Number of Siblings and Social Capital Among Parents Rearing Schoolchildren: Results From the A-CHILD Study

Autor: Yukako Tani, Aya Isumi, Satomi Doi, Takeo Fujiwara
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 33, Iss 9, Pp 478-483 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 0917-5040
1349-9092
DOI: 10.2188/jea.JE20210510
Popis: Background: Having siblings may foster sociality; however, little is known about whether sibling number determines social capital, the resources obtained through social networks. We examined the association between sibling number and social capital among Japanese parents rearing schoolchildren. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the 2018 and 2019 Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (A-CHILD) study, targeting all primary and junior high school students and their parents in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan (n = 8,082). Individual-level social capital was evaluated by assessing caregivers’ social cohesion, social support, and group affiliation. All analyses were adjusted for age and sex. Results: An inverse U-shaped association was found between sibling number and social capital. Adults who grew up with one or two, but not three or more siblings had greater social support (coefficient = 0.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06–0.40 and coefficient = 0.46; 95% CI, 0.29–0.64, respectively) than those who grew up as an only child, after covariate adjustment. Adults who grew up with two or three, but not one or four or more siblings had greater group affiliation (coefficient = 0.09; 95% CI, 0.03–0.16 and coefficient = 0.09; 95% CI, 0.01–0.18, respectively) than those who grew up as an only child, after covariate adjustment. Sibling number was not associated with social cohesion. Conclusion: Growing up with one to three siblings was associated with higher social capital in adulthood than being an only child. Having siblings may provide an opportunity to foster social capital.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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