Self-regulation as a mediator between sibling relationship quality and early adolescents' positive and negative outcomes.

The current study examined the role of adolescents' self-regulation as a mediator between sibling relationship quality and adolescent outcomes, after controlling for the quality of the parent-child relationship. Participants were 395 families (282 two parent; 113 single parent) with an adolescent child (M age of child at Time 1 = 11.15, SD = .96, 49% female) who took part in [project name masked for blind review] at both Time 1 and Time 2. Path analysis via structural equation modeling suggested that sibling affection was longitudinally and positively related to self-regulation and prosocial behaviors, and negatively related to externalizing behaviors; while sibling hostility was positively, and having a sister was negatively related to internalizing behaviors (in general, paths were stronger for adolescents from two- vs. single-parent families). There was also evidence that adolescents' self-regulation partially mediated the relation between sibling affection and positive and negative adolescent outcomes. The discussion focuses on the importance of continued research examining the mechanisms through which the sibling relationship influences development during adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Impact of the Sibling in Clinical Practice: Transference and Countertransference Dynamics.

For many years, the impact of sibling relationships on psychological development has been neglected in the literature, overshadowed by the role of the parent-child relationship. As a result, attention to sibling dynamics and sibling transference as valuable information for case formulation and treatment interventions has not been used to its maximum potential. The authors demonstrate how deliberate consideration of sibling dynamics as well as the transferences and countertransferences associated with those dynamics can facilitate treatment. Several important sibling dynamics are discussed, including siblings' influences on identity development; sibling rivalry, jealousy, envy, guilt, and resentment; and sibling attachment. The impact of sibling dynamics on adult love relationships is discussed, as are potential effects of sibling abuse and sibling bereavement. Examples of how these dynamics can manifest themselves in transference and countertransference reactions and suggestions for working with those dynamics are illustrated with clinical examples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The replacement of the fantasied oedipal child: A disruptive effect of sibling loss on the mother-infant relationship.

Presents the case of a 30-yr-old woman whose sibling had died during adolescence and who experienced her own child, almost 2 decades later, as a replacement for the lost sibling. This process was facilitated by the oedipal meaning of her sibling and by the interference in her family's ability to mourn the death of the child. The case illustrates the manner in which these conflicts were activated during the patient's pregnancy and how they subsequently interfered in the developing mother–infant relationship prior to intervention. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cloacal anxiety in female development

Contemporary psychoanalytic theory about feminine genital anxieties has shifted our focus away from some essential developmental realities of the little girl prior to the oedipal phase. Anal phase experience has recently been reemphasized as contributing significantly to the girl's developing body image, her mastery modes, and her psychological experience of gender. This paper proposes that associated with this phase is a specific anxiety described as the girl's fear that her genital is dirty, messy, and repellent to the love object, and that her sexuality is out of control and dangerously explosive. This is an important anxiety for the girl, a specific feminine version of anxiety around loss of love and approval. It derives from her bodily experience and is typically incorporated into the feminine genital anxieties of the oedipal period.     

Sibling relationships in early/middle childhood: links with individual adjustment.

The overarching goal of the study was to identify links between sibling relationship quality in early/middle childhood with children's adjustment, having accounted for the effects of parent-child relationship quality. The sample consisted of 101 working and middle-class 2-parent English families with 2 children ages 4-8 years. Parents provided reports of sibling relationship quality, the parent-child relationship, and the children's prosocial and problematic behaviors. The children also provided reports of their familial relationships with a puppet interview. Results indicated that sibling relationship quality was associated with the older siblings' adjustment, controlling for the children's relationships with parents. In addition, the pattern of findings suggested that positivity within the sibling relationship was more strongly linked with child adjustment than was sibling conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problems in falling in love

Certain patients enter psychoanalysis because of their inability to love another person. Often they report a repetitive erotic pursuit of desired partners, without being able to experience or maintain loving feelings. Kernberg has understood such difficulties as representing effects of early narcissistic disappointments and/or of difficulties in resolving oedipal conflicts. In this paper, Lacanian concepts of the mirror phase and symbolic love are employed to develop these issues. Sexualization of problems in mirroring may be fused with oedipal conflicts in some cases. An extended vignette is presented to illustrate the technical and theoretical issues.     

On the domestication of envy.

In response to the debate between followers of Klein and other theorists about the origins of envy, this article proposes an alternative account of the career of envy in development. This account is located against the background of current thinking about the relationship between preoedipal and oedipal dynamics. Its argument is grounded in concepts found in Winnicott's theories of development in general as well as in his writings specifically on envy; however, as part of its argument, this article offers a critique of the latter in light of the former. It is proposed that envy represents one possible response to the state of being overwhelmed or impinged on, which is then shaped, within a given environment, by subsequent experience and refinements in the capacity for judgment that are made by the infant in the course of discovering the world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of tachistoscopic stimulation of subconscious oedipal wishes on competitive performance: A failure to replicate.

