The effects of situation and sibling status on sibling interaction.

Observed 32 mixed-sex sibling pairs in free play in the laboratory and analyzed their interactions in terms of the sibling-status variables of age of the individual S, sex composition of the dyad, and age interval between the siblings. Younger siblings were 1.5–2.0 yrs old, and older siblings were 2.5–5.5 yrs old. Ss were observed for 4 successive 3.5-min trials. Results generally replicate those in previous home studies. As compared to their younger siblings, older siblings initiated more object struggles and, in dyads with large age intervals, they also initiated more prosocial behavior. Younger siblings imitated more often. Older females were especially prosocial. In order to study the effect of situational variables, the number of toys available and the mother's presence during the free-play observations were manipulated. There were more positive interactions with a single toy and more negative interactions with 4 toys. Finally, there were more negative interactions in mother's presence than in her absence. (French abstract) (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new perspective on the Oedipal complex: A voice therapy session.

Presents clinical material using voice therapy, to elicit, identify, and counteract negative thought patterns. The case of a 38-yr-old man, who experienced suicidal impulses in competitive situations, illustrates the concept of "identification with the aggressor" in relation to a father's angry, rivalrous feelings toward his son. The author discusses the dynamics operating in families where immature or insecure parents compete with and show resentment toward the child of the same sex and direct overt or covert aggression toward him/her. Later, the internalized aggression emerges as a negative thought process when the individual strives to achieve personal or vocational goals. An exploration of the theoretical implications of the case contributes to an understanding of unresolved Oedipal issues that can affect young people at risk for suicide, particularly high-achieving adolescents who seemingly have everything to live for. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anger, aggression, and violence in love triangles

This paper presents a longitudinal examination of the effect of employment transitions on the psychological distress of 398 single and 454 married mothers. Our analyses reveal that the effects of employment transitions differ for single and married mothers. Among women who left their jobs during the course of this study, we find a significant increase in distress among single mothers but no change in distress among married mothers. Transitions out of employment among single mothers produce increases in financial strain that result in declines in levels of self-esteem and mastery which, in turn, manifest themselves in higher levels of psychological distress. When we examine the effects of transitions into paid work, there are surprisingly few effects on mothers' levels of distress. For single mothers, taking a job for pay offers no significant reduction in their feelings of distress. Among married mothers, transitions into employment are associated with declines in distress, but these declines are offset by the distressful consequences of increases in caregiving strain. Thus, the effects of employment transitions on distress are a function of the differential impact of changes in stressors and psychosocial resources among single and married mothers as well as variations in the economic context and meanings of employment transitions. Movements into or out of employment do not offer the same opportunities and benefits or engender the same costs for single and married mothers. Our results also highlight the different policy implications that emerge from a consideration of longitudinal as opposed to cross-sectional analyses of these issues.     

Longitudinal direct and indirect pathways linking older sibling competence to the development of younger sibling competence.

A4-wave longitudinal model tested direct and indirect links between older sibling (OS; M = 11.7 years) and younger sibling (YS; M = 9.2 years) competence in 152 rural African American families. Data were collected at 1-year intervals. At each wave, different teachers assessed OS competence, YS competence, and YS self-regulation. Mothers reported their own psychological functioning; mothers and YSs reported parenting practices toward the YS. OS competence was stable across time and was linked with positive changes in mothers' psychological functioning from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Mothers' Wave 2 psychological functioning was associated with involved-supportive parenting of the YS at Wave 3. OS Wave 2 competence and Wave 3 parenting were indirectly linked with Wave 4 YS competence, through Wave 3 YS self-regulation. Structural equation modeling controlled for Wave 1 YS competence; thus, the model accounted for change in YS competence across 3 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental beliefs about managing sibling conflict.

This study examined the correspondence between parents' beliefs about the most effective ways to manage sibling conflict and their responses to their children's spontaneous sibling conflicts. Eighty-eight 2-child, 2-parent families participated in 3 home sessions. Second-born children were 3–5 years old, and firstborn children were 2–4 years older. Parents' use of a particular conflict management strategy was based, in part, on their perception of how effective the strategy was and how well they could carry out the strategy. For example, mothers' use of child-centered strategies was predicted by their belief that parental control strategies were ineffective. Fathers' use of control strategies was predicted by their low confidence in enacting child-centered techniques. Although both mothers and fathers perceived child-centered and control strategies as more effective than passive nonintervention, parents engaged in passive nonintervention most often. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conditions of sibling support in adolescence.

