Siblings are very common (a lot of kids are living with a single mother and
siblings / only 70% of kids live with a father figure)
o
82% of kids under 18 are living with a sibling
o
40% have 1 sibling
o
25% have 2 siblings
o
15% have 3+ siblings
Sibling Togetherness
o
At age 11, kids spend
of free time with siblings
⅓
more time than they spend with parents, teachers, friends and
alone
o
Adolescents spend ~10 hours per week together
more in Mexican-American families (~17 hours)
o
Home observation of brother and sisters, age 3-7 years
o
45 minutes of play
o
3 sequential hostile exchanges = conflict
o
conflict every 17 minutes
o
2-4 year old age group has conflict every 10 minutes
Sibling Conflict Resolution
o
62 pairs of sibling aged: 4-7, 6-8, 7-10 years
o
10 minutes to discuss recurring argument in an observation room
o
Average negotiation: 2 minutes 4 seconds
o
Compromise: 32 pairs
o
Win/lose: 13 pairs
o
Unproductive: 3 pairs
o
Standoff: 11 pairs
o
When parents intervene, average negotiation time increases
Birth Order
o
First order – reliable, conscientious, structured, cautious, controlling,
achievers
o
Middle Children – people-pleasers, somewhat rebellious, has large
social circle, peacemaker
o
Last born – fun-loving, uncomplicated, manipulative, outgoing,
attention-seeker, self-centered
o
Only Children – mature for their age, perfectionists, conscientious,
diligent, leaders
Competition
o
Siblings dilute resources available to each child
This limits their achievement (e.g. lower educational and
occupational attainment)
o
To reduce competition, siblings differentiate or de-identify,
developing different qualities and choosing different niches
first child becomes a football player and the other child
becomes a student council president (totally different)
Siblings with disability or illness
o
typically developing kids with a chronically ill or disabled siblings
have positive and negative outcomes
more warmth and positive affect than typical-only dyads
slightly elevated risk of adjustment problems
o
An atypical sibling may lead to more variation in child outcomes
Martial Effects
o
Unclear whether parental divorce leads to better or worse sibling
relationships – results are mixed
o
Parental conflict and parent-child conflict is associated with more
sibling conflict
But sometimes parental conflict leads siblings to form close
protective relationships
Sibling interaction
o
fosters development of perspective taking, emotion understanding,
negotiation, persuasion, and problem solving
o
Classic 1983 study
o
40 dyads of mixed-sex undergrads
o
5 min videotaped initial meeting followed by questionnaires
o
People with an older opposite-sex sibling were most likely to have a
good interaction
o
Lastborn men talked twice as long, asked more questions, evoked
more gazes, verbal rein forcers, and self-reported liking from female
partners
o
Lastborn women more likely to initiate the interaction and to smile
more than their male partners
Sibling influence
o