Studied the effects of subconscious oedipal wishes on the dart-throwing performance of 72 18–29 yr old undergraduate males. The research was designed (a) to replicate the study by L. H. Silverman et al (1978), who found that Ss' dart-throwing performance improved after they viewed the subliminal stimulus "beating dad is ok" and worsened after they viewed "beating dad is wrong"; (b) to see if dart-throwing behavior is also affected by supraliminal oedipal stimulation; and (c) to investigate the influence of priming (i.e., preexperimental arousal of oedipal wishes) on the effect of tachistoscopic stimulation. Previous results were not replicated despite close adherence to the Silverman et al methodology, nor were other significant effects found. Questions are raised about the ability to have an impact on subconscious oedipal wishes in a behaviorally observable way using this paradigm. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential association of family subsystem negativity on siblings' maladjustment: using behavior genetic methods to test process theory.

This study investigated the family context of adolescent sibling similarity and differentiation in maladjustment (antisocial behavior and depression) by examining negativity in different subsystems. Two hypotheses were proposed: (1) Parental and sibling negativity tends to diffuse through the family system, especially because of the high level of reciprocity in sibling relationships, leading to sibling similarity; and (2) interparental (coparenting) conflict disrupts cohesive functioning and thereby motivates and facilitates sibling differentiation and niche picking. To control for the effects of similar genes between siblings, the authors used behavioral genetic models with a genetically informed sample of 720 two-parent families, each with at least 2 adolescent siblings. Results for the differences in shared environmental influences across groups high and low in each of the domains of family negativity provided partial support for the hypotheses. The results further understanding of influences on individual differences and support a theory of how parent-child and interparental relationships intersect with sibling relationship dynamics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential parent-child relationships and adolescent externalizing symptoms: Cross-lagged analyses within a monozygotic twin differences design.

Research has indicated that differential parental treatment is linked to differences in externalizing symptomology (EXT) across siblings, even those siblings who are genetically identical. However, the direction of causation and longitudinal significance of this relationship remains unclear. Thus, in the present study, the authors examined 486 monozygotic twin pairs, assessed at ages 11, 14, and 17 years, within a cross-lagged twin differences design. Results revealed that differential parent-child conflict at age 11 years uniquely contributed to differential sibling EXT 3 years later but only in the most discordant twin pairs. In the full, unselected sample, this relationship was not significant. These results suggest that markedly different parent-child conflict has an environmentally mediated impact on child behavior through mid-adolescence, findings that yield insights into environmental influences on behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a Family Literacy Program on Low-Literate Children and Their Parents: Findings From an Evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program.

A randomized experiment was conducted to test the effectiveness of Even Start, a federally supported family literacy program providing early childhood education, adult education, parenting education, and joint parent-child literacy activities to children and parents from low-literate families. The evaluation of 18 Even Start projects followed 463 families for 2 years and found no statistically significant or educationally important impacts on Even Start families when they were compared with control families on child literacy outcomes, parent literacy outcomes, or parent-child interactions. The study concludes that Even Start projects were able to properly implement family literacy programs, and the observed lack of effectiveness is attributed to a combination of 2 factors: (a) a lack of full participation on the part of families and (b) instructional services that may be ineffective because of the curriculum content or the instructional approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Commentary: siblings in their families.

Three themes in the contributions to the Special Issue are discussed (see record 2005-16478-001 for the introduction to the Special Issue). The first is new evidence for associations between the quality of sibling relationships and children's adjustment problems and positive development, from research which also takes account of parent-child relationships, and genetic associations. The second is the new methodological approaches to studying the complexity of family patterns in which siblings play a central role (for instance with multilevel modelling) and the study of changes over time. The third is the significance of connections with relationships outside the family especially peer relationships and friendships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics and correlates of sibling relationships in two-parent African American families.

The authors studied sibling relationships of African American youths and family and youth characteristics linked to sibling dynamics. Participants were fathers, mothers, and 2 siblings (M = 14.04 and M = 10.34 years of age) from 172 working-middle class 2-parent families. Cluster analyses of data collected in home interviews revealed 3 sibling relationship types: positive, negative, and distant. Parent education was lower, parent religiosity higher, and parent-child relationships more positive in the positive group; maternal discrimination experiences were higher in the negative group; youth ethnic identity was stronger in the positive group; and youth depression and risky behavior were higher in the negative group. The findings target sociocultural factors to consider in interventions for African American families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Micropsia and testicular retractions

Five episodes of micropsia, which were precipitated by oedipal masturbatory fantasies, are described in the analysis of an adult male. Traumatic visual events and testicular retractions during the oedipal and latency years predisposed the ego functions concerned with visual perception to later involvement in conflict. The micropsia itself is seen as defending against castration anxiety by means of a series of unconscious fantasies of denial. These fantasies cause a regression to an earlier mode of visual perception (and to micropsia) characteristic of latency. The defensive modifications of the functions of the ego itself seen in micropsia are closely allied to those seen in the dèjá vu experience and in depersonalization.     

