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What Is It Like to Be a Parent of Twins?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

S. Fischbein ,
I. Hallencreutz  and
I. Wiklund
S. Fischbein*
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Research, Stockholm Institute of Education, Sweden
I. Hallencreutz
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Research, Stockholm Institute of Education, Sweden
I. Wiklund
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Research, Stockholm Institute of Education, Sweden
*
Department of Educational Research, Stockholm Institute of Education, Box 34103, S-10026 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

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A questionnaire was given to parents of twins concerning their perceptions of dependency and similarity in their twin children. Also, the parents were asked if they tried to influence their children to become more dissimilar. 70 samesex twin pairs (35 MZ and 35 DZ) were included in the study and a questionnaire was sent both to the mother and the father of the twins. The twins were approximately 12 years old and attended grade 4, 5 or 6 in the Swedish compulsory school. Results indicated that parents consider MZ twins to be dependent upon each other and to spend more time together. This was especially evident for girls. If the twins had a free choice they would also tend to choose similarly. This trend was also more pronounced for the MZ girls. Irrespective of zygosity, most parents reported that they did not try to influence their children. In the case of MZ twins this will probably make them become more similar over time. Differences between maternal and paternal answers tended to be nonsignificant.

Keywords

Parental attitudeDependencyTwins
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae: twin research , Volume 39 , Issue 2 , April 1990 , pp. 271 - 276
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1990

References

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