Sibling Intimacy Research Articles

Sibling relational aggression: Developmental change and associations with family relationships across adolescence.

Sibling relational aggression is an understudied social and family process that is of developmental significance in adolescence, a period of interpersonal relationship development. This study examined developmental change in sibling relational aggression across adolescence and used multilevel actor-partner independence models to test its longitudinal associations with mother-adolescent, father-adolescent, and sibling relationship qualities. Participants were 196 adolescent (firstborn-secondborn) sibling pairs from predominantly White families who averaged 16.47 years (SD = .80) and 13.88 years (SD = 1.15) of age, respectively, at baseline. Data were collected separately from each sibling during home interviews at three timepoints, each spaced a year apart. Longitudinal growth modeling revealed declines in sibling relational aggression from early to late adolescence. Findings from longitudinal multilevel actor-partner independence models revealed a negative within-person (WP) effect of father-adolescent intimacy and a positive WP effect of father-adolescent conflict on sibling relational aggression: On occasions when adolescents reported lower intimacy or more conflict with their fathers than usual (compared to individuals' own cross-time averages), adolescents reported experiencing more sibling relational aggression than usual. A between-person (BP) effect of mother-adolescent conflict also indicated that the cross-time average of mother-adolescent conflict was linked positively to the cross-time average of sibling relationship aggression. Primarily at the WP level, associations also emerged between lower sibling intimacy and higher sibling conflict and sibling relational aggression. For relationships with fathers and siblings, some effects were moderated by sibling structural characteristics. Discussion highlights the interplay of family relationship dynamics, including gender dynamics, and sibling relational aggression in adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring Sibling Relationship Quality among Latinx Siblings: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review addresses the gap in the literature regarding sibling relationship quality among Latinx families, a topic that has not been comprehensively examined to date. This study aimed to synthesize current research on sibling relationship quality in Latinx families, focusing on the influence of cultural factors, identifying key variables associated with sibling relationship quality, and evaluating the methodological approaches used. This paper is a systematic review based on a recently published evidence and gap map (EGM) that identified and visually presented all published studies investigating sibling relationship quality. Additional inclusion criteria were applied to select articles that specifically examined sibling relationship quality in the United States samples with at least 50% Latinx participants. The review included 12 articles representing 6 distinct studies, revealing significant findings on the roles of familism, simpatía, and gender in shaping sibling dynamics. Results indicated that cultural values such as familism and simpatía positively influence sibling intimacy and warmth, while gender dynamics further moderate these relationships. Methodologically, the articles employed longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, utilizing various quantitative measures. The findings underscore the importance of culturally sensitive approaches in studying sibling relationships and highlight the need for further research to explore these dynamics in diverse Latinx subgroups.

The Negative Effect of Siblings on Perspective-Taking in Adulthood under Chinese Culture.

Evidence from Western developed countries has consistently found that children with sibling(s) showed better perspective-taking (PT) than only children. However, this was not the case in developing countries like China. Our study investigates whether the potentially hindering effect of having sibling(s) on PT persists into adulthood within the context of contemporary Chinese culture. We employed self-report questionnaires to measure PT, perceived parental care, and sibling relationships among Chinese young adults (21.93 ± 2.35 years old). Our findings indicate that in China, (1) having sibling(s) hinders individuals' PT in adulthood, (2) a potential mechanism for this effect is that having sibling(s) leads individuals to perceive less parental care during early life, and (3) for those with sibling(s), higher sibling intimacy can enhance PT, particularly among older sister-younger brother pairs. These results suggest that in developing countries such as China, while sibling(s) may diminish PT to some extent, factors like parental care and sibling intimacy can serve as protective factors that mitigate the negative impacts of sibling(s) on PT.