This study examined the nature and extent of adolescent siblings' supportive roles and the conditions under which siblings provide support to one another about familial and nonfamilial issues. Data were collected from 185 adolescent firstborn (M age?=?16 years) and secondborn (M age?=?13 years) sibling pairs. In home interviews, siblings reported on family experiences and psychosocial functioning during the past year. In a series of 7 evening telephone interviews, siblings reported on their shared daily activities. Findings suggested that both older and younger siblings view older siblings as sources of support about nonfamilial issues such as social and scholastic activities and that siblings assume equally supportive roles about familial issues. Further, the results suggested that family background characteristics, sibling relationship qualities, and adolescents' psychosocial functioning were linked to the nature and extent of sibling support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic and environmental influences on maternal and sibling interaction in middle childhood: A sibling adoption study.

Genetic and environmental influences on maternal and sibling interactions were examined in 67 mother–child–child triads from nonadoptive families and 57 mother–child–child triads from adoptive families (in which both children were adopted and genetically unrelated). Triads were videotaped in 6 play settings in their homes. In addition, each sibling pair was observed in an unstructured setting in the home, and mothers completed an interview about the sibling relationship. Genetic influence was found for individual differences in sibling interactions (competition and positive and negative behavior) and maternal interactions with siblings (maternal attention and control); shared environmental factors were also important. No evidence was found for mean differences between the adoptive and nonadoptive families that could be due to genetic influence; family constellation factors also were not important. Results are discussed with respect to genetic influences on family interactions and relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meeting filial responsibilities in brothers-only sibling groups

OBJECTIVES: This research examined how sons in brothers-only sibling groups meet the needs of their elderly parents. METHODS: 49 pairs of brothers without sisters whose parents were 74 years of age or older participated in open-ended interviews to explain how their parents' needs were met. Inductive analysis of interviews identified elements of these brothers' approaches. RESULTS: Brothers were in routine contact with and performed "masculine" services for their parents. Brothers acted independently and expected to be asked rather than volunteering help to their parents, except during times of crisis and transition. They defined their parents as self-sufficient, even when their parents' situations were precarious, and acted to reestablish their parents' independence when it was threatened. They viewed their parents' use of informal networks and formal services as appropriate. Brothers' wives provided "gender-appropriate" services. Wives' levels of involvement appeared to be a function of the quality of their relationships with their parents-in-law. Wives who helped were part of a support network. DISCUSSION: Brothers' goals of maintaining or reestablishing independence for their parents matches most parents' wishes to be independent and not to burden their children. The brothers' goal of self-sufficiency for their parents precluded their wives being the sole providers of support to their parents.     

Adult sibling expressed emotion and fellow sibling deviance: A new piece of the family process puzzle.

Seventy-three older siblings were assessed in early adulthood with the Five-Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) measure of expressed emotion. Sibling critical expressed emotion was linked with younger brother concomitant and future antisocial behavior, substance use, deviant peer association, increased rate of criminal arrests, and early onset sexual activity. Siblings of younger brothers with behavior problems were also more likely to be critical of, and to report negative relationships with, these brothers than were siblings of well-adjusted brothers. Sibling critical expressed emotion also predicted younger brothers' maladjustment 1-2 years later, after controlling for earlier sibling conflict and parent discipline. The findings accentuate the importance of understanding the influence of intrafamilial processes in the etiology of behavior problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contributions of family relationships and child temperaments to longitudinal variations in sibling relationship quality and sibling relationship styles.

Seventy-one families participated in a longitudinal study of family processes and variations in sibling relationship quality. Family cohesion and expressiveness, father–child relationship quality, fathers' differential treatment of siblings, and child temperaments were associated with positive and negative dimensions of sibling relationship quality across the longitudinal assessments, which spanned 5 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Second borns' discrimination of sibling role concepts.

Investigated discrimination of sibling age roles and sex roles by social action dimensions (power and function) in a cross-sectional study of 578 second-born children, aged 5-13 yrs. Changes in discrimination of sibling role concepts as a function of age of child, sex of child, sibling status of child, sex of sibling, and age spacing between siblings were assessed. Results indicate that second-born children significantly used these dimensions to discriminate sibling age roles and sex roles and that the presence of an older sibling facilitated the learning of power and function in social interaction. Sex of the sibling produced markedly different perceptions and discriminations of intersibship interaction. Age changes were prevalent in the use of these dimensions to discriminate sibling age roles and sex roles. Results are discussed in relation to previous investigations concerned with Parsonian theory of the family as a social system. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negotiating principles of entitlement in sibling property disputes.

