Sibling Conflict Research Articles

A Multilevel Approach to Sibling Warmth and Conflict among Korean Young Adults by Gender: Roles of Sibling and Parent-Child Characteristics

The purpose of this study was to examine which sibling and parent-child characteristics were associated with siblisng warmth and conflict among Korean young adults. The data came from an online survey of Koreans aged 19-34 years who had at least one sibling and two living parents. We conducted a multilevel regression analysis using data from 193 men with 305 siblings and 203 women with 286 siblings. The results showed that, for men, the levels of warmth were higher when the sibling was younger, when they received more frequent financial and instrumental support from the sibling, and when maternal favoritism was relatively lower. Women reported higher levels of warmth when the sibling was a sister, when they provided more frequent support for the sibling, when they had a more affectionate relationship with the mother, and when paternal favoritism was lower. As for sibling conflict, the number of siblings was positively associated with the levels of conflict among both men and women. Maternal affection was negatively related with conflict for men, and paternal favoritism was positively related to conflict for women. Interestingly, women’s sibling warmth and conflict were both higher when the sibling was a sister, which meant that relationships between sisters tended to be ambivalent. This study contributes to our understandings of Koreans’ sibling relationships in young adulthood.

Chinese parents' marital and coparenting relationships, parental differential treatment of siblings, and adolescents' sibling relationships.

Parents' differential treatment of siblings has been understudied among sibling research in Chinese societies where the government ended its one-child policy. This study, using a three-wave longitudinal design, explored the associations among parents' marital and coparenting relationships, parental differential treatment of siblings, and adolescents' sibling relationships within a theoretical framework of a developmental cascade model of family influence. Adolescents (Mage = 12.88 years, SD = 0.76 at Time 1; 51.2% girls) and their mothers from 260 families in China participated in this research (first data collection in January 2018). Mothers completed questionnaires that assessed marital and coparenting relationship quality, and adolescents completed questionnaires that assessed their perceptions of parental differential treatment as well as sibling intimacy and conflict. The results, based on path analyses, revealed that marital satisfaction at Time 1 was positively associated with coparenting support at Time 2. Coparenting support at Time 2 was negatively associated with adolescents' perception of parental differential treatment at Time 3. Parental differential treatment at Time 3 was negatively associated with sibling intimacy at Time 3 but positively associated with sibling conflict at Time 3. These results are consistent with the developmental cascade hypothesis in that parent-parent subsystems influenced parental differential treatment of siblings as a parent-child subsystem, which in turn spilled over to create negative family processes that exacerbated adolescents' sibling subsystem quality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Relationship between Parenting Styles and Secondary Child Mental Health in Second-Child Families: The Mediating Role Played by Sibling Relationships

With the development of the two-child policy and changes in family structure patterns, the relationship between parents and young children has received increasing attention, the more prominent of which is the way parents parent their children and their sibling relationship, and the development of children's mental health is particularly important in both relationships. The study explores the mediating role of the sibling relationship between parenting style and preschool children's mental health in second-child families. A total of 369 children and their parents and younger siblings (preschool age) from a primary school in a city in Shaanxi Province were used in this study. The Parenting Style Nurture Questionnaire and Sibling Relationship Scale completed by the parents and the preschool children's mental health questionnaire were used. The results found that: (1) parenting styles of first-born children were significantly correlated with their sibling relationships, i.e. positive (democratic) parenting styles contributed to warm sibling relationships and sibling relationships were significantly correlated with children's psychological health, i.e. warm sibling relationships led to healthy psychological states; (2) sibling conflict and sibling rivalry and jealousy in parenting styles ; (3) sibling conflict and sibling rivalry and jealousy are significant mediators of the four dimensions of parenting styles: coddling, permissiveness, authoritarianism, inconsistency and preschool children's mental health, i.e. children's mental health problems are significantly correlated with sibling conflict and sibling rivalry and jealousy.

Early-life sibling conflict in Canada jays has lifetime fitness consequences.

While delaying natal dispersal can provide short-term benefits for juveniles, lifetime fitness consequences are rarely assessed. Furthermore, competition for limited positions on a natal territory could impose an indirect fitness cost on the winner if the outcome has negative effects on its siblings. We use radio-tracking and 58 years of nesting data in Ontario, Canada to examine the lifetime fitness consequences of sibling expulsion in the Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis). Six weeks after fledging, intra-brood dominance struggles result in one 'dominant juvenile' (DJ) remaining on the natal territory after expelling its subordinate siblings, the 'ejectees' (EJs). Despite an older age-at-first-reproduction, DJs produced more recruits over their lifetime and had higher first-year survival than EJs, leading to substantially higher direct fitness. Even though DJs incurred an indirect fitness cost by expelling their siblings and there was no evidence that their presence on the natal territory increased their parents' reproductive output the following year, they still had substantially higher inclusive fitness than EJs. Our results demonstrate how early-life sibling conflict can have lifetime consequences and that such fitness differences in Canada jays are driven by the enhanced first-year survival of DJs pursuant to the early-summer expulsion of their sibling competitors.

