This study examined whether girls' and boys' academic strengths at age 16 and cognitive demands of their chosen occupation at age 35 are influenced by same or opposite-sex siblings. Using Swedish register data, two studies were conducted: Study 1 (3-sibling families, N=17,233) and Study 2 (2-sibling families, N=118,688). Both studies found that individuals' academic strengths were unaffected by sibship composition. Study 2 revealed that boys with a sister tended to choose more numerically demanding occupations than boys with a brother. Growing up in a more female or male environment did not significantly impact academic strengths or occupational choices, except for a small trend among boys.
Publisher
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Published On
Sep 29, 2021
Authors
Daniel Fellman, Richard Bränström, Agneta Herlitz
Tags
siblings
academic strengths
occupation choices
gender differences
cognitive demands
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