Empathy and sibling relationship dynamics of women in emerging adulthood: Mixed‐method research

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveThis study aimed to explore sibling relationship quality and empathy of women in emerging adulthood.BackgroundThe gender composition of siblings is a significant feature affecting their relationship dynamics. In particular, women, compared with men, report closer sibling relationships with their sisters and brothers. Similarly, women are better at understanding and experiencing empathy. However, it is unclear whether these empathic tendencies displayed by women are connected to their sibling relationship quality or whether affective and cognitive empathy skills may relate to sibling relationship dynamics.MethodsA mixed‐method explanatory sequential design was used to evaluate sibling relationships of emerging adult women (N = 284) with standardized questionnaires and explain the reasons behind the results by interviewing a subsample of the participants (n = 9).ResultsResults indicated that affective empathy and cognitive empathy were linked to sibling relationship quality of women, and major issues in the family play a crucial role in sibling closeness and empathy.ConclusionThe current study expands our understanding of the association between empathy and sibling relationship dynamics for emerging adult women.ImplicationsPrograms designed to improve sibling relationship quality may facilitate empathy development, particularly during family crises such as divorce, death, or disease.