Sibling Relationships in Rural African American Families

Abstract

A family process model linked mothers' and fathers' psychological functioning to sibling relationship quality in a sample of 85 9- to 12-year-old African American youths and their married parents living in the rural Southeastern United States. Members of the rural African American community participated in the development of the research methods. Better parental psychological functioning was linked to closer and more supportive relationships in the nuclear and extended families and with more supportive parenting practices. In turn, these family processes were linked with children's development of self-regulation. Self-regulated youths experienced more harmonious and less conflicted sibling relationships. Key Words: African Americans, family processes, parental func-- tioning, rural families, siblings. In African American families, siblings serve important functions. During childhood, older siblings provide care for their younger brothers and sisters, and during the adult and aging years, siblings provide emotional and instrumental support for one another (Chatters, Taylor, & Jackson, 1986; Hunter, 1997; Taylor, Chatters, & Mays, 1988; Young, 1970, 1974). Despite the salience of sibling support and assistance among African Americans, very little attention has been given to understanding the family processes that contribute to variations in the quality of sibling relationships among African American children. From a developmental perspective, this issue has special significance. Because African American siblings provide substantial amounts of care for their younger brothers and sisters, conflict in sibling relationships can make it less likely that younger siblings will receive prosocial and responsive care (McHale & Crouter, 1996). Data suggest that sibling relationship quality remains stable from middle childhood into adolescence (Brody, Stoneman, & McCoy, 1994a; Dunn, 1996). Furthermore, Ross and Milgram (1982) found that feelings of rivalry originating in childhood persist well into adulthood and are associated with the closeness of adult sibling relationships. An understanding of the origins of relationship quality among African American siblings is important, given the degree to which they can serve as sources of mutual support across the life span. In this study, we examined the role that family processes (e.g., coparenting support and parenting practices) play in linking parental psychological resources (e.g., self-esteem) to sibling relationship quality among rural African Americans. Although the proposed model is consistent with our recent findings about the influence of family processes on the quality of sibling relationships among White families, we do not know whether similar associations exist in African American families, particularly those living in sparsely populated rural areas. We chose to focus on middle childhood in this study because, during this developmental period, older siblings often begin to assume caregiving and teaching responsibilities for their younger siblings (Brody, 1998). In addition, the quality of sibling relationships formed during this period provides the basis for supportive exchanges that can help to sustain both siblings during the transitions that accompany adolescence. Our research is guided by the conceptual model presented in Figure 1. The first link in the model concerns the association of parents' psychological functioning with family relationships and parenting practices. Elevated levels of parental depression have been found to be associated with less involved, less communicative, more negative, and more hostile family relationships (Brody et al., 1994; Jacob & Johnson, 1997; Susman, Trickett, lannotti, Hollenbeck. & Zahn-Waxler, 1985). Rutter (1990) found depressed and hostile parents to be less involved with and less affectionate toward their children, to feel more guilt and resentment, and to experience more difficulty in managing their children and communicating with them. …