Do Differences Make the Heart Grow Fonder? Associations Between Differential Peer Experiences on Adolescent Sibling Conflict and Relationship Quality

Measuring positive and negative body talk in men and women: The development and validation of the Body Talk Scale

Research suggests that positive and negative body talk are important factors in people's body image, however, the instruments designed to measure body talk are generally designed for use with a specific gender and primarily measure negative body talk. To address the shortcomings in the existing measures, the Body Talk Scale (BTS) was designed to measure both positive and negative body talk in men and women. The current study examines the development and psychometric properties of this new scale in two samples of adults, both including men and women. Study 1 focused on the development and examined the factor structure of the original scale items. Study 2 confirmed the factor structure and examined the concurrent validity, incremental validity, test-retest reliability of the scale, and also gender differences. The results indicated that the BTS is a 14-item scale that contains three subscales (Negative Fat Talk, Negative Muscle Talk, and Positive Body Talk) and demonstrates good concurrent validity, incremental validity, and test-retest reliability. Gender comparisons on all three subscales indicated that men engage in more positive body talk than women. The findings demonstrate that the BTS is a useful measure of positive and negative body talk in both men and women.

Older Siblings as Academic Socialization Agents for Younger Siblings: Developmental Pathways across Adolescence

The role of older siblings in younger siblings' academic socialization becomes increasingly salient during adolescence. This longitudinal study examines the developmental mechanisms through which older siblings shape younger siblings' academic outcomes and whether older siblings' peer affiliations predict younger siblings' educational aspirations and attainment. Data consisted of responses from 395 target adolescents (M_age = 12.22 years, 48.9% female; 51.6% African American, 38.5% European American) and their older siblings (M_age = 14.65 years, 50.1% female) across nine years. The findings showed that older siblings' affiliation with academically disengaged peers at 7th grade predicted younger siblings' decreased affiliation with academically engaged peers and increased affiliation with disengaged peers at 9th grade. In addition, younger siblings' affiliation with academically engaged peers predicted greater educational aspirations at 11th grade, which in turn were related to higher postsecondary educational attainment. The identification of developmental processes through which older siblings were associated with younger siblings' academic success may aid in creating supportive social environments in which adolescents can thrive.

Integrating Parents' Views on Sibling Relationships to Tailor an Evidence-based Parenting Intervention for Sibling Conflict

Parents play a crucial role in the development of their children's relationships with their siblings. Despite this, relatively few evidence-based parenting programs exist that specifically offer parents the strategies and techniques they desire and require for managing their children's sibling relationships. One way of bridging this gap is to design a tailored parenting intervention for sibling relationships that incorporates the parent voice in various aspects of program design. The current study recruited a convenience sample of 409 Australian parents to complete an online survey relating to their views on difficult sibling behaviors and what, if any, help they desire in dealing with the issue. The majority of respondents were Caucasian, middle- to upper-class mothers. Respondents predominantly attributed the causes of sibling conflict to their child's internal traits, but expressed strong desire for assistance with managing behavioral problems, especially when sibling relationships were marked by physical aggression. Respondents reported high levels of acceptability for positive, rather than punitive, parenting strategies and showed a clear preference for parenting interventions delivered in easy-to-access formats. The findings are interpreted in the context of guiding the development of a tailored parenting intervention for enhancing sibling relationships and reducing conflict.