Sibling Correlations Research Articles

Decomposing sibling correlations: a new measure of group-specific intergenerational persistence in socioeconomic outcomes

Abstract We introduce a novel approach for decomposing sibling correlations in socioeconomic attainment into group-specific components. These groups are defined at the family level, based on factors such as parental income, marital status, race, or the gender composition of siblings. Unlike existing studies that compare sibling correlations across different groups, our method accounts for differences in average outcomes between groups in the overall outcome distribution. This approach results in a group-specific measure of persistence in the overall outcome distribution, contrasting with the ‘within-group’ measure commonly used in the literature. Additionally, we propose a straightforward ‘counterfactual’ framework to identify which groups have a greater impact on trends or country differences in sibling correlations. We present three examples that demonstrate the utility of our method.

The Total Effect of Social Origins on Educational Attainment: Meta-analysis of Sibling Correlations From 18 Countries

The sibling correlation (SC), which estimates the total effect of family background (i.e., social origins), can be interpreted as measuring a society's inequality of opportunity. Its sensitivity to observed and unobserved factors makes the SC an all-encompassing measure and an attractive choice for comparative research. We gather and summarize all available estimates of SCs in educational attainment (M = .46, SD = .09) and employ meta-regression to explore variability in these estimates. First, we find significantly lower SCs in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark than in the United States, with U.S. correlations roughly .10 (i.e., 25%) higher. Most other (primarily European) countries in our study are estimated to fall in between these countries and the United States. Second, we find a novel Great Gatsby Curve–type positive association between income inequality in childhood and the SC, both cross-nationally and within countries over time. This finding supports theoretical accounts of the Great Gatsby Curve that emphasize the role of educational inequality as a link between economic inequality and social immobility. It implies that greater equality of educational opportunity likely requires reduced economic inequality. Additionally, correlations between sisters are modestly higher, on average, than those between brothers or all siblings, and we find no overall differences between cohorts.

Mate selection and current trends in the prevalence of autism

BackgroundAccording to the most recent U.S. CDC surveillance data, the rise in prevalence of childhood autism spectrum disorder among minority children has begun to outpace that of non-Hispanic white children. Since prior research has identified possible differences in the extent of mate selection for autistic traits across families of different ethnicity, this study examined variation in autism related traits in contemporaneous, epidemiologically ascertained samples of spousal pairs representing Hispanic and non-Hispanic white populations. The purpose was to determine whether discrepancies by ethnicity could contribute to differential increases in prevalence in the current generation of young children.MethodsBirth records were used to identify all twin pairs born between 2011 and 2013 in California and Missouri. Families were selected at random from pools of English-speaking Hispanic families in California and Non-Hispanic White families in Missouri. Autistic trait data of parents was obtained using the Adult Report Form of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2).ResultsWe did not identify a statistically significant difference in the degree of mate selection for autism related traits between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white spousal pairs. However, the degree of spousal correlation observed in this recent cohort was pronounced (on the order of ICC 0.45) and exceeded that typically reported in prior research (on the order of 0.30), surpassing also widely reported estimates for sibling correlation (also on the order of 0.30).LimitationsThe sample did not allow for a direct appraisal of change in the magnitude of spousal correlation over time and the ascertainments of trait burden were derived from spouse report.ConclusionAcross two epidemiologically ascertained samples of spousal pairs representing Hispanic and non-Hispanic white families across two U.S. states (respectively, California and Missouri), the extent of autism-related trait co-variation for parents of the current generation of young children is substantial and exceeds correlations typically observed for siblings. Given the heritability of these traits and their relation to autism risk, societal trends in the degree of mate selection for these traits should be considered as possible contributors to subtle increases in the incidence of autism over time and across generations.

Social origins and educational attainment: The unique contributions of parental education, class, and financial resources over time.

