The purpose of this article was to explore how family chaos, parenting processes, parent-child relationship qualities, and sibling relationship qualities changed before versus the early months of the ...COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included one parent and two adolescent-aged children from 682 families (2,046 participants). Parents and youth participating in an ongoing longitudinal study in five Midwestern states in the United States completed an additional web-based assessment of family processes and family relationship qualities during the May-June 2020 pandemic-related shutdowns. A series of two-wave latent change score models indicated that family chaos increased with the onset of pandemic-related shutdowns and that the level of chaos within a family during the shutdowns had implications for changes in several parenting processes and family relationship qualities. Specifically, higher levels of family chaos during the pandemic mitigated observed increases in parental knowledge and were associated with declines in parental autonomy granting. Family chaos during pandemic-related shutdowns also was associated with increases in maternal-child conflict, paternal-child conflict, and sibling conflict as well as decreases in paternal-child intimacy, sibling intimacy, and sibling disclosure. Overall, consistent with a family stress perspective, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased strain and commotion within many households, and these changes had implications for multiple family relationships.
The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether social relationship factors are associated with trajectories of depressive symptoms from adolescence into emerging adulthood. Specifically, ...adolescent-parent communication with mothers and fathers, peer support, and sibling warmth and hostility were examined in relation to depressive symptoms for girls and boys. Adolescents (N = 372; Mage = 16.09; SD = .69; 55% female) from the Mid-Atlantic United States completed surveys in the spring of 2007, 2008, and 2009 and again in the fall of 2014 when they were emerging adults. Growth curve modeling results suggested that communication with mothers and fathers and peer support predicted lower levels of depressive symptoms in adolescence for girls. For boys, peer support predicted lower whereas sibling hostility predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms in adolescence. Further, adolescent-mother communication for girls and adolescent-father communication for boys predicted the decline in depressive symptoms into emerging adulthood. Both sibling warmth and hostility for girls, whereas only sibling hostility for boys, predicted less steep declines in depressive symptoms over time. Findings draw attention to differences in experiences with depressive symptoms by sex and the importance of social relationship factors in the lives of adolescents and emerging adults. Implications for intervention and prevention are discussed.
This study investigates mothers' and siblings' perspectives regarding similarities and differences in siblingships with and without autism. Twenty-nine typical children (M
= 8.78 years, SD = 2.05) ...whose younger siblings have a diagnosis of autism and their mothers constituted the 'autism group.' Forty-six typical children (M
= 9.12 years, SD = 2.06) with younger typical siblings and their mothers constituted the 'typical group'. Children and mothers completed the Sibling Relationship Questionnaires and were interviewed. Children's reports illustrated similarities in sibling relationships across groups, with no between-group differences in overall warmth, conflict, rivalry, or relative power in the sibling relationship. Mothers of autistic children reported their children to have less warmth and closeness (F
= 5.63, p = .02, η
= .073) and less conflict (F
= 6.66, p = .012, η
= .085) with their siblings than mothers of typical children. More disagreement was found between mothers and children in the autism group than in the typical group. Mothers and children reported less intimacy and less quarreling between the siblings in the autism group than in the typical group. The qualitative analysis suggests that siblings focused on the present experience, while mothers also referred to processes in the sibling relationship. Interviewees in the autism group referred to various specificities in the siblingships without explicitly using the term "autism". The findings highlight a typical-like experience for siblings of autistic children. At the same time, mothers' perspectives emphasize differences and challenges in siblingships, reporting a pattern of decreased involvement. It is important to consider both perspectives in research and clinical work with families of autistic children.
Over the past two decades, public health research has demonstrated that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with significant and prolonged physical and mental health problems, ...demanding investigation into the factors that may mitigate the poor outcomes. One potential factor that may attenuate the negative impact of ACEs on individuals' health is social support. An important source of social support, both during and after adverse childhood experiences, is sibling relationships. Consequently, the purpose of the current study was to examine if two components of sibling relationships-perceived warmth and conflict-affect the relationship between ACEs and wellbeing in adulthood. A total of 439 participants (M
age
= 35.06, SD = 11.19) completed self-report measures of their ACEs, their perceived warmth and conflict with a living sibling, and their wellbeing. Results revealed that sibling relationships characterized by higher perceived warmth-and, interestingly, higher perceived conflict-attenuated the negative impact of ACEs on wellbeing in adulthood. Findings from the current study provide valuable information about how psychologist, social workers, and other health professionals may use siblings as a source of social support to mitigate the negative effects of ACEs on wellbeing in adulthood.
