Duration:
Since 01 January 2020

Research Team:
(Head of project)
Simone Baglioni (Head of project)
Prof. Dr. Wiebke Schulz (Head of project)
Simone Baglioni

Twin comparisons offer a powerful quasi-experimental design that allows controlling for genetic and environmental confounds. Nevertheless, there are concerns about the generalizability of results obtained from twin studies. At the heart of these concerns are particularities related to twin families that may have such a large impact on family processes that it is not possible to infer from them on family processes in non-twin families. Using data from two representative surveys for Germany, TwinLife (N = 1,964 twins and 405 siblings, out of 982 families) and pairfam (N = 1,098 siblings, in 549 families), we test for systematic differences in the quality of parenting and in levels of differential parenting twins and non-twins receive. We compare mother’s reports on their parenting styles for twin and non-twin children within twin-families, as well as between twin and non-twin families. Our results demonstrate some variance in the quality of parenting and in the levels of differential parenting that twins and non-twins receive. However, most of these differences disappear when we control for age differences between children. The remaining differences, which refer to negative parenting styles only, are less pronounced and the effect sizes are small. Overall, our results support the idea that with respect to parenting results obtained from twin studies can be generalized.

In cooperation with Bastian Mönkediek, Harald Eichhorn and Martin Diewald (Bielefeld/ TwinLife)

Duration:
Since 01 January 2020

Research Team:
(Head of project)
Simone Baglioni (Head of project)
Prof. Dr. Wiebke Schulz (Head of project)
Simone Baglioni

Project Type:
Personal project