This study examines the unique contributions of parental wealth, class background, education, and income to different measures of educational attainment. We build on recent sibling correlation approaches to estimate, using Norwegian register data, the gross and net contribution of each social origin dimension across almost 3decades of birth cohorts. Our findings suggest that parental education is crucial for all measures of children's educational outcomes in all models. In the descriptive analyses, we find that while broad education measures remain stable or decrease over time, attaining higher tertiary education and elite degrees is more stable or increasingly dependent on family background, especially parental financial resources. While gross sibling correlation models show somewhat decreasing trends in the contribution of education in all measures of educational outcomes, net models show that the unique contributions of financial resources have increased over time. Our results lend some support to the idea of education as a positional good and suggest that educational inequalities reflect broader patterns of inequality in society. Our results further indicate that the importance of parental education and cultural capital for children's education can be explained by within-resource transmission but that pro-educational norms tied to wealth may play an increasingly important role in educational mobility. In summary, this study sheds light on the multidimensional nature of social origins and highlights the role of different factors in shaping educational outcomes over time.

Family background consistently affects economic success across the life cycle: A research note on how brother correlations overlap over the life course.

Scholars of social mobility increasingly study the role of family background in shaping attainment throughout the entire life course. However, research has yet to establish whether the family characteristics influencing early career attainment are the same as those influencing late career attainment. In this research note, I apply an extended sibling correlation approach to analyze brothers' life cycle earnings and family income, using data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. My analysis reveals a near-perfect correlation in the family characteristics that affect attainment at early, mid, and late career stages. This finding has significant implications for how mobility scholars conceptualize the impact of family background across a career. It suggests that family background forms a single, consistent dimension in determining attainment throughout the life course. Further analysis also indicates that the imperfect relationship between current and lifetime income is exclusively driven by within-family processes.

338 Features of genotype-phenotype correlation in siblings with cystic fibrosis

338 Features of genotype-phenotype correlation in siblings with cystic fibrosis

Following in the parents’ footsteps? Using sibling data to analyse the intergenerational transmission of social (dis)advantage in Scotland

Abstract This study provides new evidence about the extent to which individual occupational status is determined by family of origin (ascription) and by educational attainment (achievement). Using linked administrative data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study, we measure intergenerational mobility using sibling correlations and we assess the effect of siblings’ education on their occupational status by examining between- and within-sibling differences. We show that about 36 per cent of siblings’ variation in occupational status in Scotland is attributable to shared family factors. Our observed measures of family background explain about 40 per cent of the shared family effect, meaning that family-based advantages in the Scottish labour market largely arise from unmeasured factors. We also find that siblings’ educational attainment accounts for 80 per cent of the variation between families in occupational status. While this may suggest that the Scottish labour market is highly meritocratic, previous research that showed a very strong family effect on educational attainment leads us to a different interpretation, namely that social inequalities in education are the main mechanism through which inequalities between families are reproduced (and perhaps legitimated) in the Scottish labour market.

Family socioeconomic status and sibling correlations in upper secondary education. An empirical analysis of educational inequalities in Italy.

The study examines the educational inequalities in upper secondary education in Italy, with a focus on the vertical dimension of school enrolment and the horizontal dimension of track and curriculum choice. To measure the importance of family background, we use the estimation of sibling correlations, which has seldom been used in the analysis of track choice in upper secondary education. Using data from the Italian Labor Force Survey 2005-2020 (ILFS), which includes detailed information on household characteristics such as the gender composition of siblings and parental education and occupational status, we find that around half of the variation in the probability of attending upper secondary school in Italy is related to the family of origin. We also show that comparing sibling correlations on binary outcomes should be complemented by additional statistics, such as variances at the individual and family levels and proportions of enrolled sibling pairs. For upper secondary school enrolment, advantaged families have a relatively lower sibling correlation due to minor variations at both individual and family levels. However, in terms of track choice, the sibling correlation is relatively higher for enrolment in the academic track compared to the technical and vocational tracks. Additionally, with respect to the attendance of science/technical curricula within each track, the results indicate a lower sibling correlation for the academic track than for the other two tracks, which suggests that individual characteristics have a greater impact than family background when these outcomes are considered.