Influence of parents’ strategies for Dealing with sibling Conflict on Children's sibling relationship: The mediating role of parent-child relationship

A total of 1368 children aged 3-6 with siblings and their parents were selected as research objects by convenient sampling method. The sibling relationship scale, the parental strategies for dealing with sibling conflict scale and the parent-child relationship scale were used as research tools to explore the influence of parents’ strategies for resolving sibling conflict on sibling relationship. Meanwhile, according to the family system theory, Investigate the mediating effect of parent-child relationship. The results showed that: (1) Parents’ strategies to deal with sibling conflict are positively correlated with both sibling relationship and parent-child relationship, and parent-child relationship has a significant mediating effect; (2) Child-centered strategies were positively correlated with sibling intimacy and negatively correlated with sibling conflict; (3) Parental control strategies were significantly positively correlated with sibling conflict, sibling relative status, and parent-child conflict; (4) Passive non-intervention strategies were significantly negatively correlated with parent-child intimacy and sibling intimacy, and were significantly positively correlated with parent-child conflict and sibling conflict, but not correlated with sibling relative status. This study reveals that parents’ strategies to deal with sibling conflict affect sibling relationship, and the mediation mechanism of parent-child relationship can provide empirical evidence for families to reasonably deal with sibling conflict.

Patterns and correlates of changes in sibling intimacy and conflict from middle childhood through young adulthood.

Patterns and correlates of changes in sibling intimacy and conflict from middle childhood through young adulthood.

Supplemental Material for Patterns and Correlates of Changes in Sibling Intimacy and Conflict From Middle Childhood Through Young Adulthood

Supplemental Material for Patterns and Correlates of Changes in Sibling Intimacy and Conflict From Middle Childhood Through Young Adulthood

Adult sibling relationships: The impact of cohabitation, marriage, separation, and childbearing

AbstractObjectiveThis study explores how life transitions, such as cohabitation, marriage, separation/divorce, and childbearing, affect three dimensions of full‐sibling relationships (contact, intimacy, and conflict).BackgroundSibling relationships shape family dynamics and context, providing enduring support and affection as the longest‐lasting relationships in an individual's life. Studying their evolution during life transitions enhances our understanding of these dynamics, considering their prolonged nature, peer status, and shared family history.MethodWe use data from the German Family Panel, specifically five waves (V, VII, IX, XI, and XIII), and fixed effects regression models that acknowledge life course transitions of both sibling dyads.ResultsThe life course perspective fails to fully capture the complex sibling bond, as contact between siblings decreased when one entered into cohabitation, but increased with marriage, separation, and parenthood. Nevertheless, the findings revealed that changes in sibling intimacy afterlife course transitions are consistent with the perspective. This dimension weakened during family formation but strengthened when unions dissolved. Conflict between siblings also decreased when starting to live with a partner, while it increased after separation, implying a spillover from romantic to sibling relationships.ConclusionOverall, these findings suggest that the theoretical framework for adult sibling life courses should consider sibling family formation events. The study highlights the significance of sibling relationships and their potential impact on shaping family context and dynamics as they are often the longest‐lasting relationships.

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).

Correlates of Latina college students' dyadic coping with sisters

AbstractObjectiveThis study examined Latina college students' perceptions of sisters' dyadic coping behaviors following stress disclosure, and how dyadic coping behaviors were associated with sibling relationship characteristics and familism values.BackgroundSibling relationships are protective when college students experience adversity.MethodThe sample included 195 Latina college students (Mage = 23.25 years, SD = 1.93) and path analysis was conducted to address the study goals.ResultsLatina college students perceived high levels of supportive, delegated, and common dyadic coping behaviors and moderate levels of negative dyadic coping behaviors from their sisters. Latina college students who lived with their sisters perceived more delegated dyadic coping behaviors than those who lived apart. Sibling intimacy was positively associated with perceptions of sisters' supportive, delegated, and common dyadic coping, but was not associated with negative dyadic coping behaviors. Sibling negativity was negatively associated with perceptions of sisters' supportive and common dyadic coping behaviors and positively associated with perceptions of sisters' negative dyadic coping behaviors. Further, Latina college students' stronger endorsement of familism values was associated with greater perceptions of sisters' supportive, delegated, and common dyadic coping behaviors.ConclusionOverall, our study showed that Latina college students perceived dyadic coping behaviors from their sisters, which were associated with aspects of their sibling relationship and their endorsement of familism values.ImplicationsContinuing to examine dyadic coping in siblings is important as it may have implications for family‐focused prevention and intervention programs.

