Sibling Bullying: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Associations with Positive and Negative Mental Health during Adolescence

Dieter Wolke,Umar Toseeb

doi:10.1007/s10964-021-01495-z

Dieter Wolke, Umar Toseeb

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01495-z

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Abstract

Sibling bullying is associated with poor mental health outcomes, but the relevance of specific bullying roles remains unclear. Data from a population-based study (n = 17,157, 48% female) focusing on early (11 years), middle (14 years), and late (17 years) adolescence were analyzed. Associations between sibling bullying roles in early adolescence and positive and negative mental health outcomes in late adolescence were investigated. Generally, bullying, irrespective of role, was associated with poorer mental health outcomes in late adolescence. As the frequency of bullying victimization increased between early and middle adolescence so did the severity of mental health outcomes in late adolescence. The developmental trajectories of externalizing problems were influenced by bullying in early adolescence. Sibling bullying, irrespective of role, is associated with poor mental health outcomes.

Highlights

Childhood and adolescence are vulnerable periods for the deterioration of mental health
Data from a large population-based longitudinal cohort study were used to investigate whether different sibling bullying roles in early adolescence are associated with diverse patterns of positive and negative mental health outcomes in late adolescence and whether the developmental trajectories of negative mental health were dependent on sibling bullying roles
The analyses reported here allowed for conclusions to be drawn about whether specific sibling bullying roles in early adolescence were associated with specific positive and negative mental health outcomes in late adolescence

Summary

Introduction

Childhood and adolescence are vulnerable periods for the deterioration of mental health. Problematic sibling relationships are a key modifiable risk factor that may play an important role in the development of mental health during adolescence (Bowes et al, 2014). Half of all 11-year olds report being involved in sibling bullying in the recent past (i.e., picked or hurt at least once per week), either as a perpetrator, a victim, or both (Toseeb et al, 2018). This decreases to approximately a third by the time young people reach the age of 14 years (Toseeb et al, 2020b). Unlike peer bullying, sibling bullying is not yet recognized as a public health concern, which is problematic given the emerging evidence of its negative correlates (Dantchev et al, 2019)

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