Genotype-phenotype correlation in siblings with cystic fibrosis

Introduction. Despite the genetic counseling, families with cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and modern possibilities of prenatal molecular genetic screening, the occurrence of CF in more than one child in a family is not rare. The same genotype is expected to determine the specific phenotype in CF patients, especially in siblings. However, broad clinical heterogeneity could indicate the influence of secondary genetic factors on the course of the disease.
 The aim of the study is to examine the genotype-phenotype correlation and disease course features in CF siblings, including twins.
 Materials and methods. A clinical retrospective cohort observational study included fifty three sibs (23 boys, 30 girls) aged from 6 months to 17 years 9 months (median age of 8.3 (4.8–12.9) years, age difference 5 ± 2 years) with a diagnosis of CF confirmed by molecular genetic methods. Group 1 consisted of 9 twin pairs (3 — monozygotic, 6 — dizygotic), group 2 — 35 complete sibs.
 Results. The mean age of diagnosis for older sibs is 2.5 years (8 months — 9,8 years; min — 1 months, max — 17 years) and for younger sibs — 8.5 months (1.3 months–3 years). Chronologically, the onset of CF was registered earlier in younger sibs than in older sibs in 3 (16.7%). In 6 (22.2%) of families, the pancreatic status of sibs varied from normal function to severe pancreatic insufficiency, with the occurrence of pancreatitis observed in only 4 (7.6%) patients. In 21 (77.8%) families with sibs infected by P.aeruginosa, 5 (23.8%) had a simultaneous primary culture of the pathogen, 8 (38,1%) had culture in both children but with an interval from 1 month to 9.5 years (Ме: 3.2 (5 months–4.9 years), and in 8 (38.1%) had culture in only 1 sibling. All younger sibs had the primary contamination at an earlier age with a 5.3 year (2–6.6 years;) difference. In 10 (37.0%) of the families, the pulmonary function of the sibs was variable. The number of bronchopulmonary exacerbations per year ranged in 8 (29.6%) of sib pairs and averaged 1.3 ± 0.5 in older sibs, 1.1 ± 0.3 in younger sibs, and 1.7 ± 1.3 in twins. The severity of hepatic involvement varied in 9 (33.3%) of sib pairs: no morbidity in 6 (33.3%), cystic fibrosis-associated fibrosis in 7 (38.9%), and cirrhosis with portal hypertension in 5 (27.8%).
 Conclusion. CF siblings, despite the same genotype, similar environmental conditions, and high risk of cross-infection, are characterized by wide phenotypic heterogeneity. Aside from the pathogenic CFTR variants, there are other genetic (modifier genes) and epigenetic (microRNA, DNA methylation) factors that could contribute to the clinical features of cystic fibrosis.

P032 Genotype-phenotype correlation in siblings with Cystic Fibrosis

Objectives: Although the prevalence of molecular genetic testing is high, the occurrence of cystic fibrosis (CF) in more than one child in a family is not rare. It is believed that the identic genotype in sibs causes the same course of the disease. The aim of this study is to investigate the genotype-phenotype correlation in sibs including twins with CF from one family.

Origins of attainment: do brother correlations in occupational status and income overlap?

Abstract We study the overlap in the overall impact of family background on two widely studied labour market outcomes by considering whether brother similarities in occupational status are rooted in the same underlying family characteristics that affect brother similarities in income. We extend previous research using sibling correlations as an omnibus measure of total family background impact on a given outcome by directly quantifying how brother correlations in occupational status and income overlap. We apply a novel variance components model to data from Denmark and the United States, two countries known to follow a contradictory pattern: While income mobility is much lower in the United States, occupational mobility is virtually similar. Apart from confirming this pattern, we find a substantial overlap, around 70 per cent, in brother similarities in income and occupational status in both countries. Conventional family background variables account for less than one-fifth of this overlap in each country, suggesting that shared family origins of attainment in these two domains are constituted by largely unknown family characteristics. We speculate what these characteristics might be.

