Want smarter children? Space siblings at least two years apart, research shows | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Liquid error: internal Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Want smarter children? Space siblings at least two years apart, research shows Want smarter children? Space siblings at least two years apart, research shows Published: November 14, 2011 Author: Liquid error: internal According to a new study by University of Notre Dame economist Kasey Buckles and graduate student Elizabeth Munnich, siblings spaced more than two years apart have higher reading and math scores than children born closer together. The positive academic effects of greater spacing between children were seen in older siblings, but not in younger ones, according to Buckles. The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Human Resources. Using the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), researchers sampled a nationally representative panel survey of 12,686 young people ages 14 to 22 in 1979, and their children. The study was designed to identify the causal effect of spacing on academic achievement. “Our results indicate that longer gaps improve test scores for older children, and have no effect on the scores of younger children,” Buckles says. “This appears to be due in part to the fact that older children get more of their parents’ time when the younger sibling is not born until a few years later.” Earlier research in other fields has focused mostly on the effects of small gaps (less than two years) between siblings on early outcomes such as birth weight and infant mortality. Buckles’ study investigates the effects of birth spacing on later-life academic performance as measured by the Peabody Individual Achievement Tests for math and reading. “Parents often wonder whether there is an ideal spacing between children. Our results suggest that for at least one important outcome—academic achievement—greater spacing can improve outcomes for the older sibling.” Contact: Kasey Buckles, 574-631-6210, kbuckles@nd.edu Posted In: Research Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 05, 2022 Astrophysicists find evidence for the presence of the first stars October 04, 2022 NIH awards $4 million grant to psychologists researching suicide prevention September 29, 2022 Notre Dame, Ukrainian Catholic University launch three new research grants September 27, 2022 Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis September 22, 2022 Climate-prepared countries are losing ground, latest ND-GAIN index shows For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn