Although the association between siblings’ compositional characteristics and educational performance has been extensively studied, the question of whether the features of a sibling group are related to substantive gendered educational preferences has not been examined. Our analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (NLSY-79) Mothers and Children Files (N = 1545; 57% young women; 22% STEM major) showed that siblings’ compositional characteristics matter for STEM major preferences in college, but only for young women. Our findings indicated that women were more likely to prefer a STEM major if they were raised in smaller sibling groups, in male sibling group dominance, and if they had an older sister with high math achievement. These results are in line with the resource dilution approach; they shed light on the effects of being in a normative male-role sibling group climate; and they suggest that gendered outcomes are shaped by the interplay of role modeling and same-gender competitive stimulation. We also found that for young men, their preference for majoring in a STEM field was mostly driven by their own math ability. These findings suggest that socialization experiences that operate on the sibling level play a crucial role in whether girls become interested in and pursue “gender-atypical” educational choices. Our findings also underscore the need to differentiate these theoretical approaches by gender, particularly when applied to gendered outcomes such as STEM career trajectories.

尽管兄弟姐妹的构成特征与教育表现之间的关联已被广泛研究，但兄弟姐妹群体的特征是否与实质性的性别教育偏好相关的问题尚未得到检验。我们对 1979 年全国青年纵向调查队列 (NLSY-79) 母亲和儿童档案 ( N = 1545; 57% 年轻女性；22% STEM 专业）表明，兄弟姐妹的构成特征对大学 STEM 专业偏好很重要，但仅对年轻女性而言。我们的研究结果表明，如果女性在较小的兄弟姐妹群体中长大，在男性兄弟姐妹群体中占主导地位，并且如果她们有一个数学成绩高的姐姐，她们更有可能更喜欢 STEM 专业。这些结果符合资源稀释法；他们阐明了处于规范的男性角色兄弟姐妹群体环境中的影响；他们认为性别化的结果是由角色建模和同性竞争刺激的相互作用所塑造的。我们还发现，对于年轻男性来说，他们对 STEM 领域专业的偏好主要是由他们自己的数学能力驱动的。这些发现表明，在兄弟姐妹层面上运作的社会化经历在女孩是否对“性别非典型”的教育选择感兴趣并追求这些方面起着至关重要的作用。我们的研究结果还强调需要按性别区分这些理论方法，特别是当应用于 STEM 职业轨迹等性别结果时。