Sibling estrangement in adulthood

Abstract

Whereas interest in adult sibling relationships has been growing, we are not aware of any quantitative studies focusing on sibling estrangement (that is, lack of contact or emotional closeness). This gap in the literature seems unfortunate, because estrangement in close family relationships has been suggested to be momentous for family functioning and individuals’ well-being. Drawing on four waves of the German Family Panel (pairfam; n = 5,729), covering a 6-year observation period, we therefore assess respondents’ estrangement from up to four siblings in adulthood, focusing on the predictive role of core structural parameters of sibling dyads (especially genetic relatedness) and disruptive family events (particularly parental separation/divorce or death). Whereas 28% of respondents in our sample experienced at least one episode of estrangement from any sibling, estrangement occurred multiple times in only 14% of sibling dyads. Moreover, results derived from discrete-time event history models indicate (a) that genetic relatedness is the single most important risk factor, albeit strongly mediated by childhood co-residence, and (b) that sibling relations tend to become more “vulnerable” over the life course, when adverse family events accumulate.