| 1. |
- Baier, Tina, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic Influences on Educational Achievement in Cross-National Perspective
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Sociological Review. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0266-7215 .- 1468-2672. ; 38:6, s. 959-974
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is a growing interest in how social conditions moderate genetic influences on education [gene–environment interactions (GxE)]. Previous research has focused on the family, specifically parents’ social background, and has neglected the institutional environment. To assess the impact of macro-level influences, we compare genetic influences on educational achievement and their social stratification across Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. We combine well-established GxE-conceptualizations with the comparative stratification literature and propose that educational systems and welfare-state regimes affect the realization of genetic potential. We analyse population-representative survey data on twins (Germany and the United States) and twin registers (Norway and Sweden), and estimate genetically sensitive variance decomposition models. Our comparative design yields three main findings. First, Germany stands out with comparatively weak genetic influences on educational achievement suggesting that early tracking limits the realization thereof. Second, in the United States genetic influences are comparatively strong and similar in size compared to the Nordic countries. Third, in Sweden genetic influences are stronger among disadvantaged families supporting the expectation that challenging and uncertain circumstances promote genetic expression. This ideosyncratic finding must be related to features of Swedish social institutions or welfare-state arrangements that are not found in otherwise similar countries.
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| 2. |
- Barclay, Kieron J., et al.
(författare)
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Birth Intervals and Health in Adulthood : A Comparison of Siblings Using Swedish Register Data
- 2018
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Ingår i: Demography. - : Duke University Press. - 0070-3370 .- 1533-7790. ; 55:3, s. 929-955
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A growing body of research has examined whether birth intervals influence perinatal outcomes and child health as well as long-term educational and socioeconomic outcomes. To date, however, very little research has examined whether birth spacing influences long-term health. We use contemporary Swedish population register data to examine the relationship between birth-to-birth intervals and a variety of health outcomes in adulthood: for men, height, physical fitness, and the probability of falling into different body mass index categories; and for men and women, mortality. In models that do not adjust carefully for family background, we find that short and long birth intervals are clearly associated with height, physical fitness, being overweight or obese, and mortality. However, after carefully adjusting for family background using a within-family sibling comparison design, we find that birth spacing is generally not associated with long-term health, although we find that men born after very long birth intervals have a higher probability of being overweight or obese in early adulthood. Overall, we conclude that birth intervals have little independent effect on long-term health outcomes.
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| 3. |
- Barclay, Kieron J., et al.
(författare)
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Peer clustering of exercise and eating behaviours among young adults in Sweden : a cross-sectional study of egocentric network data
- 2013
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2458. ; 13, s. 784-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Research suggests that the growing prevalence of obesity may be related to the influence of the health behaviours of peers. We look at clustering of exercise and eating behaviours amongst a previously unstudied group, young adults in Sweden. Previous research has mainly been conducted in the United States and Britain, countries that have relatively high rates of obesity. Methods: Using ego-alter dyads from the egocentric network data as the unit of analysis, we conduct logistic regressions to investigate the association between ego and alter exercise and eating behaviours. Results: Respondents have a significantly greater probability of engaging in regular exercise and eating healthily if a nominated peer also does so. Furthermore, the degree to which this behavior is shared is modulated by the strength of the relationship between the two individuals, with a greater probability of engaging in these behaviours observed when the relationship with the nominated peer is strong relative to when the relationship is weak. However, we find that ego-alter homogeneity in terms of gender and migration status was not associated with a significantly greater probability of behaving in a similar manner to a nominated peer. Furthermore, the status of the nominated peer as a relative or not did not impact the probability that the ego would engage in similar health behaviours to that alter. Conclusions: We observe strong associations between ego and alter health behaviours for young adults, consistent with previous research. Although we cannot draw causal inferences, these results suggest that the health behaviours of an individual's peers may play a role in shaping their own health behaviours.
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| 4. |
- Barclay, Kieron J.
