Background: Although many children grow up with more than one sibling, we do not yet know if sibling dyads within families show similarities to one another on sibling affection and hostility. In the present study the hypotheses were tested that (a) there will be significant between family variation in change in sibling affection and hostility and…

The study of siblings has become increasingly central to developmental science. Sibling relationships have unique effects on development, and sibling designs allow researchers to isolate causal mechanisms in development. This volume emphasizes causal mechanisms in the social domain. We review the preceding chapters in relation to six topics: a…

Studied developmental changes in the relationship between 43 sibling pairs when the second child was 24 and 36 months old. Dyadic measures of sibling interaction showed little change over time, whereas individual measures of behavior showed changes in the nature of interactions consistent with developments in the younger child. (RJC)

Background: Although the protective effects of familial and parental support have been studied extensively in the child psychopathology literature, few studies have explored the protective quality of positive sibling relationships. Methods: A two-wave longitudinal design was used to examine the protective effect of positive sibling relationships…

For 39 sibling dyads, assessed siblings' relationships through observation and maternal interviews at 4 times, and family life events through maternal interview at 3 times, over a 7-year period beginning when the younger sibling was 3. Found stability of individual differences in the sibling relationship increased with age and that life events…

Examined family- and sibling-type differences in sibling relationship quality and links between sibling relationship quality and child behavior problems among 192 families with a 5-year-old target child and an older sibling. Found that sibling negativity was highest in single-mother families. Found that full-siblings were more negative than half-…

Examined individual differences in 50 preschool children's pretend play with their mothers and siblings. Results indicated individual differences in the amount and sophistication of preschoolers' social pretend play and suggested that these individual differences are related to experiences in preschoolers' relationships with their mothers and…

Developmental changes in the pattern of 50 families' conversations about feelings were examined when the families' second-born children were 33 and 47 months old. The total amount of talk and the frequency of talk about feelings between sibling pairs increased, whereas the amount of mother-child conversation and references to feelings decreased.…

A total of 50 children were observed at home at 33 months of age and then tested at 40 months on affective labeling, perspective taking, and false belief tasks. Individual differences at 40 months were associated with family discourse about feelings and causality at 33 months, verbal fluency of mother and child, and sibling cooperation. (BC)

The Cambridge Sibling Study sought to investigate the structure of sibling relationship changes as children grow up, and the patterns of individual differences in these relationships in middle childhood and adolescence. It followed a group of siblings from 43 families from the preschool period through middle childhood and early adolescence. Four…

A study of 33-month-old children, their mothers, and their older siblings concentrated on arguments used when 2 family members were in conflict with a third. There were some direct relationships between partners' arguments. Arguments children used with their mothers differed from those they used with their siblings. (BG)

Examined associations between children's early experiences in family disputes and later conflict management with close friends. Found that argument used by mothers and siblings that considered children's needs was positively associated with children's later constructive argument and resolution techniques. Mothers' use of argument predicted…

Developmental changes and individual differences in children's conceptions of transgression were studied in 46 children from preschool through 1st grade. Differences in response to moral transgressions in kindergarten were related to mothers' control management and to siblings' friendly behavior in the preschool period, early understanding of…

A longitudinal study of conflict management among siblings found that children's use of other-oriented statements emerged between 33 and 47 months of age, and that children used other-oriented arguments with their friends more often than with their mothers or siblings. Further, at 33 months, children used more reasoning during conflicts when not…