family on student achievement in ninth grade science. Secondary analysis was conducted based on empirical data from a key project sponsored by the China State Commission of Education in the late 1980s. Findings indicate that the science achievement of students…

American technical and economic preeminence are reported to be at risk from students' diminished intellectual ability, demonstrated until recently by declining precollege test scores. But aptitude gains are also reported. Average intelligence quotient rose substantially for persons born between 1900 and 1967, although IQ declined for those born in…

Although it has been suggested that contact with children is important for the satisfaction of the economic, emotional, and service needs of older parents, social gerontology research provides little direct evidence that childless elders or elders with few living children are less satisfied than others. To examine the effects of family size,…

Smaller families in general (including the one-child option) are becoming more popular. This ERIC Digest focuses on changing trends in family size, reasons for choosing to have only one child, differences between only children and those with siblings, and the advantages of being an only child. Changing family patterns, economic concerns, and new…

Analyzes 1973 Occupational Changes in a Generation Survey data to show that the effects of father's schooling and sibship size on sons' schooling are mainly additive and invariant over cohorts. Apparent interactions between father's schooling and sibship size result primarily from differences in mean educational attainment among sibship size…

Discusses issues related to population growth in Asia, considering various programs and their successes. Indicates that China has had the greatest recent success in reducing population growth (with its one-child family policy). (JN)

Examined effects of family size on mother-child relationships in later life. Subjects were taken from national probability sample which included adults aged 35-55 (n=3,083) who had a living mother and women aged 60-79 (n=1,101) with at least one living child. Found generally positive relationship between number of siblings and favorable…

Critiques research by Rodgers, et al. (June 2000) on the impact of family size on intelligence, explaining that it applied very simple analytic techniques to a very complex question, leading to unwarranted conclusions about family size and intelligence. Loss of cases, omission of an important ability test, and failure to apply multivariate…

A discussion of the Demographic Transition is included in many Environmental Biology or Environmental Science classes. The Demographic Transition occurs as a nation becomes more urban and wealthy, and was widely observed in the twentieth century. The phenomenon includes decreasing family size (fewer children) across generations. In this classroom…

This study examined mothers' and fathers' reports of their time spent in their school-age children's care and academic work and the relationships between socioeconomic status and social support variables with fathers' time spent in children's care and academic work within two-parent Mexican immigrant families. Mother and father dyads from 79…

The present paper reports the results of a within and between family analysis of the relation between birth order and intelligence. The material comprises more than a quarter of a million test scores for intellectual performance of Norwegian male conscripts recorded during 1984-2004. Conscripts, mostly 18-19 years of age, were born to women for…