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.

Negative messages from parents and sisters and Latina college students’ body image shame

Using the sociocultural model and risk and resilience theory, we examined the moderating role of Latinas’ family relationship quality on the associations between negative eating and weight messages from fathers, mothers, and sisters, and Latinas’ body image shame. Utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk, we recruited a sample of 195 Latina young adults (Mage = 23.24, range = 18 −25; SD = 1.95; 67.4 % Mexican-origin) who reported retrospectively on negative appearance-related messages from each family member (i.e., fathers, mothers, and sisters), positive (e.g., parental warmth and sibling intimacy) and negative (i.e., parental psychological control and sibling negativity) relationship quality with parents and sisters, and current body image shame. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that negative eating and weight messages from fathers, mothers, and sisters and sibling negativity were positively and significantly associated with Latinas’ body image shame. Further, we found that under conditions of high paternal psychological control but not low, the associations between fathers’ messages and Latinas’ body image shame were strengthened. For mothers, under conditions of low maternal psychological control but not high, the associations between mothers’ messages and Latinas’ body image shame were strengthened. Our findings reveal that family members’ negative comments are harmful for Latinas’ body image.

Direct and Indirect Effects of Maternal and Sibling Intimacy on Adolescents' Volunteering via Social Responsibility Values: A Longitudinal Study.

This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of maternal and sibling relational intimacy on adolescents' volunteering behaviors via their social responsibility values. Participants included two adolescents (50% female; M age = 14 years) and one parent (85% female; M age = 45 years) from 682 families (N = 2,046) from an ongoing longitudinal study. Adolescents self-reported their intimacy with mothers and siblings (Time 1), social responsibility values (Time 1), and volunteering (Times 1 and 2); parents reported on sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., gender, birth order, family income). Results from a structural equation model indicated that after accounting for adolescents' earlier volunteering, both maternal and sibling intimacy were indirectly related to greater volunteering via social responsibility values. There were no significant direct effects from maternal or sibling intimacy to adolescents' volunteering. Results indicate that both mothers and siblings are important in socializing prosocial and civic values and behaviors during adolescence.

Mediating Effects of Intimacy Between Body Talk and Girls' Body Dissatisfaction: The Forgotten Sibling Relationship.

Teasing and pressure from family members influences the development of body dissatisfaction. Body dissatisfaction is a common experience for girls and can lead to eating disorders. However, most body image disturbance research to date neglects the possible influence of siblings. In light of this, the present study investigated the associations between sibling negative appearance-based talk, intimacy, and body dissatisfaction. The sample consisted of 113 mostly White, female adolescents, whose ages ranged from 12 to 19 years with a mean age of 14.85 (SD = 1.62). This study first examined direct associations between negative body talk, including appearance related teasing and pressure from siblings, and girls' body dissatisfaction. Second, indirect effects models with intimacy included were examined. There were significant direct links between appearance related pressure from siblings and body dissatisfaction, and significant indirect effects such that sibling teasing and pressure were associated with sibling intimacy, which was associated with body dissatisfaction. These results indicate that siblings play an important role in the development of girls' body dissatisfaction.

Changes in family chaos and family relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a longitudinal study.

The purpose of this article was to explore how family chaos, parenting processes, parent-child relationship qualities, and sibling relationship qualities changed before versus the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included one parent and two adolescent-aged children from 682 families (2,046 participants). Parents and youth participating in an ongoing longitudinal study in five Midwestern states in the United States completed an additional web-based assessment of family processes and family relationship qualities during the May-June 2020 pandemic-related shutdowns. A series of two-wave latent change score models indicated that family chaos increased with the onset of pandemic-related shutdowns and that the level of chaos within a family during the shutdowns had implications for changes in several parenting processes and family relationship qualities. Specifically, higher levels of family chaos during the pandemic mitigated observed increases in parental knowledge and were associated with declines in parental autonomy granting. Family chaos during pandemic-related shutdowns also was associated with increases in maternal-child conflict, paternal-child conflict, and sibling conflict as well as decreases in paternal-child intimacy, sibling intimacy, and sibling disclosure. Overall, consistent with a family stress perspective, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased strain and commotion within many households, and these changes had implications for multiple family relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Associations among Mexican-origin youth’s sibling relationships, familism and positive values, and adjustment problems.