Exploring the socialization of homeless children in Czechia: sibling relationships

ABSTRACT The paper aims to describe the specific context of the homeless children’s living environment and to show the consequences that this context has on the sibling relationships of homeless children in Czechia. The text is based on a psychosocial perspective. The context of the space, where homeless children live strongly affects their socialisation. Sibling relationships, which are transformed in such an environment, become increasingly important. Using a qualitative research strategy, we carried out 30 sets of interviews with homeless parents and children (a total of 60 interviews). We found that the environment of homelessness alters sibling roles in the family, reinforces sibling closeness as a compensation for material deprivation, makes it more difficult for children to detach, escalates sibling conflicts, and generally reinforces a certain exclusivity in relationship. The results show that social work and other helping professions should focus on supporting sibling relationships in the homelessness environment.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Parenting Program to Improve Sibling Relationships

Although parents of siblings play a crucial role in the development of both the positive and negative aspects of their children’s relationships, relatively few parenting programs specifically target sibling conflict alongside sibling warmth. To bridge this gap, the current study reports the outcomes of a randomized controlled trial evaluating a brief parenting intervention focusing on improving sibling relationships. A total of 74 parents reporting concerns about sibling conflict were randomized to either the Triple P brief discussion group intervention condition (n = 37) or the waitlist control condition (n = 37). Parents were predominately Caucasian, female, from a middle-income background. Parents completed a range of self-report measures examining the quality of the sibling relationship, parenting practices, family functioning, and child emotional and behavioral problems. Across treatment groups, participants showed improvements on almost all measures of sibling conflict, sibling warmth, child emotional and behavioral problems, parenting practices, and parenting confidence. Participants in the treatment group also experienced a greater reduction in the amount of help they wanted to manage sibling warmth, relative to participants in the control group. These results suggest that a low-intensity parenting intervention may only have a small effect on improving sibling relationships. Additional research is needed to determine how to broaden program efficacy for sibling conflict and parental adjustment, for families from diverse levels of income and family composition. Trial registration: ANZCTR 365567.

Siblings in lockdown: International evidence for birth order effects on child adjustment in the Covid19 pandemic

AbstractSupportive family relationships may mitigate the impact of the Covid19 pandemic on young children's adjustment, but existing work is limited by its focus on within‐country variation and parental influences. Addressing these gaps, and drawing on reported buffering effects of older siblings on child mental health (Lawson and Mace, 2010), the current international study examined whether child adjustment problems were, on average, elevated by the pandemic and whether this buffering effect of older siblings would be maintained. In the first wave of the Covid19 pandemic (April to July 2020), 2516 parents of 3‐ to 8‐year‐old children living in Australia, China, Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States of America—six countries with contrasting governmental responses to the pandemic—completed an online survey about family experiences and relationships and child adjustment, as indexed by ratings on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ: R. Goodman, 1997). As expected, child SDQ total difficulty scores were elevated in all sites except Sweden (which notably did not enforce mass school closures). Compared to children without siblings, children with one or more older siblings showed fewer adjustment problems. Children from lone‐parent households displayed more adjustment problems, as did those whose parents reported increased sibling conflict. Finally, child adjustment problems were negatively associated with family socio‐economic status, but positively related to the indices of Covid‐19 family disruption and government stringency. We discuss these findings in relation to existing work on asymmetric effects of older versus younger siblings, and siblings as sources of support.

Sibling Conflict and Closeness: The Effects of Sex, Number of Siblings, Relatedness, Parental Resemblance and Investment

Sibling Conflict and Closeness: The Effects of Sex, Number of Siblings, Relatedness, Parental Resemblance and Investment

Direct and Indirect Paths between Parental Marital Conflict and Children’s Sibling Conflict in Chinese Families

