Why Can’t I Be More Like My Brother? The Role and Correlates of Sibling Social Comparison Orientation

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.

Gendered Parenting: Maternal Son Preference and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Early Adolescents

This study focused on the nuanced phenomenon of gendered parenting by exploring how maternal son preference is associated with depressive symptoms among Chinese early adolescents. Focusing on 1093 junior high school students from a relatively affluent city in Western China, this study examined the mediating roles of mother-child attachment and father-child attachment as well as the moderating role of school connectedness in the relationship between maternal son preference and depressive symptoms. The results revealed a noteworthy positive correlation between maternal son preference and depressive symptoms among female adolescents, with no significant association observed in males. In addition, mother-child attachment and father-child attachment mediated the relationship between maternal son preference and girls' depressive symptoms, supporting the "spillover effect" and "crossover effect". Moreover, a moderation effect analysis indicated that a higher level of school connectedness can buffer the effect of maternal son preference on girls' depressive symptoms, while a lower level of school connectedness can enhance the effect of maternal son preference on girls' depressive symptoms. In addition, maternal son preference was negatively correlated with boys' depressive symptoms in relation to high school connectedness. These insights help enhance people's understanding of gendered parenting, emphasizing the enduring necessity of addressing son preference within the broader context of promoting gender equality.

Psychometric Properties of the Sibling Attachment Inventory in Mexican Young Adults

The aim of this work was to adapt and validate the Sibling Attachment Inventory (SAI) in Mexican young adults and analyze its psychometric properties. Using an Internet-based survey, data were collected from 307 (64.5% female) Mexican young adults university students (aged 18–30). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to determine the factor structure of the revised Mexican version of the Sibling Attachment Inventory (SAI-RMx). Convergent and predictive validity were verified by carrying out correlations with the parent form of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale (LSRS), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Results indicated that the SAI-RMx presents good levels of internal consistency and a monodimensional structure, also providing evidence for convergent, predictive, and construct validity. Furthermore, secure attachments were linked with high levels of self-esteem, as well as with high levels of life satisfaction. The SAI-RMx is expected to be a reliable instrument for measuring the global level and the three components of secure attachment between siblings in the young adult’s Mexican population.

Nest leaver or home stayer? Sibling influence on parental home leaving in the United Kingdom

Studies have suggested that the timing of leaving one's parental home can be influenced by a number of factors, such as gender, educational background, and parental characteristics. However, despite empirical evidence showing that siblings may influence one another's life course decisions, intragenerational effects on leaving home have not been adequately studied. In this study, we investigated the extent to which an event of a sibling leaving is associated with one's decision to leave the parental home and how demographic sibling characteristics may impact on the association. We also tested whether the number of siblings who left the parental home first is related to one's timing of leaving. Using data from "Understanding Society: The U.K. Household Longitudinal Study", we studied the process of leaving the parental home among 22,719 children and their siblings. The results indicated a positive relationship between leaving of a sibling and the own event of leaving. When siblings are brothers and have a small age gap, and when the nest-leaving sibling is older than the at-risk children, this relationship is even stronger. Finally, the more nest-leaving siblings one has, the less likely one is to stay at home. The findings provide evidence for cross-sibling effects on parental home leaving, underscoring the role of intragenerational associations with respect to life course events.

A Pilot Study of Younger Sibling Adaptation: Contributions of Individual Variables, Daily Stress, Interparental Conflict and Older Sibling's Variables

Older siblings are powerful socialization agents, playing a significant role in the sociocognitive, social, and emotional development of their younger siblings. However, there are few clues about the variables that explain younger sibling's adaptation. The objective of this pilot study was to identify the determinants of younger siblings' adaptation and to analyze the role played by personal, sibling, family and older siblings' variables using 50 dyads of siblings aged between 7 and 18 years. The variables considered were the sibling relationships and the maladaptation of older siblings, and individual (sex, number of siblings, extroversion, and agreeableness) and contextual variables (interparental conflict, daily stress) were controlled. Hierarchical multiple regressions provided evidence in favor of the model that analyzed the younger siblings' maladaptation to school, showing positive associations both with the older siblings' level of school maladaptation and with sibling conflict. In addition, the study highlighted the relevance of the trait of agreeableness and of family stress in the adaptation of younger siblings.

"It Changes Your Orbit": The Impact of Suicide and Traumatic Death on Adolescents as Experienced by Adolescents and Parents

BACKGROUND

Having someone close die through suicide or another form of traumatic death is a distressing event in the lives of adolescents, putting them at risk of grief and mental health ramifications. As most research in this field has been focused on intrapersonal grief reactions, this study aimed to broaden the perspective by exploring the impact of the death through an interpersonal lens.

METHODS

The study involved individual and group interviews with bereaved adolescents (n = 20) and parents of bereaved adolescents (n = 18), and thematic analysis of the data.

RESULTS

The analysis yielded three themes: (i) the death is a life-changing experience, (ii) the death differentiates you from your peers, and (iii) the death impacts on the family system.

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed the devastating impact of the deaths on adolescents, their relationships with peers and the family system. Adolescents' grief must be understood within the context of their agency and their immediate social environment. The findings clearly indicate that support for bereaved adolescents should incorporate the familial context.