(författare)
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SEX COMPOSITION OF THE WORKPLACE AND MORTALITY RISK
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Biosocial Science. - 0021-9320 .- 1469-7599. ; 45:6, s. 807-821
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study uses Swedish occupational register data to examine whether the proportion of men in administrative workplaces in the Swedish public service affects all-cause mortality risks amongst both males and females of working age. Using piecewise constant survival models to analyse occupational data from the Swedish administrative registers from 1995 to 2007, it was found that for males, a 1% increase in the proportion of males was associated with a 1.3% increase in mortality risk (hazard ratio, HR 1.013, 95% CI 1.007-1.020, p < 0.001), but no association was found for females (HR 1.004, 95% CI 0.996-1.012, p = 0.297). Adjustments were made for age, family status, education, occupational status, occupational segregation by sex, the total number of individuals in the workplace, level of government, region, period and variables reflecting the workplace structure by age, age by sex, occupation and education. A higher proportion of males may be related to (i) an increased exposure to risky health behaviours such as alcohol consumption and unhealthy dietary patterns, (ii) a tendency towards sickness presenteeism, and (iii) an increase in the levels of several well-established emotional stressors in the workplace, leading to an increased level of psychosocial stress. The findings and potential extensions of this research are discussed.
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| 5. |
- Barclay, Kieron J.
(författare)
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Sex ratios at sexual maturity and longevity : Evidence from Swedish register data
- 2013
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Ingår i: Demographic Research. - 1435-9871. ; 29, s. 837-864
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: This study tests the recently proposed hypothesis that the contextual sex ratio at sexual maturity is related to longevity. Previous empirical research in the United States has shown that a higher proportion of males at the age of sexual maturity increases the risk of mortality for males both before and after the age of 65.Methods: I use Swedish administrative register data, linking the 1960 census to individual- level mortality data over the period 1960 to 2007. I calculate the sex ratio at two geographic levels, municipalities and parishes. Two different specifications of the sex ratio are calculated: males aged 18 to 27 over females aged 15 to 24, and males aged 18 to 22 over females aged 16 to 20. I conduct piece-wise constant survival analyses over the period from 1960 to 2007 to analyze the risk of mortality before age 65. I run separate analyses for males and females, using cohorts born in 1941 and 1942.Results: For males, the results generally show that for both males and females a higher proportion of males was associated with a lower relative risk of mortality before age 65. The results were not statistically significant.Conclusions: The lack of a consistent statistically significant association for either males or females, and the trend for males being in the opposite direction of what was hypothesized, suggests that support for the hypothesis in Sweden is very weak.
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| 6. |
- Barclay, Kieron J.
(författare)
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The birth order paradox : Sibling differences in educational attainment
- 2018
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Ingår i: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. - : Elsevier BV. - 0276-5624 .- 1878-5654. ; 54, s. 56-65
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study uses population register data to examine the relationship between birth order and educational attainment in Sweden, and demonstrates that while the net effect of birth order on educational attainment is negative, later-born children often spend longer in education. The explanation for this finding is due to educational expansion in Sweden in the 20th century, which outweighs the negative causal effect of birth order for the affected cohorts. This is particularly true for women due to the fact that the rate of increasing educational enrolment has been greater for women than for men. These results also show that later-borns in large families particularly benefit from educational expansion due to the longer average birth interval between the first and last child in large families, meaning that the supply of educational opportunities increased to a greater extent in the intervening period. However, in periods where education is not expanding, later-born siblings continue to fare worse than first-borns.
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| 7. |
- Barclay, Kieron J., et al.
(författare)
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The Effects of Marital Status, Fertility, and Bereavement on Adult Mortality in Polygamous and Monogamous Households : Evidence From the Utah Population Database
- 2020
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Ingår i: Demography. - : Duke University Press. - 0070-3370 .- 1533-7790. ; 57:6, s. 2169-2198
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although the associations among marital status, fertility, bereavement, and adult mortality have been widely studied, much less is known about these associations in polygamous households, which remain prevalent across much of the world. We use data from the Utah Population Database on 110,890 women and 106,979 men born up to 1900, with mortality follow-up into the twentieth century. We examine how the number of wife deaths affects male mortality in polygamous marriages, how sister wife deaths affect female mortality in polygamous marriages relative to the death of a husband, and how marriage order affects the mortality of women in polygamous marriages. We also examine how the number of children ever born and child deaths affect the mortality of men and women as well as variation across monogamous and polygamous unions. Our analyses of women show that the death of a husband and the death of a sister wife have similar effects on mortality. Marriage order does not play a role in the mortality of women in polygamous marriages. For men, the death of one wife in a polygamous marriage increases mortality to a lesser extent than it does for men in monogamous marriages. For polygamous men, losing additional wives has a dose-response effect. Both child deaths and lower fertility are associated with higher mortality. We consistently find that the presence of other kin in the household-whether a second wife, a sister wife, or children-mitigates the negative effects of bereavement.
