Sibling Relationship Quality Research Articles

Associations of sibling relationship quality and emotion regulation with child functioning in families with parental cancer

In families facing parental cancer, children have an increased risk for impaired psychosocial functioning, such as lower quality of life and satisfaction with life, and increased posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). These outcomes are likely affected by both dyadic and individual factors. The aims of the current study were to examine (1) the associations of sibling relationship quality (i.e., warmth and conflict) and emotion regulation problems with child functioning (i.e., quality of life, satisfaction with life, and PTSS) in families facing parental cancer; and (2) whether emotion regulation problems partially or fully mediate these associations. Our sample consisted of 161 children from 82 Dutch families facing parental cancer (84.6% maternal cancer). During home visits, children (mean age 12.1 years; 53.1% girls; 54.4% same-sex sibling pairs) filled out questionnaires about their sibling relationships and their own functioning. Mediation analyses showed no significant direct nor indirect effects of sibling warmth on quality of life, satisfaction with life or PTSS. Significant indirect (but not direct) effects were found for sibling conflict on quality of life and satisfaction with life and on PTSS, through emotion regulation problems. Children experiencing more sibling conflict reported more emotion regulation problems, which were linked to lower quality of life and satisfaction with life and more PTSS. Our study suggests that sibling conflict could be considered a risk factor for child psychosocial functioning in families facing parental cancer. The potentially beneficial effects of sibling warmth were not confirmed by our findings. Limitations and implications of the study and future directions are discussed.

Sibling relationship qualities and prosocial behaviors in Asian Indian college students: Intervening roles of family respect values and empathy

Sibling relationship qualities and prosocial behaviors in Asian Indian college students: Intervening roles of family respect values and empathy

The influence of sibling relationship quality on the social, emotional, and behavioral functioning of children and adolescents: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Families play a pivotal role in the development of social-emotional outcomes. Recent research indicates that sibling relationship quality plays a particularly important role in child and adolescent social, emotional, and behavioral development. To date, there are few studies that have translated this information in a manner that is useful for professionals working with children, adolescents, and their families. The present scoping review aims to fill this gap in the literature. Twenty-three empirical studies published between 1990 and 2021 were reviewed and synthesized. Results highlighted the unique ways that sibling negativity and positivity influence the development of social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Namely, sibling negativity was found to play a primary role in influencing adverse outcomes, such as internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and social difficulties. However, in some cases, sibling positivity was found to decrease the incidence of these outcomes. Sibling positivity was also found to be a protective factor in the context of adverse life events, such as trauma. Results indicate a need for assessment strategies aimed at identifying problematic sibling relationship qualities. Additionally, results support the need for interventions that reduce sibling negativity and promote sibling positivity that can be delivered by professionals as well as families.

Firstborn's empathy and the sibling relationship quality: The moderating role of maternal emotional availability.

This study examined how a firstborn child's empathy interacts with maternal emotional availability (EA) to predict later positive sibling relationships. The study included 108 families expecting a second child who also had a 10- to 45-month-old firstborn child (M = 24.6 months, SD = 7.42; 58 girls). Before the second-born child arrived, the firstborn child's empathic abilities were measured, and a mother-child play interaction was videotaped and coded for maternal EA. At 16-18 months postpartum, mothers completed questionnaires assessing the quality of the sibling relationship. Maternal EA moderated the link between the firstborn's cognitive and emotional empathy and the quality of the sibling relationship. Higher levels of emotional and cognitive empathy predicted better sibling relationships for children whose mothers were more emotionally available. Implications for early interventions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Confidants for life: Examining sibling relationship positivity and disclosure in U.S. Latinx college students while considering the role of familism

Familism is a central facet of Latin culture, yet there has been little work examining its role within the sibling relationship. Importantly, young adulthood provides a unique context where sibling dynamics may shift as independence increases and one begins to solidify their personal beliefs. During this time, sibling relationship quality remains influential. One mechanism to encourage positive sibling relationships is by teasing apart disclosure content. Therefore, we posited the following research questions: Is disclosure content associated with sibling relationship quality? Are there differential associations between familism dimensions (referent, support, obligations, and respect for family) and sibling relationship quality? Do these familism dimensions moderate the association between domain-differentiated disclosure and sibling relationship quality? To address these questions, via online surveys, 186 Latinx undergraduates ( M age = 21.35, SD = 1.79) reported on frequency of disclosure to their closest-in-age sibling, sibling relationship quality, and endorsement of four familism values. Findings revealed that more frequent engagement in personal disclosure (e.g., “How I spend my free time”) was associated with more reports of sibling positivity. With prudential disclosure (e.g., “Whether I smoke cigarettes”), more frequent disclosure was associated with less sibling positivity. All four dimensions of familism were associated with more sibling positivity. For personal disclosure, across all familism models, its association with sibling positivity was magnified under average to high levels of familism endorsement. For prudential disclosure, its association with sibling relationship quality was magnified under high levels of familism endorsement for all models except for respect for family. Within the respect for family model, when endorsed at low levels, multifaceted (e.g., “Whether I stay out late”) disclosure was associated with more sibling positivity. Our study highlights the particularly positive implications of siblings disclosing about personal domain issues compared to other topical domains. Our work also suggests familism is positive for sibling relationships, but interestingly, when it interacts with disclosure, the findings are mixed.