Typically developing siblings (TDS) of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) frequently serve as caregivers during childhood, known as parentification, and primary caregivers for siblings ...in adulthood. In order to evaluate mechanisms linking these roles, we surveyed emerging-adult TDS (N = 108) about childhood parentification roles caring for parents and siblings, current perceptions of benefits associated with ASD and with engaging in parentification, and intention to provide future caregiving. We hypothesized that parent-focused parentification would negatively impact caregiving intention via perception of decreased benefits whereas sibling-focused parentification would positively impact intention via perception of increased benefits. Results indicate that parent-focused parentification is common and associated with fewer perceived benefits of caregiving and less intention to provide future caregiving. Prevention implications are discussed.
Abstract
Sibling relationships are potentially central in children's and young people's lives. Research has shown that the quality of sibling relationships changes in a variety of ways when a ...sibling(s) moves into care. There is limited understanding of the mechanisms that cause these changes. This study addresses this gap by reanalysing a dataset of 25 semistructured interviews with young people (16 to 23 years) drawn from a municipality in Southern Norway. The original study explored the changes in sibling relationships when the young person moved into care. This reanalysis of the data set explores specifically, using a template analysis, the mechanisms that children describe when exploring why these changes occur. Findings show the intricacies of the young person's social identification with the biological and/or foster family and how sharing a common identity may be key to the development of the sibling relationship when the young person(s) is taken into care. Our findings also show how key adults, such as foster parents and social workers, influence the relationship. The paper concludes with recommendations for social workers on how they may strengthen sibling relationships in families where children have been taken into care.
Objective
To translate and culturally adapt the Parental Expectations and Perceptions of Children's Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (PEPC‐SRQ; Kramer & Baron, 1995) into Spanish and test its ...psychometric properties.
Background
Sibling relationships contribute significantly to child development; however, to date, no study has validated an instrument to assess the quality of children's sibling relationships with Spanish samples.
Method
We conducted two studies. In Study 1, the instrument underwent translation and back‐translation along with the inspection of semantic, linguistic, and contextual equivalence. In Study 2, the validity of the instrument scores was assessed by administering the translated PEPC‐SRQ to 229 mothers in Spain.
Results
The Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a two‐factor structure that preserved the original 24 items. Both factors presented good internal consistency and were significantly correlated with other constructs.
Conclusion
These results support the use of the PEPC‐SRQ in Spain.
Implications
The Spanish PEPC‐SRQ may now be used as a tool for the early detection of conflictual relationships between siblings and as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of targeted strategies designed to bolster children's sibling relationships. Additionally, this adaptation provides the opportunity to carry out cross‐cultural studies.
Abstract
Sibling relationships of youth in foster care are often complicated as many youth are separated from their sibling(s) at one point or another. Quantitative studies have identified ways in ...which sibling placement influences youth outcomes. Fewer qualitative studies have been conducted to understand youth perspectives about their sibling relationships. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine sibling relationships and sibling separation amongst adults with prior foster care experience. Thematic analysis indicated two overarching themes: ‘Sibling Separation was Common’ and ‘Effects of Sibling Separation’. Each theme was comprised of multiple sub-themes that are discussed in detail and explored through an ambiguous loss lens. Recommendations and implications for supporting sibling relationships for youth in care are provided.
Sibling separation is common for youth in foster care. As such, sibling separation is common and can impact youth whilst in care and in adulthood. Understanding sibling separation from the perspective of those who have experienced it provides valuable insight into this phenomenon.
Ambiguous loss was used as a framework to help understand why sibling separation can be detrimental for youth in foster care. Results indicate a need for personalised assessments and interventions to support sibling relationships of youth in foster care.
When one sibling has autism spectrum disorder, the sibling relationship is often characterized by poorer quality with fewer interactions. Because sibling relationships provide a vital social ...framework for development, they have the capacity to be a risk or protective factor, depending on the quality of the relationship. One way to improve the quality of the sibling relationship is through typically developing sibling participation in a support group. In this study, researchers randomly assigned typically developing siblings to a 10-week support group or attention-only control group. Typically developing siblings in the support group showed significant improvements in the quality of their sibling relationship and interactions with their sibling with autism spectrum disorder compared to the control group. Autism spectrum disorder severity and externalizing behavior moderated the effects of the support group on positive affect. Findings suggest the positive impact of a support group on sibling relationships, a relationship that has the potential to be protective.
Lay abstract
The sibling relationship can be negatively impacted when one child has autism spectrum disorder. One way to improve the quality of that relationship is through typically developing sibling participation in a support group in which they learn about autism spectrum disorder and coping skills, develop a peer network, and discuss their feelings. Compared to participating in a similar group without a focus on autism spectrum disorder, siblings in the support group showed improvements in the quality of the sibling relationship. Findings suggest that sibling support groups can be a valuable resource to improve sibling relationship quality when one sibling has autism spectrum disorder.
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