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| 8. |
- Barclay, Kieron J., et al.
(författare)
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Workplace sex composition and ischaemic heart disease : A longitudinal analysis using Swedish register data
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 42:6, s. 525-533
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: The aim of this study is to follow-up on previous research indicating that the sex composition of workplaces is related to a number of health outcomes, including sickness absenteeism and mortality. We test two hypotheses. The first is Kanter's theory of tokenism, which suggests that minority group members suffer from an increased risk of stress. Secondly, we test the hypothesis that workplaces with a higher proportion of men will have a higher incidence rate of ischaemic heart disease (IHD), as men are more likely to engage in negative health behaviours, and through peer effects this will result in a workplace culture that is detrimental to health over the long term. Methods: Large-scale, longitudinal Swedish administrative register data are used to study the risk of overnight hospitalization for IHD amongst 67,763 men over the period 1990 to 2001. Discrete-time survival analyses were estimated in the form of logistic regression models. Results: Men have an elevated risk of suffering from IHD in non-gender-balanced workplaces, but this association was only statistically significant in workplaces with 61-80% and 81-100% males. However, after adjusting for occupation no clear pattern of association could be discerned. No pattern of association was observed for women. Conclusions: This study suggests that the gender composition of workplaces is not strongly associated with the risk of suffering from IHD.
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| 9. |
- Gardner, Eugene J., et al.
(författare)
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Reduced reproductive success is associated with selective constraint on human genes
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 603:7903, s. 858-863
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genome-wide sequencing of human populations has revealed substantial variation among genes in the intensity of purifying selection acting on damaging genetic variants1. Although genes under the strongest selective constraint are highly enriched for associations with Mendelian disorders, most of these genes are not associated with disease and therefore the nature of the selection acting on them is not known2. Here we show that genetic variants that damage these genes are associated with markedly reduced reproductive success, primarily owing to increased childlessness, with a stronger effect in males than in females. We present evidence that increased childlessness is probably mediated by genetically associated cognitive and behavioural traits, which may mean that male carriers are less likely to find reproductive partners. This reduction in reproductive success may account for 20% of purifying selection against heterozygous variants that ablate protein-coding genes. Although this genetic association may only account for a very minor fraction of the overall likelihood of being childless (less than 1%), especially when compared to more influential sociodemographic factors, it may influence how genes evolve over time.
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| 10. |
- Grätz, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Sibling Similarity in Education Across and Within Societies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Demography. - : Duke University Press. - 0070-3370 .- 1533-7790. ; 58:3, s. 1011-1037
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The extent to which siblings resemble each other measures the omnibus impact of family background on life chances. We study sibling similarity in cognitive skills, school grades, and educational attainment in Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We also compare sibling similarity by parental education and occupation within these societies. The comparison of sibling correlations across and within societies allows us to characterize the omnibus impact of family background on education across social landscapes. Across countries, we find larger population-level differences in sibling similarity in educational attainment than in cognitive skills and school grades. In general, sibling similarity in education varies less across countries than sibling similarity in earnings. Compared with Scandinavian countries, the United States shows more sibling similarity in cognitive skills and educational attainment but less sibling similarity in school grades. We find that socioeconomic differences in sibling similarity vary across parental resources, countries, and measures of educational success. Sweden and the United States show greater sibling similarity in educational attainment in families with a highly educated father, and Finland and Norway show greater sibling similarity in educational attainment in families with a low-educated father. We discuss the implications of our results for theories about the impact of institutions and income inequality on educational inequality and the mechanisms that underlie such inequality.
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