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).

The associations between sibling influence and perception of sibling relationship quality among adolescents: The moderating role of birth order

This study examined the longitudinal associations between perception of sibling relationship quality (i.e., sibling warmth and conflict) and sibling influence (i.e., sibling modeling and differentiation), as well as the potential moderating role of birth order among Chinese adolescents. Participants were 150 adolescents (Mage = 12.84 years, SD = 0.71; gender combination: 41.22% same-sex pairs) from Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Measures of sibling relationship quality and sibling influence were collected via self-reports at two time points, 6 months apart. We study at the individual level and the target child is one of a pair of siblings. Results based on a cross-lagged model indicated that (a) perceiving sibling relationship as warmer positively predicted imitating one’s sibling, (b) imitating one’s sibling positively predicted perceiving sibling relationship as more conflicted for younger siblings but not for older siblings, and (c) perceiving sibling relationship as warmer positively predicted differentiating one’s sibling for older siblings but not for younger siblings. These findings illustrate reciprocal associations between perception of sibling relationship quality and sibling influence.

Jumping together or not? Associations between siblings’ relationship quality and fertility transitions

Individuals' fertility behaviors are likely to be associated with their siblings' due to social influence mechanisms and uncertainties involved in making fertility transitions. Such cross-sibling effects were shown to be stronger when siblings have similar demographic traits. While being a proxy for sibling relationship quality, no study has directly investigated the association between sibling closeness and their fertility transitions. Using four waves of data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study, this study adopted a dynamic design where the outcome is whether siblings had children in the same period between panel waves: “jumping together or not” and estimated multilevel binary and multinomial logistic models (N dyad-waves = 6314). We found that siblings with higher relationship quality were more inclined to have children simultaneously, compared to the other categories. In contrast to a sibling having a fertility transition alone, sibling conflict was positively linked to both not having children. In conclusion, sibling closeness is important for siblings’ fertility alignment, including both having and not having children simultaneously.

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.

Family environment and self-esteem development in adolescence: A replication and extension

A study by Krauss et al. (2020) suggested that the family environment (e.g., parental warmth, economic conditions of family) plays an important role for self-esteem development in adolescence. The present research sought to closely replicate and extend the study, using 4-wave longitudinal data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project, including 451 families. To replicate the prior study, we conducted the same set of analyses with similar measures and multi-informant assessments of mothers, fathers, and children from the same families. To extend the previous study, we tested novel aspects (i.e., controlling for prior exposure and testing the effect of the quality of sibling relationships). Overall, the findings provide no evidence for prospective effects between family environment and self-esteem in adolescence.

A Qualitative Exploration of Sibling Relationship Quality Among Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) places children at risk for negative developmental outcomes. However, many IPV-exposed (eIPV) children exhibit resilience, which is promoted by protective factors including positive, caring relationships. Sibling relationships can buffer eIPV children from poor adjustment outcomes but have scarcely been studied. This study explored how eIPV children in middle childhood understood and made meaning of their sibling relationships. Six eIPV sibling dyads were recruited for individual interviews and participation in a video-recorded play session. A descriptive phenomenological analysis was conducted using both forms of data. Five main themes of eIPV sibling relationships emerged and were presented through textual and structural descriptions. Implications for practice and policy and areas for future research are discussed.

Sibling comparisons, sibling relationship quality, and perceived sport competence in young athletes

Siblings are overlooked, yet potentially meaningful social agents in youth sport. To better understand the role of siblings in youth sport, we examined the association between sibling sport-referenced comparisons, relationship qualities, and perceived sport competence. The tendency to make sibling comparisons was expected to be positively related to sport competence perceptions and this association was further expected to be moderated by markers of sibling relationship quality. Participants were 47 sport-involved sibling dyads that included older siblings (25 female, 22 male, Mage = 10.94 ± 1.49 yrs) who were predominately first-born children (83%) and their younger siblings (23 female, 24 male participants, Mage = 8.45 ± 1.01 yrs) who were mostly second-born children (79%). Participants completed established assessments of comparison tendency, sibling relationship qualities, and sport competence perceptions. Analyses revealed a three-way interaction between birth position (younger or older sibling), tendency to compare, and sibling warmth predicting sport competence (p < .05). Younger siblings with a greater tendency to make sibling comparisons and higher warmth perceptions reported higher sport competence perceptions. The findings suggest that sibling-based comparisons and relational warmth may be salient for younger siblings in gauging their competence, whereas older siblings utilize alternative sources of competence information.

