What Parents Learn From Experience: The First Child as a First Draft?

Authors: Shawn D. Whiteman¹; Susan M. McHale²; Ann C. Crouter²

Source: Journal of Marriage and Family, Volume 65, Number 3, August 2003 , pp. 608-621(14)

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Abstract:

This study sought evidence for the proposition that experiences with earlier-born adolescents will improve parents' interactions with and parenting of later-born adolescents. Participants were mothers, fathers, and both first- and second-born siblings from 392 families participating in a longitudinal study. To collect information on siblings' family experiences, family members were interviewed individually in their homes. During the subsequent 2 to 3 weeks, 7 evening telephone interviews were also conducted, which focused on siblings' daily activities. Findings suggest that when parent-adolescent relationships were measured at the same age for both siblings, parents experienced less conflict with their second-born as compared with their firstborn adolescent offspring and exhibited greater knowledge of their second-born offspring's daily activities as compared with their firstborns' daily experiences. These results are consistent with the notion that parents may learn from their childrearing experiences.

Keywords: adolescents; birth order; family systems; parenting; siblings; within-family designs

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00608.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, 113 South Henderson Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 ( ), Email: sdw160@psu.edu 2: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, 105 White Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802

Publication date: 2003-08-01