No abstract

The present study is the first to examine patterns in sibling relationship quality and the associations of these patterns with internalizing and externalizing problem behavior, as well as self-perceived competence, in middle childhood. Self-report questionnaires (e.g., Sibling Relationship Questionnaire, Self-Perception Profile for Children, Youth Self Report) were administered among 1,670 Dutch children (Mage = 11.40 years, SD = .83) attending 51 different Dutch schools. Three sibling relationship clusters were found: a conflictual cluster (low on warmth, high on conflict), an affect-intense cluster (above average on warmth and conflict), and a harmonious cluster (high on warmth, low on conflict). Sister pairs were underrepresented in the conflictual cluster and overrepresented in the harmonious cluster. Children with conflictual sibling relationships reported significantly more internalizing and externalizing problems, and lower academic and social competence and global self-worth, than children with harmonious sibling relationships. Children with affect-intense sibling relationships reported less aggression and better social competence than children with conflictual sibling relationships. Our findings indicate that it is fruitful to combine indices of sibling warmth and conflict to examine sibling relationship types. Relationship types differed significantly concerning internalizing and externalizing problems, but also concerning self-perceived competence. These findings extend our knowledge about sibling relationship types and their impact on different aspects of child adjustment. Whereas harmonious sibling relationships are the most beneficial for adjustment, sibling conflict mainly has a negative effect on adjustment in combination with lack of sibling warmth. Implications and future directions are discussed.

No abstract

To reduce bullying, more knowledge on children defending their victimized peers is critical. In previous work, predominantly cross-sectional in nature, defending has typically been operationalized as one single, broad construct. However, there are good reasons to assume that attacking the bully (bully oriented defending) and comforting the victim (victim-oriented defending) are relatively independent constructs, with potentially different correlates. This longitudinal study in the Netherlands (N = 394; M = 10.3) combined person- and variable-centered techniques to examine relations between two different forms of defending and multiple outcome variables. In addition to the largest group scoring low on both types of defending, three subgroups emerged. A small group of "traditional," predominantly female defenders, scored high on both forms of defending. These children were well liked and high in reputation-based status, as indexed by perceived popularity and resource control. A larger, predominantly female second group only scored high on victim-oriented defending. These children were also well liked, but low in reputation-based status. The third group only scored high on bully oriented defending, and predominantly contained boys. These children were high in reputation-based status but quite disliked, and they scored high on bullying. Findings strongly suggest that bully oriented defending does not in all cases reflect desirable interventions of empathic children. Aggr. Behav. 42:585-597, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

No abstract