This annotated bibliography provides a comprehensive review of literature focusing on brothers and sisters of children with emotional disorders. Some material addressing brothers and sisters of children who have physical, mental, or developmental disabilities is also included. The bibliography lists approximately 80 references covering a 10-year…

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuses surveys have consistently found that the family is fundamental to keeping children away from tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs. This 2002 survey keeps the focus on family and seeks to assess the impact of siblings on the likelihood of teen substance abuse. This year 1,000 teens ages 12 to 17…

Noting that parents of more than one child often are unprepared for coping with the competing demands of siblings, this book presents solutions to common parenting problems related to siblings and includes tips for meeting parents' as well as children's needs. Also included are results of a survey of parents who had attended parenting workshops…

The Family Constellation Scale (FC Scale) is an instrument that assesses perceived birth order in families. It can be used in counseling to help initiate conversations about various traits and assumptions that tend to characterize first-born, middle-born children, youngest-born, and only children. It provides both counselors and clients insights…

Uses data on twins (N=355) to obtain estimates of the degree of shared familial influence on cognitive achievement and academic performance. Results indicate that there is considerable shared influence on cognitive achievement but much less for academic performance, suggesting more between-family variation in cognitive achievement than in academic…

Family systems theory was employed to study sibling relationships in 50 families with a child (ages 4-12) with autism. Typically developing siblings expressed satisfaction with their sibling relationships. Parents were somewhat less positive about the sibling relationships. Stress in the marital relationship was associated with compromised sibling…

Examined the development of teaching skills in older siblings responsible for teaching their younger siblings to become competent members of their culture among children from a Zinacantec Maya village in Chiapas, Mexico. Found that by age 4, children took responsibility for initiating teaching situations with their younger siblings, and by 8,…

A study examined the basis of "theory of mind" (ToM) reasoning in 20 native signers (ages 4-8) of British Sign Language. Children and their siblings were given a measure of the quality of sibling relations. Sibling quality as perceived by siblings predicted children's ToM score over age and referential communication. (Contains…

A case report is presented in which an 11-year-old boy's desire to be a girl and to have his penis removed are shown to follow the initiation of sexual contact by his older brother. The boy's early history of moderate femininity may have made him vulnerable to gender identity conflict. (JDD)

Surveyed 272 high school juniors and seniors concerning violence and agonistic sibling relationships. Findings indicated that siblings engaged in variety of violent acts directed toward one another and that there were few gender differences as to extent of such behaviors. Subjects reported experience of negative physical and verbal interactions…

Examined gender and developmental differences in awareness of underlying feelings about subjects' age-near, same-sex sibling in 60 child-rearing and empty nest subjects. Found that women seemed to be more aware of their underlying feelings toward sisters than were men toward brothers, but valence of feelings was life phase-specific. (TE)

Discusses techniques that teachers and parents can use to help young children cope with the birth of a new sibling and reduce fighting amongst siblings. Young children need to understand what is taking place, what is expected of them, and how they should interact with their brother or sister. (MDM)

Examined association between sibling relationships and developmental outcomes in 25 preschool foster children placed with older siblings. Found some association, though inconsistent, between quality of the relationship and child behavior problems and verbal ability. Results suggest the complexity of high-risk sibling relationships and its impact…

Investigated birth-order differences in children's early vocabulary development. Compared the composition and age of acquisition of the first 50 and 100 words of 9 firstborns and their younger siblings, using a longitudinal maternal diary methodology. A small but significant birth-order effect was found for the age at which the 50-word milestone…

Reviews: (1) "If You Change Your Mind"; (2) "Swinging Safari: Really Wild Animals Series"; (3) "Wonders Down Under: Really Wild Animals Series"; (4) "Deep Sea Dive: Really Wild Animals Series"; (5) "Flags of the Nations"; (6) "A New Baby in My House"; (7) "I Dig Fossils"; and…