Sibling property disputes were observed in 40 families, each with a 2- and a 4-year-old child, to study the application of principles of entitlement. Conflict outcomes, parent support, and justifying arguments were each analyzed in disputes involving ownership, possession, sharing, and property damage. Ownership and possession each influenced the conduct and outcomes of disputes, with ownership taking precedence over possession in children's arguments and in dispute outcomes. Parents did not clearly support either principle on its own and were as likely to argue in terms of possession as ownership rights. Parents supported children's sharing and prohibited property damage, but conflict outcomes upheld these principles only when parents intervened. Analyses revealed the strong influence of young children who argued, with increasing differentiation and sophistication, for principles of entitlement that were not strongly endorsed by their parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defensiveness in response to aid from a sibling.

Defensive reactions to aid in the context of a close relationship were studied. Young adult siblings reported on their self-esteem, the quality of the sibling relationship, relevant demographic variables, and a variety of components of defensiveness to aid. Consistent with theory, the components of defensiveness were interrelated. A large percentage (52%) of the variance in defensiveness was accounted for by the conflict between siblings, dominance relative to one's sibling, low global self-esteem, high self-esteem when comparing oneself with one's sibling, and low levels of feelings of entitlement. Siblings were least defensive in reaction to aid from older and female siblings. Corroboration from a subset of benefactor siblings was obtained. The results are discussed in relation to recent thinking about the nature of receiving support in close relationships and recipients' reactions to aid. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Socialization, perspective-taking, and the sibling relationship.

Examined the relations among (a) the quality of the sibling relationship, (b) maternal socialization techniques about infants' emotions and skills, (c) first-born's perspective-taking skills, and (d) first-born's caretaking behavior in 32 sibling pairs (14 months; 3–5 years) and their mothers, observed both at home and a modified lab, strange situation. First-borns' references to second-borns about feelings and skills were positively associated with perspective-taking and friendly sibling relations during mothers' presence at home and when alone in the lab, indicating consistency interaction across settings. Maternal references to first-borns about second-borns were positively associated with friendly sibling relations in mothers' presence, whereas maternal interaction was negatively associated with friendly sibling relations in both settings. Results are discussed in light of previous studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Latino sibling knowledge and adjustment to chronic disability.

Forty matched healthy Latino and non-Latino siblings (ages 8-14 years) of children with developmental and physical disabilities completed interviews and questionnaires assessing sibling knowledge of and adjustment to disability and sibling global psychological functioning. One-way analyses of variance revealed Latino siblings to have significantly less accurate information about the disability and more internalizing problems than non-Latino siblings. Sibling and parent wishes for the healthy sibling reflected cultural values. The results indicate that Latino siblings of children with chronic disabilities may be at risk for internalizing psychological problems. Future research regarding cultural factors affecting sibling adaptation to childhood disability is encouraged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of lead on sibling recognition in young herring gulls

We gave the indirect 5-HT agonist, D-fenfluramine (30 mg), the 5 -HT antagonist methysergide (2 mg) and placebo to 11 patients with an anxiety disorder and 12 controls in a double-blind, balanced-order, cross-over design. Compared to controls, patients had significantly higher anxiety ratings, were slower in naming colours in computerized Stroop tests and showed greater interference for anxiety-related words. Patients tended to have a lower critical flicker fusion threshold (CFFT) than controls and in the subjects taken as a whole there was a significant inverse correlation between CFFT and Spielberger state (r=-0.54, p<0.01) and trait anxiety (r=-0.55, p<0.01). Neither drug had significant effects on anxiety ratings or on Stroop interference. D-Fenfluramine significantly increased CFFT (p < 0.02) and methysergide non-significantly reduced CFFT with no significant differences between patients and controls. 5-HT may be involved in lower-level visual information processing but we found no evidence for its direct involvement in the attentional bias for anxiety-related information in the emotional Stroop.     

Effect of sibling presence on mother–child interaction.

Interactions were observed as 80 mothers helped their 1st-grade child on an object-sorting task in the presence and absence of a 3rd-grade sibling. Mothers verbalized more to boys than to girls. For opposite-sex siblings, mothers gave less explanation and total verbalization with sibling present than absent. Other findings are presented. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)