No abstract

This study examined whether established associations between perceptions of parental differential treatment and sibling relationship quality are moderated by children's perceptions and attributions about parental behavior. Sixty‐one children, aged 11–13 years, and their siblings were interviewed separately about parental differential treatment. Children did not perceive PDT in two‐thirds of the instances they reported about, and 75% of the children who acknowledged that differential treatment was occurring in their homes did not find this to be “ unfair.” Children justified differential parental behaviors by identifying ways that they and their sibling differ from one another, that is, in terms of differences in their age, personal attributes, needs, relationship with parents, or strategic behaviors. Children who perceived their parents' differential behavior to be justified generally experienced more positive appraisals about their sibling relationship. Results reinforce the importance of examining how children construct their experiences in their families.

Being the recipient of favored parental treatment has been identified as a correlate of enhanced socioemotional well-being. However, knowledge of children's perceptions of the legitimacy of preferential treatment may provide a more complete understanding of associations between preferential treatment and children's socioemotional well-being. The current study investigated whether children's well-being varies in accordance with their views about the fairness of preferential parental treatment. One hundred thirty-five children (M = 11.74 years) and their older siblings (M = 14.64 years) were interviewed independently about parents' distribution of affection and control. Although the amount of preferential control children reported experiencing was related to more externalizing behavior problems, lower levels of internalizing behavior problems and greater global self-esteem were indicated when children perceived that such preferential behaviors were fair.

We examined the role of older siblings in protecting adolescents from engaging in unsafe sexual practices. Participants included 297 midwestern high school students who were approximately 17 years old and who responded to questionnaires assessing their attitudes toward sexual intercourse, self-efficacy for engaging in safe sex, and discussions with their older siblings and parents about sex. Results suggested that sibling discussions about safe sex, in conjunction with parental discussions, predicted better attitudes toward safe sexual practices for adolescents. Perceptions of sibling relationship quality were more closely associated with sibling discussions about safe sex than were older siblings' general attitudes toward safer sexual intercourse. Thus, sibling relationship quality may serve a protective function by facilitating more frequent sibling discussions about safe sex.

Little is currently known about the significance of parents' unequal treatment of siblings and their relationships with their children; for example, are high levels of differential treatment consistently indicative of poorer parent-child relationships? Associations among differential parenting practices, perceptions of the fairness of these practices, and parent-child relationship quality were assessed from the perspectives of adolescent siblings and their parents in 74 maritally intact families. Multilevel random coefficient modeling revealed that the magnitude of differential treatment was associated with more negative parent-child relationships only when adolescents perceived differential treatment to be unfair. Differential treatment judged to be fair is not linked with negative parent-child relationships. Results highlight the importance of examining all family members' viewpoints about the legitimacy of differential treatment and of encouraging family members to discuss their understanding of these events.