The influence of sibling relationship quality on emotional distress from adolescence to early midlife.

This study examines continuity and change in sibling relationship quality (warmth and hostility) from adolescence to adulthood, as well as how changes in sibling relationship quality across developmental stages are associated with early midlife emotional distress. Data come from the Family Transitions Project, a two-decade longitudinal study of youth and their families followed from adolescence to adulthood. The present study included target adolescent self-report data on warmth and hostility toward and received from their sibling over ten data points from ages 15 to 31. Target to sibling warmth decreased from ages 23 to 31, whereas sibling to target warmth increased in emerging adulthood and then decreased into adulthood. Both sibling to target and target to sibling hostility decreased in adolescence and emerging adulthood and then remained low and stable from emerging adulthood to adulthood. Target to sibling warmth at age 23 predicted lower levels of anxiety at age 41. Sibling to target warmth at age 23 also predicted lower levels of depressive symptoms. Target to sibling hostility at age 23 predicted anxiety and hostility in middle adulthood, whereas sibling to target hostility at age 23 predicted anxiety, depressive symptoms, and hostility. In addition, a slower decline in sibling to target hostility from ages 15 to 19 was associated with higher levels of anxiety at age 41. This study is one of the first to examine the quality of sibling relationships across developmental stages and exemplifies how relationship quality between siblings from adolescence to young adulthood can influence emotional distress into early midlife. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A quasi-experimental study in sibling dyads: differential provocation-aggression patterns in the interactive taylor aggression paradigm.

The Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) is a well-established tool for assessing provocation-induced reactive aggression. We introduce an interactive version, the iTAP, with real-time opponents across 60 trials, including five simulated provocation trials in the middle. In this quasi-experimental study, we evaluate the effectiveness of the paradigm to investigate reactive aggression in interacting participants. The design allows us to employ the TAP in settings of high familiarity dyads, addressing an existing gap. Twenty-eight healthy same-sex adult sibling pairs (N = 56) competed against each other in the iTAP, exemplifying high familiarity through their social and emotional co-development, and mutual knowledge. Additionally, we explore naturally arising aggression types in terms of sibling pairs' reciprocal aggression trajectories across trials. Lastly, we investigate situational and personal variables influencing reactive aggression on the iTAP within high familiarity dyads. In line with non-interactive TAP versions, siblings employed a global "tit-for-tat" strategy in response to heightened provocation: Aggression increased during manipulated trials of increasing provocation, persisted during real interaction and declined in the final block, suggesting sibling co-regulation which was underscored by the convergence in within-pair aggression level. We found no gender differences in these dynamics but a trend for higher initial aggression levels within brother pairs and higher responsiveness to increased provocation in sister pairs. Overall aggression levels were related to situational variables including trial outcome (lost, won, and tie), Further, siblings' state anger correlated positively with aggression scores on the iTAP. Aggression was not reliably related to personal variables predicting aggression. We identified subgroups of sibling pairs with distinct provocation-aggression patterns related to differences in reported behavioral motivations and emotional states. The results highlight situational over personal variables in determining aggressive behavior on the task in this sample of healthy adults. While no direct link between sibling relationship quality and aggression was found, the overall behavior was likely influenced by the familiarity between siblings and the specific context of their relationship. The iTAP demonstrates promise as a tool for studying reciprocal aggressive behavior. The emergence of different interaction patterns underscores the ecological validity introduced by the interactive context, which complements the standard versions of the TAP.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

Could mental health be worse in teens who come from large families? Researchers from The Ohio State University seem to think so based on research that found teens with a greater number of siblings reported poorer mental health than those who came from smaller families, Fox News reported. The large‐scale study published last month in the Journal of Family Issues. It included more than 9,400 eighth graders in China and more than 9,100 children of the same age in the U.S. The participants in both countries answered various questions about their mental health. Based on the responses, among the Chinese teens, the ones with no siblings were found to have the best mental health. In the U.S., teens with no siblings or just one sibling had the best mental health. The researchers did not analyze the quality of sibling relationships, which could have a direct impact on mental health, said Doug Downey, lead author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University. At this point, Downey said, it is too early to recommend any changes in human behavior based on these findings.

Illuminating the landscape of sibling relationship quality: An evidence and gap map.