Links between parental marital conflict and children’s sibling conflict have been well examined; however, the underlying mechanism of this link needs to be further studied. This study investigated the mediating role of parental intervention styles (i.e. child-centered strategies, control strategies, and nonintervention strategies) and children’s control behavior toward their sibling between parental marital conflict and children’s sibling conflict. We recruited 689 Chinese children (53.7% girls) aged 8–13 years to participate in the study. Results indicated that parental marital conflict, control strategies, nonintervention strategies, and children’s control behavior toward sibling were positively associated with sibling conflict among children. Child-centered strategies were negatively correlated with children’s sibling conflict. Furthermore, control and nonintervention strategies of parents and control behavior of children toward sibling simultaneously partially mediated between parental marital and child-sibling conflict. The mediating role of child-centered strategies was not significant. These findings suggest that parental strategies of control and nonintervention and children’s control behavior toward their sibling may increase the risk of sibling conflict among children after repeated exposure to parental marital conflict. In contrast, child-centered strategies may be a protective factor for children regarding sibling conflict. Current findings confirm the combined effects of parent and child behavior on child-sibling conflict. They also help parents deal with sibling conflict among their children and promote more positive relationships among siblings.

The Experiences of Son’s caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s Disease

AbstractBackgroundAmong primary caregivers (individuals who indicate having the most responsibility for helping their relatives) of people with dementia, over half take care of their parents. Most caregivers (66 percent) live with the care recipient in the community (Fisher, et al., 2011). The responsibilities of caring for someone with dementia often fall to women (Kasper et al., 2015). Men are underrepresented in the literature pertaining to family caregiving in dementia. Yet, they play an important role in providing care for cognitively impaired older adults in the community (Houde, 2001). While there is extensive literature on caregiving in dementia, only a few studies have emphasized the caregiving role of men (Coe & Neufeld, 1999; Kramer, 2000; Russell, 2007a, 2007b).MethodWe employed the meta‐ethnography methodology. Five electronic bibliographic databases were used to retrieve studies published from 1997‐2021 that explored son caregivers' experiences of caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s Disease. Five qualitative studies were finally included for the synthesis, based on the eligibility criteria.ResultCommon themes that emerged in the son’s experiences include a sense of loss, stress, and enduring the caregiving journey. Son’s caregiver roles included case manager, disease educator to in home paid help, and coping with sibling conflicts. Two studies showed positive outcomes.ConclusionThis review provides a deeper understanding of son’s caregivers' experiences of caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s Disease. The findings can help healthcare providers in the development and implementation of tailored interventions specific to son’s caregiver needs.

STUDENTS' COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR (CASE STUDY IN LEARNING MANAGEMENT)

This case study aims as a basis or reference for solving students' cognitive-behavioral problems, can have more data to be carried out in the next stage of management, analyze students' cognitive-behavioral problems and align each related element.
 The case study method used is a qualitative method, with a phenomenon and psychology approach because it involves the cognitive behavior of students in learning management. The method of data collection was done by interview and observation. This case study was carried out by taking 2 students as samples, as well as several teachers at SMP Negeri 3 Limboto. In the data analysis technique, the writer divides the problem identification, analysis, synthesis, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and follow -up continued.
 The results of the case study, from the identification of problems these students experienced cognitive-behavioral problems in the form of learning difficulties in learning management. Analysis, students' cognitive problems, namely the difficulty of understanding mathematics, science, and English, lack of willingness to learn, language difficulties, having a shy character, sibling conflict, and verbal bullying experienced students. In synthesis, students lack the motivation to learn, feel lazy to learn, and have a sense of hatred towards a particular subject and conflict. Diagnosis, Internal factors within students and external to their environment. Prognosis, if the problem is not immediately addressed, then what can happen is that no knowledge is transferred and learning achievement will decrease. Treatment, homeroom teachers, and teachers must always cooperate, provide advice to students, and teach slowly until they find comfort in learning. As a follow-up, students can be included in competitions, for example in Sports and the Arts, which are their favorite subjects. Inform parents about problems and treatments that must be carried out as well as those carried out at school.

Do siblings influence one another? Unpacking processes that occur during sibling conflict.

This study examined the extent to which 205 sibling dyads influenced each other during conflict. Data were collected between 2013 to 2015. The sample included 5.9% Black, 15.1% South Asian, 15.1% East Asian, and 63.8% White children. Older siblings were between 7-13 years old (Female=109) and younger siblings were 5-9 years old (Female=99). Siblings' conflict resolution was analyzed using dynamic structural equation modeling. Modeling fluctuations in moment-to-moment data (20-s intervals) allowed for a close approximation of causal influence. Older and younger siblings were found to influence one another. Younger sisters were more constructive than younger brothers, especially in sister-sister dyads. Sibling age gap predicted inertia in older siblings. Socialization processes within sibling relationships are discussed.

