Siblinghood, Gender, and Families

Abstract

Research on siblinghood is relatively new and has expanded during the past decade. It deals mostly with mixed-gender siblings and does not relate to gender at all. The present study is unique in that it focuses on identical gender siblinghood, both female and male, and its relationship to aspects of siblinghood and family relations in adulthood. Eighty-nine women and 67 men from Israel participated in the study. Participants answered four self-report questionnaires: a demographic questionnaire; an Emotional Intelligence Trait Scale used to measure self-efficacy; Furman and Buhrmester’s Sibling Relationship Questionnaire; and Olson, Portner, and Lavee’s Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale. Measures of conflict were higher in the female than in the male cohort, and cohesion was higher in the male than in the female cohort. Other findings reveal that among firstborn siblings, the level of perception of conflict is higher than among middle siblings.