Finding ways to protect youth from maladjustment during adolescence and young adulthood is important, and youth of Mexican descent are key targets for such efforts given that they experience higher rates of depressive symptoms, risky behaviors, and sexual risk behaviors compared to youth from other ethnic/racial groups. Using a sample of younger (Mage Time 1 = 12.77 years) and older (Mage Time 1 = 15.70 years) siblings from an 8-year longitudinal study of 246 Mexican-origin families, we conducted path analyses to test whether older siblings' reports of sibling intimacy predicted younger siblings' later positive values and adjustment problems controlling for prior adjustment and maternal and paternal warmth. Additionally, we tested whether younger siblings' familism values moderated and their positive values mediated the sibling intimacy to adjustment problem linkages. Findings revealed that sibling intimacy in early adolescence predicted younger siblings' adjustment problems in young adulthood via their positive values in later adolescence, but only for younger siblings with strong familism values. This study highlights the importance of examining promotive factors, such as positive relationship qualities and familism values, and how positive values protect against problems in young adulthood. Results also have practical implications for prevention programs including the utility of promoting positive sibling relationships and values. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Sibling relationships and civic engagement: A longitudinal study of Chinese young adults

This study examined the longitudinal associations of sibling intimacy and conflict with civic attitudes and behaviours among Chinese young adults. At two time points separated by about 12 months, questionnaire data were collected from 272 Chinese college students (mean age at Time 1=19.68 years; 69% female), students who studied in Hong Kong and had at least one sibling. Students rated their intimacy and conflict with their siblings and their parents at Time 1, and their civic attitudes and behaviours at both time points. Hierarchical regression revealed that, controlling for demographic characteristics and parent-child intimacy and conflict, sibling intimacy predicted increases in both civic attitudes and behaviours. Sibling conflict was a non-significant predictor, however. Findings highlighted the roles of siblings in understanding civic development in young adulthood and the utility of targeting sibling intimacy as means to foster young adults' positive attitudes to and active participation in civic activities.

Sibling dynamics in adolescence predict young adult orientations to couple relationships: A dyadic approach

IntroductionAdolescents' sibling relationships may serve as a training ground for couple relationships given their similar features, including companionship, closeness and role structure. This study used a dyadic approach to examine sibling intimacy and control in adolescence as predictors of young adults' couple relationship orientations (attachment avoidance and anxiety and attitudes toward marriage). Additionally, research documenting the significance of an other-sex sibling for adolescents’ romantic competence guided tests of sibling dyad sex constellation as a moderator of links between sibling relationships and couple relationship orientations in our predominantly heterosexual sample of youth. MethodFirstborns and secondborns from 151 families (Time 1 ages M = 16.42, SD = 0.79 and M = 13.83, SD = 1.14, respectively) reported on their sibling relationships in three annual home interviews and on their couple relationship orientations in web surveys ten years after Time 1. ResultsEstimating actor-partner interdependence models revealed negative effects of sibling intimacy and positive effects of control toward sibling on avoidant attachment, and positive effects of control toward and by sibling on anxious attachment. Sex constellation moderated the interaction effects of the two siblings' intimacy reports on attitudes toward marriage: Mutual high intimacy among mixed-sex dyads predicted more positive attitudes; among same-sex dyads, adolescents' own intimacy compensated for siblings’ lower intimacy in predicting positive attitudes toward marriage. Findings emerged with parent marital love controlled. ConclusionFindings suggest long-term effects of sibling relationships on couple relationship orientations and demonstrate the benefits of using dyadic approaches to examine the implications of sibling relationships.

