Home observations recorded how 33-month-old younger siblings act as third-party interveners in family disputes. Disputes usually involved house rules when mother was absent. Children who supported elder siblings had more harmonious sibling relationships than those who did not support their siblings. Results demonstrate ways in which children are…

Measured the social and academic adaptation of 45 sibling pairs in grades 2 to 5 and compared the results with similar data obtained for randomly selected, unrelated pairs matched on sex, grade, and classroom. Significant similarities were recorded among siblings in their peer relations, academic performance, and behavioral adjustment, whereas…

Compared mother', fathers', and siblings' corrective repetitions to children's errors across different settings. Analyses revealed that mothers and fathers provided more corrective repetitions than did siblings. Results are discussed in terms of current negative evidence research. (Author/VWL)

Explores the relationship between numbers and sexes of siblings and perceived rearing practices. Uses the Parental Bonding Instrument to rate responses of 1,145 pregnant Japanese women. Determines participants with more older sisters felt their parents were less caring; participants with more brothers, specifically younger, saw their parents as…

Presents a short story about an adolescent boy whose troubled family life has led to a poor attitude in school and repeated discipline problems. Shows how the boy finds solace through his drawings, particularly those of his sister who ran away. (TB)

Examined foster mother attitudes about fostering siblings, and caseworker impressions of sibling placement. Found that half of mothers found children placed with siblings harder to foster while half found them easier than single children. Most caseworkers agreed with sibling placement policy, and that children placed with siblings were no more or…

Examined whether the sex of older siblings influenced the gender role development of 3-year-olds. Found that boys with older brothers and girls with older sisters were more sex-typed than same-sex singletons who, in turn, were more sex-typed than children with other-sex siblings. Having an older brother was associated with more masculine and less…

Older siblings' contributions to younger siblings' competence net of parenting processes were examined with 152 pairs of first-born (M=11.7 years) and second-born (M=9.2 years) siblings in rural, single-parent African American families. Structural equation modeling indicated that parenting was linked with older siblings' competence, which in turn…

This study examined social skills and behavior of children with disabilities (CWD) and the impact of siblings on these behaviors. Eighty-five CWD diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder only (ADHD-o), Learning Disability or Learning Problems (LD/LP), ADHD and LD combined (ADHD/LD) or Spina Bifida (SB) and their siblings were…

High divorce rates over the past 40 years have affected multiple generations and have long-term consequences for family relationships. This article applies a life course perspective as it explores the reverberation of relationship dissolution beyond the nuclear family. Qualitative data from a study involving 86 adults from 10 three-generation…

Sibling relationships appear important in fostering young children's growing theory-of-mind skills, but the quality of sibling interactions has rarely been investigated directly in relation to children's mental-state awareness (e.g. as indexed by talk about perceptions, desires, feelings, cognitions, i.e. inner state talk; IST). This study…

Using Bronfenbrenner's ecological model of human development, this study tested the hypothesis that family processes contribute more to adolescent adjustment than does family structure. Subjects for the study were 234 adolescents between 12 and 16 years old living in a stepfamily on a regular basis. This sample is a sub-sample of a representative…

This study represents further work into the area of what specific processes determine whether a sibling relationship will be positive or negative. Specifically addressed was the influence of each child's personality or temperament in shaping the quality and type of sibling relationship. Significant attention was paid to analyzing sibling…

The relationships among brothers and sisters are infinitely varied, but whatever their characteristics, these bonds last throughout life. This book examines the sibling relationship as a distinctive emotional, passionate, painful, and solacing power. Chapter 1, "Unraveling the Sibling Bond," addresses research on siblings and development of the…

This report traces the recent recognition given to the needs and feelings of siblings of individuals with mental retardation. The development of social support groups for siblings from 1960 to the present is described, including the establishment of the landmark Brother-Sister Group, the founding of the Association for the Help of Retarded…