Influences on Sibling Relations in Families with Married and Divorced Parents

Abstract

Two regression analyses were performed that tested the relationships between the amount of negative sibling interaction and the amount of positive sibling interaction and measures of relationship quality and family form. When measures of husband-wife, mother-child, and father-child relationship quality were controlled, marital status was not significantly related to either measure of sibling interactions. However, when the marital status of the parents (family form) was controlled, both the quality of husband-wife relationship and the quality of mother-child relationship were positively related to positive sibling interaction and negatively related to negative sibling interaction. Regardless of family form, the quality of other relationships in the family were important predictors of sibling interactions.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Belsky, Jay. 1979. “The Interrelation of Parental and Spousal Behavior During Infancy in Traditional Nuclear Families: An Exploratory Analysis.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 41:62-68.

Brody, G. H. , Z. Stoneman , and Carol MacKinnon. 1982. “Role Asymmetrics in Interaction Among School-Age Children, Their Younger Siblings, and Their Friends.” Child Development 53:1364-1370.

Bronfenbrenner, Urie. 1986. “Ecology of the Family as a Context for Human Development: Research Perspectives.” Developmental Psychology 22:723-742.

Hess, R. and K. Camara. 1979. “Post-Divorce Family Relationships as Mediating Factors in the Consequences of Divorce for Children.” Journal of Social Issues 35:79-96.

Hetherington, E. Mavis , Martha Cox , and R. Cox. 1978. “The Aftermath of Divorce.” Pp. 110-155 in Mother-Child, Father-Child Relations. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Hetherington, E. Mavis , Martha Cox , R. Cox. Martha Cox , and R. Cox. 1979. “Family Interaction and the Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Development of Children Following Divorce.” In The Family Setting Priorities, edited by V. Vaughn and T. Brazelton. New York: Science and Medicine Publishing Company.

Hetherington, E. Mavis , Martha Cox , R. Cox. Martha Cox , R. Cox. Martha Cox , and R. Cox. 1982. “Effects of Divorce on Parents and Children.” In Nontraditional Families: Parenting and Child Development, edited by E. E. Lamb. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Stoneman, Z. , G. H. Brody , and Carol E. MacKinnon. 1984. “Naturalistic Observations of Children's Roles and Activities While Playing with Their Siblings and Friends.” Child Development 55:617-627.

Wallerstein, Judith and Joan Kelly. 1978. “Children and Divorce.” In Basic Handbook of Child Psychiatry, edited by J. Noshpitz. New York: Basic Books.