The Gifted Child as an Equal Partner or Minority in the Sibling Relationship: the Parents’ Perspective

Abstract

Most studies on the quality of sibling relationship in families with gifted and non-gifted children have been conducted in two-child families and yielded mixed results. The current study, with 142 participating parents, addresses parents’ perception of this relationships among gifted and one or two non-gifted sibling in association with birth order and children’s sex. The parents completed an online survey using the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) for first- and second-order factors. A MANCOVA of mean differences showed no significant first-order factor differences in quality of sibling relationship between the two groups. One significant difference in second-order factors was found, with “admiration of sibling” score higher in families where the gifted child was the second or third born, not first born. Results provide further support for the notion that there are no negative consequences on offspring relationships when a child has a gifted sibling.