Estimation Of Heritability Value on Body Weight, Egg Weight, and Egg Index Arabic Chicken in BPBTNR Chicken Satker Maron, Temanggung

Arabic chicken is one of the local chickens that have superior productivity. Government efforts to continue increasing livestock productivity and genetic quality can be carried out through breeding programs based on genetic parameters, including heritability. Research on estimating heritability in Arabic chickens has never been reported at the BPBTNR Maron Working Unit. This research aims to determine the heritability of Arabic chicken's body weight, egg weight, and egg index. The sample used was 50 healthy Arabian chickens aged ten months. The eggs used came from matings between Arab hens and Arab hens with a ratio of 1:5, namely ten males and 50 females. Chickens and eggs were measured using digital scales and calipers. The statistical method used is ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) analysis followed by descriptive analysis. Heritability values were calculated using the half-sibling correlation method (paternal half sibling correlation). The results showed that the average body weight, egg weight and egg index in the Maron Chicken Satker BPBTNR, Temanggung were 1,270 ± 0.21 g, 45.37 ± 3.68 g and 76.10 ± 3.27, respectively. Meanwhile, the heritability value of the body weight of Arabic chickens was classified as moderate (0.145 ± 0.344), egg weight (0.355 ± 0.361) and egg index (0.464 ± 0.371) was classified as high. Keywords: arabic chicken, heritability, average value

Making the Most of Coresident Data: Credible Evidence on Intergenerational Mobility with Sibling Correlation

Making the Most of Coresident Data: Credible Evidence on Intergenerational Mobility with Sibling Correlation

Mosaic Loss of Chromosome Y in Peripheral Blood Cells and Cognitive Status in the Amish

AbstractBackgroundMosaic loss of chromosome Y (mLOY) refers to acquired aneuploidy in a fraction of somatic cells. In aging men, has been suggested as a possible biomarker for increased risk of numerous diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We investigated mLOY as a risk factor for AD in the Mid‐Western Amish, a founder population with homogeneous lifestyle, reducing the effect of confounding environmental factors.MethodThe median of the log R ratio (mLRRY) from SNP array data within the male‐specific region of chromosome Y was used to measure the degree of mLOY. A mLRRY value lower than the 99% confidence limit of the experimental distribution was scored to estimate the frequency of mLOY. The cognitive status was assigned via consensus review of cognitive examination results. Men in 3 age groups (65‐74, 75‐84, >=85) were included. The linear mixed model with a polygenic component to account for relatedness and a transformation to address non‐normality was used to estimate familial correlations and heritability. A likelihood ratio test of association was performed with age at blood sampling and age of cognitive exam as covariates.ResultAfter extensive QC, 533 participants (mean age=75.42±6.17) were included and 39 (7.9%) had a detectable level of mLOY. mLOY frequency increased with age (p<1.0x10‐6): 1.0% (65‐74; n=103), 8.4% (75‐84; n=334) and 14.3% (85+; n=96). Heritability of mLOY was 0.53 and the residual sibling correlation was 0.27 (n=201, p<1.0x10‐2). A subset of 423 individuals were assigned to the cognitively impaired (n=134) or unimpaired (n=289) groups and mLOY was significantly higher in the cognitively impaired group (p<0.0001). .ConclusionThe sibling correlation was significant for mLOY. We observed the same trend as reported in other European descent populations: mLOY increased with age and was more frequent in cognitively impaired individuals. The frequency of mLOY in Amish was lower than reported, overall and in each age stratum. Our results along with the lower prevalence of AD in Amish reinforces as a promising biomarker for the risk of AD.

It runs in the family?

Family background has been shown to be a strong determinant of educational attainment, yet relatively little is known about the role that family background plays in PhD attainment or in the selection into academic careers. In this study, we estimate sibling correlations from Finnish full population register data to comprehensively assess the importance of family background in selection into academia. Our results show that family background accounts for over a third of the overall variation in becoming a PhD and subsequently an academic — a share which is up to four times as large as implied by conventional comparisons by parental education. However, we did not find evidence that family background would be an exceptionally strong determinant of doctoral outcomes when compared to other educational outcomes. Our findings further suggest that sibling similarities in PhD attainment and academic careers may largely be attributed to sibling similarities in prior educational achievement rather than to other family background characteristics.

Growing Up Together: Sibling Correlation, Parental Influence, and Intergenerational Educational Mobility in Developing Countries

Growing Up Together: Sibling Correlation, Parental Influence, and Intergenerational Educational Mobility in Developing Countries

Intergenerational health mobility: Evidence from Danish registers.

