Sibling bullying is highly prevalent and has been found to have adverse effects on mental health lasting into early adulthood. What is unknown is what predicts sibling bullying roles (uninvolved, victim, bully-victim and bully). This study aimed to identify precursors of sibling bullying roles in middle childhood using a large sample of 6,838…

This study built on research on sibling influences to assess potential bidirectional effects of older and younger siblings' risky behaviors on one another's risky behaviors; our longitudinal design allowed us to test these effects when siblings were at about the same chronological age, at different points in time. We also tested whether the…

During childhood, older siblings typically hold a more powerful position in their relationship with their younger siblings, but these relationships are thought to become more egalitarian during adolescence as siblings begin to prepare for their relationships as adults and as younger siblings become more socially and cognitively competent. Little…

Background: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is the second most prevalent genetic syndrome and has a characteristic academic and behavioural phenotype. The primary objective of the current study was to examine the childhood predictors of written expression achievement in adolescents with 22q11DS. Written expression is an important skill that…

Sharing is an important indicator of internalised prosocial values. We examined predictors of sharing of 302 preschoolers with their younger siblings in a one-year longitudinal study. Sharing was observed during different home visits, once with father and once with mother. We examined the following predictors: both children's externalising…

This investigation examines the spread of problem behaviors (substance use and delinquency) between twin siblings. A sample of 628 twins (151 male twin pairs and 163 female twin pairs) drawn from the Quebec Newborn Twin Study completed inventories describing delinquency and substance use at ages 13, 14, and 15. A 3-wave longitudinal actor-partner…

Research Findings: Studies of children's prosocial behavior typically focus on prosocial acts with a specific partner (e.g., a friend, peer, or sibling), and comparisons of prosociality in different contexts are rare. To address this gap, the current study examined predictive links among children's spontaneous sharing (a common and important form…

Links between positive and negative aspects of the parent-child relationship and child adjustment are undisputed. Scholars recognize the importance of parental differential treatment (PDT) of siblings, yet, less is known about PDT in the context of the shared (family-wide) parent-child relationship climate, or about the extent to which positivity…

Longitudinal data were obtained from 157 children aged 3 years 3 months to 5 years 6 months at Time 1. At Time 2 these children had aged an average of 12 months. Theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF) were measured at both time points. Results suggest that Time 1 ToM scores predict Time 2 EF scores. Detailed examination of sibling…

This study extends the methodological and theoretical understanding of executive functions (EFs) in preschoolers from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). First, the authors describe a rigorous process of adapting and evaluating six EF tasks to produce a culturally and developmentally appropriate measure of emerging EFs in a large sample of…

This longitudinal study investigated whether variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and early parent-child interactions predicted later empathic behavior in 84 toddlers at high or low familial risk for autism spectrum disorder. Two well-studied OXTR single-nucleotide polymorphisms, rs53576 and rs2254298, were examined. Parent-child…

The relation between early joint attention (in which a child coordinates attention between another person and an object or event) and later language and social outcomes was examined in younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (Sibs-ASD) and younger siblings of children with typical development (Sibs-TD). Initial levels of joint…

Although we rarely hear about it, children sometimes aggress against their parents. This is a difficult topic to study because abused parents and abusive children are both reluctant to admit the occurrence of child-to-parent aggression. There are very few research studies on this topic, and even fewer theoretical explanations of why it occurs. We…

Guided by an ecological perspective, two competing models were tested to examine how sibling relationship quality directly predicted or interacted with academic support from siblings to predict Latino adolescents' academic motivation (N = 258). Gender differences were examined utilizing multiple group analysis in structural equation modeling.…

This study investigated the normative use and developmental course of physical aggression (PA), defined as use of physical force such as hitting, biting, and kicking, from 8 to 26 months and predictors thereof. We used data from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study, comprising 1,159 children (559 girls and 600 boys). Both mothers and…