Beyond Warmth and Conflict: the Developmental Utility of a Boundary Conceptualization of Sibling Relationship Processes

Overview

Journal Child Dev

Specialty Pediatrics

Date 2012 Aug 7

PMID 22862542

Citations 7

Authors

Sonnette M Bascoe

Patrick T Davies

E Mark Cummings

Affiliations

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Abstract

Translating relationship boundaries conceptualizations to the study of sibling relationships, this study examined the utility of sibling enmeshment and disengagement in predicting child adjustment difficulties in a sample of 282 mothers and adolescents (mean age=12.7 years). Mothers completed a semistructured interview at the first measurement occasion to assess sibling interaction patterns. Adolescents, mothers, and teachers reported on children's adjustment problems across 2 annual waves of assessment. Supporting the incremental utility of a boundary conceptualization of sibling relationships, results of latent difference score analyses indicated that coder ratings of sibling enmeshment and disengagement uniquely predicted greater adolescent adjustment difficulties even after taking into account standard indices of sibling relationship quality (i.e., warmth and conflict) and sibling structural characteristics (e.g., sex).

Citing Articles

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Close Relationships Despite the Challenges: Sibling Relationships and Autism.

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Children's Vulnerability to Interparental Conflict: The Protective Role of Sibling Relationship Quality.

Davies P, Parry L, Bascoe S, Martin M, Cummings E Child Dev. 2018; 90(6):2118-2134.

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A life history approach to delineating how harsh environments and hawk temperament traits differentially shape children's problem-solving skills.

Suor J, Sturge-Apple M, Davies P, Cicchetti D J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2017; 58(8):902-909.

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