Why are we here at the clinic? Parent–child (dis)agreement on referral problems at outpatient treatment entry.

Do clinic-referred children and their parents agree on the problems for which treatment is undertaken? The authors asked 381 outpatient-clinic-referred children and their parents to list, independently, the child's target problems. Of the parent-child pairs, 63 % failed to agree on even a single problem. When problems were grouped into broad categories (e.g., delinquent, withdrawn), more than a third of the pairs still failed to agree on a single broad problem area. Parent-child agreement was higher for externalizing than for internalizing problem categories (though poor for both). Low parent-child agreement may help explain the poor outcomes often reported for clinic-based child therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent–child mutuality in early childhood: Two behavioral genetic studies.

Parent–child dyadic mutuality (shared positive affect, responsiveness, and cooperation) is an important component of family socialization processes. This study sought to extend previous research on mutuality by using a quantitative genetic design to examine between- and within-family variations (e.g., sibling differences) and gene-environment processes. The first study included 125 pairs of identical and same-sex fraternal 3-year-old twins. Observations of mutuality and parents' and observers' ratings of family environment and child behavior were gathered. Greater mutuality was associated with higher socioeconomic status. Moderate sibling similarity in parent-child mutuality was accounted for by child genetic similarity, suggesting evocative gene- environment correlation and nonshared environmental processes. These findings were replicated in a 2nd study of 102 pairs of adoptive and biological siblings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The quality of sibling relationships and the development of social competence and behavioral control in aggressive children.

To understand the relations between sibling interactions and the social adjustment of children with behavior problems, 53 aggressive 1st- and 2nd-grade children, their mothers, and their siblings were interviewed about positive and negative aspects of the sibling relationship. When conflict and warmth were considered together, 3 types of sibling dyads emerged: conflictual ( high levels of conflict, low levels of warmth ), involved ( moderate levels of conflict and warmth ), and supportive ( low levels of conflict, high levels of warmth ) . On most measures of social adjustment at school, children in involved sibling relationships showed better adjustment than did children in conflictual relationships. Results are discussed in terms of a developmental model for at-risk children in which some sibling relationships may foster the development of social skills in addition to providing emotional support, which may enhance adjustment at school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A special oedipal mechanism in the development of male homosexuality.

A special oedipal mechanism in the development of homosexuality in high functioning neurotic men—the plicate Oedipus complex—is described, in which the father serves simultaneously as both the object and the prohibitor of erotic excitement in the oedipal-age boy. This mechanism, it is argued, replaces the more widely recognized negative and positive oedipal mechanisms and functions correspondingly in superego formation and general psychosexual development. The consequences of the plicate Oedipus complex for the homosexual male are described in terms of later sexual behavior, interpersonal relations, superego functioning, and transference paradigms. Guidelines for psychoanalytic therapy with homosexual men are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sibling status effects: Adult expectations.

Investigated expectations or beliefs held by 278 adults (average age 25.3 yrs) about a child based on his or her sibling status alone. Ss were asked to describe what they would expect a child without brothers or sisters, a child who was the oldest in his or her family, and a child who was the youngest in his or her family to be like. Ss seemed to have higher expectations for and give more positive ratings to oldest children than to only or youngest children. The ordinal position and parental status of the S also had an effect on the ratings given. Ss who were youngest children and Ss who were only children tended to show some bias toward their own sibling group; Ss who were oldest children actually gave their own sibling status lower group ratings than did other Ss. Ss with children tended to give higher ratings to all 3 sibling groups than did Ss without children. Results are discussed in terms of how these expectations may develop and their effects on the child's development. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Boy With Two Kingdoms: Ontogeny of a narrative.

Explores a 3-yr-old boy's attempt to come to terms with the event of his parents' divorce at the same time that he was trying to consolidate a sense of self that would enable him to negotiate the rocky path of oedipal development. The article traces his infantile construction (within his treatment) of an increasingly complex narrative ("The Boy With Two Kingdoms") to comprehend and cope with troubling internal and external demands. It is also intended to shed light on how such a narrative is modulated and maintained and how it eventually becomes embedded in the ongoing demands of character. Using case material, the author reveals the ways in which the realms of self, fantasy, and destiny intersect in the life of a young child. The shift from preoedipal to oedipal development is traced, and the inherent reparative possibilities in narrative process, as it is embedded in psychoanalytic treatment, are demonstrated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)