Based on research noting the importance of sibling relation-ships throughout the lifespan and grounded in basic research on attitudes structure, a self-report instrument called the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale (LSRS) was developed. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the LSRS. A sample of 711 participants completed the LSRS, which measures three dimensions of the sibling relationship in childhood and adulthood: frequency and positivity of behavior toward the sibling, affect toward the sibling, and beliefs about the sibling and the sibling relationship. Results suggested that the LSRS possesses good psychometric properties, including high internal consistency of all six subscales and the total instrument, as well as evidence supporting a coherent factor structure and stability of responses over time. Significant correlations with social support, overall relation-ship satisfaction, closeness of the sibling relationship, the degree to which the sibling served as a role model, and a measure of various sibling relationship qualities supported the construct validity of the LSRS. Lack of correlations between the LSRS, social desirability, and theoretically unrelated scales demonstrated discriminant validity. Correlations with personality traits and psychological well-being indicated that satisfactory sibling relationships were associated with emotional adjustment. The utility of the LSRS for use in future research is discussed.

Based on research documenting harmful long‐term consequences of parental conflict and divorce for offspring, relations between recollections of parental conflict, parental divorce, and social outcomes in young adulthood were examined. A total sample of 566 young adults from divorced and intact families completed measures of parental conflict, quality of parent–adult child relationships, anxiety in relationships with others, and perceptions of social support from others. As hypothesized, divorce and conflict had significant independent effects on outcomes in young adulthood. Effects of conflict were uniformly negative for quality of parent‐child relationships, perceived social support from others, and anxiety in personal relationships. Parental divorce was associated with lower quality father‐child relationships, yet divorce was associated with significant positive outcomes for quality of mother‐child relationships, social support, independence facilitated by both parents, and reduced anxiety in relationships. Importantly, these effects occurred regardless of participant sex, parental remarriage, and parental socioeconomic status.

Three studies explored the role that basic social/communication skills play in leader emergence and effectiveness. In Study 1, 218 undergraduate students were administered self-report measures of social/communication skills and extraversion, worked in small groups on a problem-solving task, and elected leaders at task midpoint. Coders measured leaders' verbal communication. Groups elected leaders who spoke most and were extraverted but were not more socially skilled. In Study 2, leaders were selected on the basis of their possession of communication skills and led small groups in 2 tasks. More skilled communicators were rated as more effective leaders, but they did not lead more productive groups. Study 3 examined fire service leaders. Social skills were related to satisfaction with the leader but related to leader performance only for higher level leaders.Since the inception of scientific research on leadership, skill in interpersonal communication has been mentioned as a key element both in predicting who emerges as a leader and in determining the effectiveness of leaders. For instance, Stogdill's (1974) review of early research on leadership emphasized the importance of communication skill in both leader emergence and leader effectiveness. Bass (1990) and Kanter (1983) both noted apparent connections between communication skill/competence and leader and managerial effectiveness. However, a major difficulty in studying the communication skills of emergent and established leaders has been the operationalization of communication skills or communication competence.

Two theoretical approaches make opposite predictions concerning the effects of parental divorce on sibling relationship quality. From a social learning perspective, via modeling the individual learns negative patterns of interpersonal relations through the experience of parental conflict and divorce, which negatively affects relationship quality throughout the life span. A social support approach argues that sibling relationships may serve as a buffer to shield the individual from negative interactions between parents, perhaps resulting in closer, more intimate sibling relationships. Two hundred sixty-four college students described one of their sibling relationships using the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale (LSRS; Riggio, 2000), a standardized measure of attitudes toward the sibling in childhood and adulthood. Results indicated that young adults who experienced parental divorce during later childhood or adolescence experienced significantly fewer positive feelings toward the sibling in adulthood, and recalled fewer positive feelings, beliefs, and behaviors toward the sibling in childhood compared to those who experienced parental divorce earlier in childhood and young adults from married families.