Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026

Using Cholesky Decomposition to Explore Individual Differences in Longitudinal Relations between Reading Skills
Published on: September 17, 2019
Family and Community Influences on Health and Socioeconomic Status: Sibling Correlations Over the Life Course
1Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, bmazumder@frbchi.org.
None:
This paper presents new estimates of sibling correlations in health and socioeconomic outcomes over the life course in the U.S. Sibling correlations provide an omnibus measure of the importance of all family and community influences. I find that sibling correlations in a range of health and socioeconomic outcomes start quite high at birth and remain high over the life course. The sibling correlation in birth weight is estimated to be 0.5. Sibling correlations in test scores during childhood are as high as 0.6. Sibling correlations in adult men's wages are also around 0.5. Decompositions provide suggestive evidence on which pathways may account for the gradients in health and SES by family background. For example, sibling correlations in cognitive skills and non-cognitive skills during childhood are lower controlling for family income. Similarly, parent education levels can account for a sizable portion of the correlation in adult health status among brothers.
Related Concept Videos
Relationship with Other Adult Family Members and Siblings
Factors Affecting Illness
For instance, risk factors are connected to illness, disability,...
Impact of Social Context on Individuals
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth. This guiding role...
Dimensions of Health and Illness
Close Relationships and Culture

