Today we discussed a few readings that addressed social capital. For those of you not in my class, social capital is a term used to describe the relationships we have with other people, our networks of support, advice and resources. Some of the poor outcomes associated with single parent families are thought to be related to lower levels of social capital, the absence of fathers in particular. Social capital can help in finding employment, in obtaining higher education, and in finding life partners.
One interesting area is the effect of family size on social capital. Having come from a big family, I'm always interested in how that affected my upbringing. For instance, I attribute the fact that I am a fast eater to being from a large family. If you wanted second helpings, you had to hurry or the food would be gone!
The standard thinking is that having many siblings will reduce the social capital of any one child because the time and attention of parents will be diluted. Each child receives less. I am sure that this is true. I wonder, though, about the effect of sibling interactions. There is some evidence, for instance, that having an older sibling who has attended college helps a younger sibling in the college admissions process. But what about other, perhaps more difficult to measure, aspects of sibling relationships. Do older siblings introduce new ideas to their younger siblings? Our dinner table conversation would sometimes revolve around our older son's reading or science topics. I'm sure that our younger son picked up on some ideas, just by being present at the table. I remember vividly a bedtime conversation with my older sister when she revealed the mysteries of multiplication to me.
Is the effect unidirectional? Do only younger siblings benefit? Or is there some benefit to the older child, in terms of social capital?
As I age, I'm increasingly interested in sibling interactions as an area of research. Is it too late to embark on a new line of research?
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