This paper used an evidence and gap map (EGM) to advance the scientific understanding of sibling relationship quality among children aged 2 to 18 years by synthesizing literature on 277 empirical studies from 1985 to 2022 to delineate patterns of study design, sampling, and measurement. Most existing research has utilized majority of White, middle-to-upper class, and/or two-caregiver family samples. Nearly 85% (n = 235) of studies used quantitative methods to measure sibling relationship quality across eight domains: conflict, warmth/affection, quality, cohesion, hostility, power/control, positive engagement, and conflict management. A total of 122 studies used a measure of sibling relationship quality as a predictor of sibling behavior, social, psychological, cognitive, health, or physiological outcomes. Future directions for research are discussed.

Construct validity of the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale measuring adult sibling relationship quality where one sibling has intellectual or developmental disabilities

The Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale (LSRS) has been validated in samples where neither sibling has intellectual or developmental disabilities. We sought to examine the construct validity of the LSRS with a sample of adult siblings of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Adult siblings of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (N = 646) completed Adult LSRS items measuring Affect, Behavior, and Cognitions. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) were employed to examine the construct validity of the LSRS in this sample. The initial CFA fit for a three-factor model was inadequate (CFI = 0.86, TLI = 0.84, RMSEA = 0.10, x 2 = 1752.97, df = 249). Further analyses using EFA suggested alternative two-factor and three-factor models. CFA models based on these potential factor solutions also had inadequate fit. These findings indicate that the LSRS may not be an appropriate measure of sibling relationships where one sibling has intellectual or developmental disabilities. Future research may need to utilize sibling relationship measures developed specifically for siblings where one has intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Sibling Relationship and Behavioral Adjustment in Families of Disabled Children: Cross-Lagged Associations.

Cross-lagged panel designs were used to examine longitudinal and potential (bi)directional relationships between primary caregiver reported sibling relationship quality and the behaviors of children with intellectual disability (n = 297) and their closest in age siblings. The behavioral and emotional problems of the child with intellectual disability positively predicted sibling conflict over time. When accounting for control variables, this relationship was no longer present. Sibling warmth positively predicted the prosocial behaviors of the child with intellectual disability over time. When accounting for control variables, both sibling warmth and sibling conflict positively predicted the prosocial behaviors of the child with intellectual disability over time. Future research directions and clinical implications are discussed.

LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF ADULT SIBLING RELATIONSHIP AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: THE ROLE OF CHILDHOOD MALTREATMENT

Abstract Objectives For many older adults, siblings serve as a source of companionship and support. This study examined a) the longitudinal association between sibling relationship quality and psychological well-being among older adults and b) whether the association would differ by childhood maltreatment. Methods We used three-wave data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Latent growth curve modeling was conducted to examine the associations between perceived sibling closeness and the psychological well-being of 4,736 older adults. Results Our findings showed that the trajectory of perceived sibling closeness differed between older adults who experienced childhood maltreatment and those who did not. Perceived sibling closeness was lower at baseline for those who experienced maltreatment and did not change over time, whereas perceived sibling closeness increased over time for those who did not experience maltreatment. Further, older adults who reported greater sibling closeness over time showed less of a decline in psychological well-being. The longitudinal associations between perceived sibling closeness and psychological well-being did not differ between the maltreated and non-maltreated groups. Discussion Childhood maltreatment was found to have long-term negative effects on the emotional quality of sibling relationships in late adulthood. More research is needed to explore potential mechanisms that explain these lifelong associations.

CHANGES IN ADULT SIBLING CONFLICT AND OLDER PARENTS’ COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT: THE MODERATING ROLE OF CARE PROVISION

Abstract The life course concept of “linked lives” emphasizes that the life events of one family member have implications for other family members. Health events have been shown to be particularly salient in later-life families. We considered the consequences of older parents’ cognitive impairment on adult sibling relationship quality. Using mixed methods data from 327 adult children (nested within 96 families) collected as part of the Within-Family Differences Study (WFDS) T3, we examined the role of adult children’s care provision in the association between parents’ cognitive impairment and adult sibling tension. At T3 of the WFDS, the adult children were on average 60 years old and their parents were on average 90 years old. We conducted lagged multilevel linear regression modeling to account for nonindependence and to control for sibling tension seven years earlier before parents were experiencing cognitive impairment. The results of the quantitative analyses revealed that reports of sibling tension were higher in families in which parents experienced cognitive impairment. Moderation analyses indicated that the association between parents’ cognitive impairment and sibling tension was stronger for caregivers than noncaregivers. Qualitative analyses revealed that discrepancies in perceptions of the caregiving situation between caregivers and noncaregivers fueled sibling tension. Noncaregivers often seemed unaware of the caregiving situation or actively disengaged to avoid conflict. Taken together, these findings indicate that sibling tension is particularly high in the context of caring for older parents with cognitive impairment. In particular, adult children who are providing care are at increased risk of sibling tension.