Sibling effects, environmental influences, and university attendance: a follow-up study

In 2002 Marjoribanks examined relations among sibling variables, environmental influences, and school dropout. In this follow-up study, relations were examined between sibling variables (number of children in the family, birth order position) and university attendance. Data were collected from 8,005 (4,116 women, 3,889 men) Australian young adults (M age=20.1 yr., SD=0.5). Logistic regression analyses in the two studies indicated that (a) young adults from Asian, Middle Eastern, and middle-class families were less likely to drop out of school and more likely to attend a university than were young Australians from Anglo-Australian, English, European, and working-class backgrounds, and (b) after taking into account differences in family background and learning environment measures, there continued to be small but significant relations between the number of children in families, birth-order position, and the likelihood that young people would drop out of school or attend a university.