This paper is one of the first to investigate mobility in overall health using high-quality administrative data. The attractiveness of this approach lies in objective health measures and large sample sizes allowing twin analyses. I operationalize health mobility by a variety of statistics: rank-rank slopes, intergenerational correlations (IGCs) and sibling and identical twin correlations. I find rank-rank slopes and IGCs in the range 0.11-0.15 and sibling correlations in the range 0.14-0.20. Mobility in health is thus relatively high, both when compared to similar US-based studies, and when contrasted with outcomes such as educational attainment and income. Comparing sibling and identical twin correlations with parent-child associations confirms earlier findings in the literature on equality of opportunity, namely that sibling correlations capture far more variation than traditional IGCs. I conclude that 14%-38% of the variation in individual health outcomes can be attributed to family background and genes, factors which the individual cannot be held accountable for. This finding suggests that simple parent-child associations may be a poor metric for measuring health mobility.

Resource specificity in intergenerational inequality: The case of education, occupation, and income

Socioeconomic status (SES) multidimensionality in the intergenerational transmission of inequality is examined by focusing on how multiple SES resources – education, occupation, and income – are transmitted over corresponding child outcomes. The degree to which transfers are generic or specific over resources is assessed and whether misspecification results in bias. Using high-quality Swedish administrative register data and estimating variance decompositions of sibling correlations, the findings suggest, first, that intergenerational inequality is subject to resource specificity, i.e., transmission is particular to given parental and child resource configurations. Second, within resource transmission implies that the same parental resource as the child outcome matter most in the transmission of advantage. In this sense, parental education is more important in the attainment of children’s education, while family economic (dis)advantage matter more for children’s economic status than other resources, etcetera. Third, resource transmission follows a SES proximity pattern, where parental education is least correlated with child income, and parental income is least correlated with children’s education – with parental occupation in between. Finally, the bias due to ignoring multidimensionality is estimated to an upper bound of 31 percent – with considerable confounding bias found as well. In sum, resource specificity offers a perspective on how socioeconomic inequality is (re)produced over generations and highlights the methodological risks of underestimating intergenerational inequality.

Wealth as One of the “Big Four” SES Dimensions in Intergenerational Transmissions

Abstract Recent scholarship on mobility has increasingly incorporated wealth. We ask if wealth brings anything new to mobility research or is just a standard socioeconomic status (SES) dimension in disguise. We exploit Swedish administrative registers, which contain rich SES measures over individuals’ lives for both parents’ and children’s generations. Using sibling correlations to estimate a baseline of shared family background influence, we then perform a total decomposition for each SES dimension and their overlaps. We find that wealth is a distinct dimension of SES that is very different from education, occupation, and income. Parental wealth cannot be substituted for other SES dimensions in understanding child’s wealth attainment. Moreover, parental wealth substantially moderates intergenerational reproduction in other dimensions: The wealthiest have higher reproduction rates in all child outcomes, but in particular for children’s income and wealth. Excluding wealth leads to underestimating intergenerational inequality, aggravated by its qualitatively unique status as an SES resource. We conclude that—alongside the SES resources education, occupation, and income—wealth emerges as an integral and unique dimension of what we choose to call the “big four” of social stratification.

Наследуемость соотношения длин пальцев 2D: 4D

A Chuvashian population-based sample included 802 males and 738 females (mean age 46.98±17.10 and 48.65±16.62 years, correspondingly). Age, basic demographics, anthropometric data, reproductive indices, and x-rays of both hands were collected. Results and discussion. Familial correlations of FLR traits showed no significant correlation for spouses, however, parent-offspring (0.15-0.28, p<0.001) and sibling correlations (0.13-0.38, p<0.009) were found significant. Heritability (H2) of visual classification of FLR was 0.36 for the left and 0.28 for the right hand; finger ratio was 0.55 and 0.66, respectively; the ray ratio was 0.49 and 0.59, respectively, thus indicating the existence of a clear familial aggregation of FLR variation in the Chuvashian pedigrees, which cannot be explained by pure common environmental effects. Conclusion. Results of our study suggest the familial aggregations of finger ratio variation (for all traits) in Chuvashian pedigrees. Further research should focus on the biological mechanisms of the relationship between FLR and aging.