The Long Arm of Maternal Differential Treatment: Effects of Recalled and Current Favoritism on Adult Children's Psychological Well-Being

Objectives

In this article, we draw from classic theories of social psychology and the life course to compare the effects of current and recalled perceived maternal differential treatment (MDT) on the depressive symptoms of adult children in midlife.

Method

To address this question, we used data collected from 746 adult children nested within 293 later-life families as part of the Within-Family Differences Study.

Results

Multilevel regression revealed that both recollections of maternal differentiation from childhood and perceptions of mothers' current disfavoritism regarding conflict predicted depressive symptoms, whereas perceptions of current favoritism regarding emotional closeness did not.

Discussion

Taken together, the findings from this investigation reflect principles of theories of social comparison and the life course in that both perceptions of current MDT and MDT recalled from childhood affect children's well-being in midlife. These findings contribute to a growing body of literature highlighting the role of within-family differences in parent-child relationships on well-being across the life course.

Parental Differential Treatment of Siblings and Adolescents' Health-Related Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Personality

Youth who receive comparatively poorer parental treatment than a sibling are at risk for maladaptive behaviors in a variety of domains, but research has yet to examine links with adolescents' health-related behaviors nor consider how those links may vary based on adolescents' personality traits, namely conscientiousness and agreeableness. Two siblings (n = 590 adolescents; 53% female; M_age = 15.86, SD = 1.73) from 295 families reported on their differential conflict and closeness with their fathers and mothers as well as on their personality, sleep habits, exercise habits, and general health habits. Multilevel modeling revealed that, generally, the less conscientious adolescents had better health habits when they had comparatively warmer relationships with their mothers. Less conscientiousness adolescents may be less distressed by inequality in the family, and thus may experience positive effects of relatively better treatment.

Parents' Social Comparisons of Siblings and Youth Problem Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model

Parents compare their children to one another; those comparisons may have implications for the way mothers and fathers treat their children, as well as their children's behavior. Data were collected annually for three years with parents, firstborns, and secondborns from 385 families (Time 1 age: firstborns, 15.71, SD = 1.07, 52% female; secondborns, 13.18, SD = 1.29, 50% female). Parents' beliefs that one child was better behaved predicted differences in siblings' reports of parent-child conflict. Additionally, for siblings close in age, mothers' comparisons at Time 1 predicted youth's problem behavior at Time 3 through siblings' differential conflict with mothers. The results support and extend tenets from Social Comparison and Expectancy Value theories in regards to social comparison within families.

"Can't live with or without them:" Transitions and young adults' perceptions of sibling relationships

Extant research documents how siblings' relationships develop from childhood through adolescence; yet, we know little about how sibling relationships change in young adulthood. Rooted in life course theory, this 2-wave longitudinal study investigated changes in sibling closeness and conflict, and the roles of life transitions and sibling similarity in life stage. Participants included 273 young adults from 180 families who reported on 340 sibling relationships (Time 1 M age = 24.45, SD = 5.33; Time 2 M age = 30.23, SD = 5.33). Multilevel repeated measures analysis of covariance indicated that, on average, siblings' perceptions of conflict declined over the course of young adulthood. Additionally, patterns of change in closeness and conflict were linked to life transitions surrounding coresidence, parenthood, and similarity in employment. The discussion addresses findings in regard to life course theory and similarity in life transitions. (PsycINFO Database Record

You're Just Like Your Dad: Intergenerational Patterns of Differential Treatment of Siblings

Objectives

Past work highlights that parents' differential treatment has implications for offspring's mental and relational health across the life course. Although the current body of literature has examined offspring- and parent-level correlates of differential treatment, research has yet to consider whether and how patterns of differential treatment are transmitted across generations.

Method

As part of a two-wave longitudinal study of 157 families, both grandparents (M age = 76.50 years, SD = 6.20) and parents (M age = 51.10 years, SD = 4.41) reported on differential treatment of their own offspring at both phases.

Results

A series of residualized change models revealed support for both continuity and compensation hypotheses. Middle-aged parents tended to model the patterns of differential treatment exhibited by their fathers, but middle-aged men who experienced more differential treatment from their own parents in recent years tended to subsequently exhibit lower levels of differential treatment to their offspring.

Discussion

These findings suggest that patterns of differential treatment both continue and diverge across generations, and those patterns vary by gender. On a broader level, these results also suggest that siblings not only impact one another's development, but in adulthood, they may indirectly influence their nieces' and nephews' development by virtue of their influence on their siblings' parenting.

Mothers', fathers', and siblings' perceptions of parents' differential treatment of siblings: Links with family relationship qualities

A family systems perspective directs attention to the potentially different experiences and perspectives of family members. This study examined parents' differential treatment (PDT) of siblings, discrepancies between parent and youth reports of PDT, and their links with relationships between adolescents and their mothers and fathers across three years. Participants were first- (Time 1 M age = 15.71, SD = 1.07) and secondborn (Time 1 M age = 13.18, SD = 1.29) siblings from 381, predominately white, working and middle class families. Analyses revealed that siblings' perceptions of being favored predicted less conflict with and greater warmth from both mothers and fathers, primarily for secondborn adolescents. Larger discrepancies between maternal and youth reports of differential affection were linked to more maternal conflict and less warmth for firstborns. These findings may suggest a hierarchy within families: parents may serve as referents for firstborns and firstborns as referents for secondborns.