Longitudinal associations between Mexican-origin youth’s relationships with parents, siblings, and friends and individual adjustment

Across adolescence and into young adulthood, as youth experience both normative developmental and stressful life changes, close and supportive relationships are essential for healthy adjustment. Supportive relationships may be especially important for protecting Mexican-origin youth from developing depressive symptoms and engaging in risky behaviors given the emphasis within Mexican culture on close relationships, especially in families. With longitudinal data, we examined the associations between Mexican-origin youth’s relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, and best friends and their adjustment across adolescence and into young adulthood. Participants were 246 Mexican-origin families with a 7th grader (younger sibling) and at least one older sibling, a mother, and a father at Time 1 (T1). Youth participated in home interviews at T1 and again five (T2) and eight (T3) years later. At T1, younger siblings were 12.55 (SD = .60) and older siblings were 15.48 (SD = 1.57) years old. Findings indicated that, with sibling and friend characteristics in the models, mother and father acceptance and conflict were significantly linked to youth positive and negative adjustment, respectively. Both sibling conflict and, consistent with a “partners in crime” process (Slomkowski et al., 2001; p. 273), sibling intimacy (of younger adolescents only), were linked to risky behavior. Same-gender friend conflict also was linked to risky behavior, but neither sibling nor friend relationships were linked to depressive symptoms. Some relationship effects were moderated by gender and age. Together, our findings have implications for programs aimed at preventing adjustment problems.

Familism values embedded in U.S. Mexican mother-child conversations about sibling conflicts

The current study focused on familism-related content that emerged in a primarily qualitative analysis of U.S. Mexican mother-child conversations about sibling conflicts ( Mage = 10.55; English = 43 (24 female); Spanish = 43 (19 female)). The study’s goals were to (1) describe how familism, a central Latinx value, is conveyed to children in late middle childhood, (2) uncover signs that children at this age actively or passively accept or reject mothers’ observations and expectations, and (3) determine if there are differences in conversation content based on language preference, child gender, or birth order. During discussions about sibling conflict, mothers’ and children’s comments revolved around four pillars of familism: establishing and maintaining harmony and devotion, recognizing the specialness of family ties (in this case sibling ties), accepting role obligations, and developing other-orientation. These values were expressed more implicitly than explicitly by a majority of the dyads. Most children accepted at least some of mothers’ statements, but resistance was also high. Chi-square tests indicated no gender-of-child or birth order differences in the content of the discussions, but dyads who spoke Spanish during the conversations were more likely than those who spoke English to speak in explicit familistic terms and to point to the specialness of the sibling tie. Our study is strengths-based as we demonstrate that in U.S. Mexican families, children’s conflicts with their siblings may serve as catalysts for “teaching moments” during which parents impart culturally relevant values.

Predictors of children's emotion regulation outcomes during COVID-19: Role of conflict within the family.

ObjectiveThis work aimed to analyze the role of family conflict on children's emotion regulation and stress outcomes during the COVID‐19 pandemic.BackgroundThe COVID‐19 pandemic brought novel stress to families. The stress experienced could impact family relationships—specifically, perceptions of closeness and patterns of conflict. Positive family environment and high‐quality family relationships are associated with adaptive coping and lower levels of stress among children.MethodData were collected online from 110 participants at baseline and again 30 days later. Associations between parent–child relationship, sibling relationships, and child stress and emotion regulation outcomes 30 days later were tested through multiple stepwise regression.ResultsBoth significant regression models suggest that parent–child conflict is the strongest predictor of child stress and negativity over the 30‐day assessment period. Sibling conflict predicted child stress but not negativity.ConclusionFamily conflict during the COVID‐19 pandemic influenced children's emotion regulation outcomes as seen through significant associations between child–parent conflict, sibling conflict, perceived child stress, and children's negativity.ImplicationsFamily scientists and practitioners should consider interventions that help parents teach their children how to cope with their own stresses and emotions after conflict.

Bidirectional Links Between Sibling Aggression and Victimization

ABSTRACT Research evaluating the deleterious effects of negative sibling dynamics has been limited, likely due to social acceptance of sibling conflict. This is a notable omission in the literature, as siblings play a major role in youth development. The current study sought to advance the literature by longitudinally examining the bidirectional links between sibling aggression and victimization. Further, anger dysregulation was examined as a potential moderator of these links. Youth (n = 323, M = 9.28 years; 55% male) completed measures at baseline and 6 months later. Sibling reactive, not proactive, aggression was associated with increases in both sibling physical and relational victimization. There were marginally statistically significant trends for sibling relational victimization to be associated with increases in sibling reactive aggression and for sibling physical victimization to be associated with decreases in sibling proactive aggression. No moderating effects of anger dysregulation were evident. Consistent with the peer relationship literature, results clearly indicate that reactive aggression toward sibling puts youth at increased risk for victimization from siblings, suggesting that reactive aggression among siblings is one target of prevention to reduce risk for subsequent victimization. Thus, aggression and victimization among siblings is important to address.

