Data from the German TwinLife Study: Genetic and Social Origins of Educational Predictors, Processes, and Outcomes

The major aim of the German TwinLife study is the investigation of gene-environment interplay driving educational and other inequalities across developmental trajectories from childhood to early adulthood. TwinLife encompasses an 8-year longitudinal, cross-sequential extended twin family design with data from same-sex twins of four age cohorts (5, 11, 17, and 23 years) and their parents, as well as their non-twin siblings, partners, and children, if available, altogether containing N = 4,096 families. As such, TwinLife includes unique and openly accessible data that allows, but is not limited to, genetically informative and environmentally sensitive research on sources of inequalities regarding educational attainment, school achievement, and skill development

Patterns of spatial proximity and the timing and spacing of bearing children

Mönkediek B. Patterns of spatial proximity and the timing and spacing of bearing children. DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH. 2020;42:461-495.BACKGROUND People's demographic decision-making is embedded in regional cultural contexts that include regional patterns of family organization called family systems. Although previous research has shown that family systems explain regional variation in fertility, it has focused mainly on historical or developing societies. Processes of modernization have led to substantial changes in family structures and values and to an overhaul of the traditional family formation system in most developed countries. Therefore, questions arise regarding whether family systems also influence fertility in contemporary developed societies. OBJECTIVE The paper addresses the research question by examining the association between regional patterns of spatial proximity between kin and (1) the age at first birth, (2) the length of the interbirth interval between the first and second child, and (3) the length of the interbirth interval between the second and third child. In this context, the paper controls for changes in the associations occurring with age. DATA AND METHODS The paper derives regional indicators of spatial proximity between kin for 54 regions in nine European countries using the first two waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) (N = 38,484). The paper studies the association between these regional indicators and fertility using individual-level data from the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) (N = 58,689). The analysis relies on a set of discrete-time hazard models. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The results support the idea that regional patterns of family organization help to explain fertility in contemporary developed societies. However, the results are more complex than expected because the association between spatial proximity and fertility is time-varying. For example, on average, closer proximity to kin increases the likelihood of having a second child during the first three years after the first child is born. Future research needs to replicate the results and investigate the underlying mechanisms more closely to better understand how and when patterns of family organization impact fertility

Trait-specific testing of the equal environment assumption: The case of school grades and upper secondary school attendance

Mönkediek B. Trait-specific testing of the equal environment assumption: The case of school grades and upper secondary school attendance. JFR-Journal of Family Research. 2021;33(1):115-147.Objective: This paper tests the equal environment assumption for school grades and upper secondary school attendance and describes the conditions under which violations are problematic. Background: A growing number of sociologists use twin-based research designs, particularly the Classical Twin Design (CTD), to differentiate between genetic and social causes of social inequalities. One key assumption of CTD is that environmental influences are shared by monozygotic and dizygotic twins to the same extent; called the equal environment assumption (EEA). This assumption is frequently contested and the target of concern, because violation can result in an overestimation of heritability and an underestimation of the role of the social environment. Method: Using data from the first wave of the German TwinLife study, the paper illustrates two approaches to test EEA for school grades and enrolment in upper secondary school (Gymnasium). The analysis is based on a sample of twins (N = 1,576) aged ten to twelve years. Results: The results show that the approaches are able to detect violations of EEA (though in different ways), depending on the environmental variables that might causally be involved in trait variance. Only in one case was a violation was observed; it had no effect on heritability estimates. Conclusion: While EEA holds for school grades, violations do not automatically invalidate CTD in case of upper secondary school attendance

Netzwerk und Elternschaft

Der folgende Projektbericht enthält erste Ergebnisse einer Online-Befragung zur Bedeutung persönlicher sozialer Netzwerke für die Vorstellungen bezüglich der Umsetzung einer ersten Elternschaft bei Jugendlicher und junger Erwachsener im Raum Osnabrück und Umgebung. Bei der vorliegenden Studie handelt es sich dabei um eine im Umfang, als auch in den Analysemethoden zunächst begrenzte Voruntersuchung. Diese soll das Potential und die Notwendigkeit weiterführenden Forschungsprojekte aufzeigen und dient vor allem deren Vorbereitung

How variants of tracking affect the role of genes and environment in explaining child attendance at upper secondary school

Mönkediek B. How variants of tracking affect the role of genes and environment in explaining child attendance at upper secondary school. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility . 2022;81: 100714.This paper uses a twin-based approach to examine the extent to which institutional differences in school systems that relate to tracking across German states moderate the role of genes and environment in explaining children's attendance at upper secondary school. The results show moderation effects for two of the three indicators included: teacher recommendations and rigidness of tracking. Contrary to expectations, binding recommenda-tions do not reduce the relevance of environmental influences. Similarly, differences in the timing of tracking do not lead to changes in the relevance of genetic and environmental influences on track attendance. Overall, the results provide little evidence that any of the tracking systems distinguished here for Germany offer significant advantages over others when it comes to providing students with better opportunities to reach their full po-tential. However, this is true only for the indicators considered here

Do Parenting Styles and Parental Involvement in School Actually Influence School Performance? The Role and Importance of Common Genetic and Common Environmental Influences

Mönkediek B, Diewald M. Do Parenting Styles and Parental Involvement in School Actually Influence School Performance? The Role and Importance of Common Genetic and Common Environmental Influences. Behavior Genetics. 2021;51(6):725

SoWis unter sich: Gruppenstrukturen bei Studierenden des Fachbereichs Sozialwissenschaften

Kern der Arbeit ist die Frage nach der Bedeutung eines Treffpunktes von Studierenden innerhalb des Fachbereichs Sozialwissenschaften an der Universität Osnabrück und dessen möglichen gruppendynamischen Aspekten, bzw. Auswirkungen. Darunter fällt auch die durch sozialpsychologische Gruppentheorien untermauerte Frage nach der Förderlichkeit dieses Treffpunktes auf Leistung und Orientierung der sich dort treffenden Studierende. Diese Fragestellung wird anhand einer empirisch Untersuchung geklärt. Von der Konzeption und Konstruktion eines Fragebogens, über die Erhebung und Auswertung von Daten, umfasst die vorliegende Arbeit einen kompletten Forschungsverlauf, an dessen Schluss innerhalb eines Theorienabgleichs die Ergebnisse im Bezug auf die Fragestellung diskutiert werden

Wenn das Internet den Alltag bestimmt

Reimann M. Wenn das Internet den Alltag bestimmt. In: Mönkediek B, ed. Soziologikus: Virtuelle Welten - Wie Computer und Internet unser Leben bestimmen. Soziologikus. Vol 2. Osnabrück: Verlag Dirk Koentopp; 2011: 67-106

Do academic ability and social background influence each other in shaping educational attainment? The case of the transition to secondary education in Germany

Mönkediek B, Diewald M. Do academic ability and social background influence each other in shaping educational attainment? The case of the transition to secondary education in Germany. Social Science Research. 2021