School Grades and Responsibility for Younger Siblings: An Empirical Study of the "Teaching Function"
基于美国6至12年级学生数据，研究发现白人学生的成绩与年长兄弟姐妹数量负相关，而黑人学生的成绩与照顾年幼弟妹的责任负相关，且白人学生中频繁照顾弟妹可能适得其反。
Hypotheses derived from the confluence model of family effects upon intellectual growth and from related theory and research are tested in data from sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students. Self-reported school grades have a substantial negative relationship with number of older siblings among whites, but not among blacks. The grades of the black respondents have a surprising negative relationship with responsibility for younger siblings. Confluence-model ideas appear to be less adequate for blacks than for whites, but some revisions in the model may be required in the case of whites also. Among whites, grades are curvilinearly related to responsibility for younger siblings, indicating that very frequent responsibility for younger sisters and brothers may be counterproductive. Females report greater responsibility for younger siblings than males, but there is no indication that the sex difference in this variable accounts for the sex difference in grades.