Familism, sibling relationship qualities, and sibling sex constellation as predictors of alcohol use among Mexican-origin adolescents.

Sibling relationship qualities and traditional family values (i.e., familism) are contextual factors relevant for early substance use risk among Mexican-origin adolescents. Yet limited research has examined whether familism moderates the effects of sibling relationship features on alcohol use. The present study examined whether familism enhanced or reduced the effects of sibling intimacy, negativity, and sibling deviance on later alcohol use, also testing whether sibling sex constellation (sisters, brothers, mixed) modified the patterns of influence. We analyzed two waves of data (N = 404) from the California Families Project, a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin youth. Using zero-inflated Poisson models, we examined unique and intersecting prospective influences of age 14 sibling contexts and familism on the likelihood of and degree of engagement in alcohol use at age 16. Results indicated a complex interplay of sibling features, familism values, and alcohol use patterns. Familism moderated the effects of sibling intimacy on later alcohol use patterns. For those with lower familism, increasing intimacy was associated with higher probability of any use, but decreasing degree of use (especially for brother pairs and sister pairs). Among those with higher familism, increasing intimacy predicted reduced probability of any use, but increases in the degree of use (for sister and mixed pairs). More sibling negativity was related to reduced alcohol use probability for brothers, and increased alcohol use in mixed sibling pairs. Sibling deviance was associated with greater age 16 alcohol use. This study highlights cultural considerations for including siblings in substance use prevention programs for Mexican-origin youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Older siblings' influence on sexual behavior of high school adolescents in Mekelle, northern Ethiopia.

Background: Older siblings are one of the key sources of beliefs about sexual activity, including safe sexual practices, and can even exert pressure to engage in sexual activities. This effect persists beyond parental supervision and peer pressure. Despite this, although a considerable body of research has examined parental and peer influence, comparable data on older sibling influence on younger adolescent sexual behaviors are scant, and this area needs in-depth analysis.Objective: The objective of this study was to assess older siblings' influence on sexual behavior of high school adolescents in Mekelle, northern Ethiopia in 2017–2018.Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used, and a total of 285 adolescents who had ever had sex were sampled randomly from selected schools. Data were entered into Epi-info version 07 and exported to and analyzed with SPSS version 22. Means ± SD, frequency, percentage, and cross-tabulation were used to describe the result. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was fitted to compute older sibling influence.Results: Perceiving older sibling sexual behavior as risky increased adolescents’ likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behavior. (AOR 4.52, 95% CI 2.59–7.89) whereas high intimacy with an older sibling (AOR 0.32, 95% CI 0.17–0.59) decreased the odds of risky sexual behavior (AOR 0.59, 95% CI 0.30–0.92).Conclusion: Older siblings had an influence on the sexual behavior of youngr adolescents. Perceiving older sibling sexual behavior as healthy and high sibling intimacy may serve as protective factors; however, risky sexual behavior of an older sibling can increase high school adolescents' likelihood for same. As such, families should realize that elders can affect their younger siblings' behavior, included the former in family strategies, and give them responsibility to protect their younger siblings.

Chinese Adolescents’ Relationships with Mothers, Fathers, and Siblings: Associations With Youth's Internalising and Externalising Problems

AbstractThe associations between Chinese adolescents’ family (maternal, paternal, and sibling) relationship qualities and their adjustment were examined among 540 Chinese families over a one-year period. Path analysis revealed that father-offspring positivity was associated with lower levels of internalising problems, whereas mother-offspring conflict predicted youths’ depressive symptoms and loneliness. Controlling for parent-offspring relationships, sibling intimacy inversely predicted youths’ internalising and externalising problems, whereas sibling conflict predicted youths’ loneliness. Multigroup comparisons revealed that youth gender moderated the associations between maternal conflict and youths’ depressive symptoms, as well as sibling intimacy and youths’ loneliness. Overall, results highlight the importance of family systems for Chinese youths’ mental health and the need to study sibling relationships in future studies of Chinese families.