Sibling relationships and school entry psychosocial functioning: Dual risk or differential susceptibility?

The aim of the present study was to test whether relations between temperament, sibling relationship quality, and problem behavior and social competence of children at school entry are in line with either of two competing models, dual risk and differential susceptibility. Our sample consisted of 977 Dutch mothers (Mean age 35.7 years) reporting about a target child at school entry. Regarding target children, mean age was 4.7 years, 48.1% were boys and 52.1% were older than their sibling. Mean age difference between siblings was 2.7 years. Using a cross-sectional design, mothers filled out online questionnaires concerning sibling relationship quality, temperament, problem behavior, and social competence of the target child. Path analysis was used to examine whether temperament moderated the link between sibling relationship quality and child psychosocial functioning. In line with differential susceptibility, results from moderation analyses indicate that among children low in effortful control (EC), sibling conflict was more strongly positively associated with internalizing and externalizing problems than among children high in EC, but sibling warmth also was more strongly positively related to social competence in children low in EC than in children high in EC. However, follow-up Region of Significance analyses shows that our findings are only consistent with weak differential susceptibility. No significant moderation effects were found for surgency or negative affect. Our findings suggest that low effortful control is a susceptibility marker concerning the link between sibling relationship quality and child functioning. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Sibling Conflict and ADHD: Initial Efficacy of the Adapted “Siblings Are Special” Program

Sibling Conflict and ADHD: Initial Efficacy of the Adapted “Siblings Are Special” Program

Sibling Relationships in Adolescence and Young Adulthood in Multiple Contexts: A Critical Review

In many contexts worldwide, most people grow up with one or more siblings. The current paper reviews research on sibling relationship quality (closeness, communication, and conflict) in adolescence and young adulthood in four different contexts: primarily White North American and European samples (132 articles reviewed); ethnic minority families (26 articles reviewed); China (6 articles reviewed); and when one sibling has a disability (21 articles reviewed). Where the literature was available, within each context we addressed five questions: how does sibling relationship quality change from adolescence through young adulthood, how are demographic and structural characteristics linked to sibling relationship quality, how is sibling relationship quality linked to adjustment and behavior, how are familial relationships and processes linked to sibling relationship quality, and how is sibling relationship quality linked to non-familial relationships. Included articles were published between 2001 and 2021 and included aspects of sibling closeness, communication, or conflict in adolescence or young adulthood. Across all contexts, individual (e.g., gender) and dyadic characteristics (e.g., gender composition, birth order) play a role in siblings’ relationship qualities. In several contexts, the current literature suggests that sibling closeness and communication are linked to positive development, well-being, and healthy relationships with other social partners. In multiple contexts, sibling conflict is linked to poorer well-being and negative relationships with other social partners. These broad patterns, however, are qualified by each context and often multiple moderators.

What makes summer camp therapeutic for siblings separated by out-of-home care? Associations from counselor ratings of program implementation to youth-reported outcomes

Recognition of the developmental importance of sibling relationships has resulted in the proliferation of programs and services for siblings in out-of-home care. Empirical support is limited to a small number of these programs, however; and the mechanisms through which sibling-focused programs work to promote youth outcomes remains largely unexplored. To address this gap in research, the current study examined associations from counselor ratings of program implementation to youth-reported outcomes at Camp To Belong, a manualized camp-based reunification program for siblings separated by out-of-home care. Paper and pencil surveys were administered to 655 youth and 236 counselors at 11 camps operating in the U.S.A. during one camp season. Youth completed pre-test post-test measures of individual resilience, sibling support, sibling conflict, and post-test measures of belonging. Counselors completed post-test measures rating the enabling environment of the camp setting, the activities and events offered at camp, counselor satisfaction with program implementation, and critical events counselors observed at camp. A series of generalized linear models examined associations from the four dimensions of program implementation to each of the four youth-reported outcomes. Significant associations were observed from the program implementation domains to youth belonging and resilience, but not to sibling conflict or sibling support. Associations were observed in both expected and unexpected directions, illuminating the complexity of ways in which sibling-focused programs may affect the well-being of youth in out-of-home care. Insights and recommendations to inform future research and practice with siblings in out-of-home care are provided.