The purposes of this study were to describe the nature of sibling relationships in young adulthood and to examine correlates of individual differences in adults' sibling relationships. A new measure, the Adult Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (ASRQ; R. P. Lanthier & C. Stocker, 1992), was developed with 2 samples (N = 383). The factor structure of the ASRQ indicated that sibling relationships in early adulthood were characterized by 3 independent dimensions: warmth, conflict, and rivalry. Individual differences in adults' warmth, conflict, and rivalry with siblings were somewhat associated with family structure variables and were linked to the amount of contact between siblings and to siblings' mental health.

While most of the existing literature has focused on the risks associated with parentification, we examined the potential benefits (i.e., posttraumatic growth) associated with parentification. Predictors of posttraumatic growth explored in our study included: attachment, differentiation of self, parentification, and resiliency. Partial support was found for the predictor variables leading to posttraumatic growth, with resilience emerging as the strongest predictor; resilience explained 14% of the variance in posttraumatic growth. These findings suggest that future research might explore additional resiliency factors that explain positive psychological outcomes related to childhood parentification.

This study was designed to investigate changes in personal attributes of high-school dropout students between 8th grade and 12th grade. Students who participated in 3 waves of data collection in the "National Educational Longitudinal Study: 1988Study: -1994 in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades, but who dropped out before completing high school, were identified. Scales were developed on rational and empirical grounds that measured the following personal attributes: academic performance, relationships with teachers, relationships with peers, perceptions of school, participation in school activities, motivation for school work, effort expended in school work, self-esteem, and locus of control. Longitudinal comparisons in the personal attributes showed a gradually deteriorating process. Except in academic performance, the students scored at the national average in eighth grade. However, their academic performance, relationship with teachers, perception of school, motivation in school work, and participation in school activities were significantly below the national average in the 10th and 12th grades. The study showed a developmental pattern of the personal attributes of dropout students and identified that the transition to high school is a critical yet neglected time when interventions should be provided.The high-school dropout rate is a major educational problem for dropout students and for society. Technological advancements have placed a demand for a highly educated work force and decreased demand for unskilled labor.

Researchers have documented associations between family relationships and a variety of well-being outcomes. Yet, sibling relationships, the longest lasting relationships in most people’s lives, have received very little research attention beyond young adulthood. The goals of the current study were to: provide descriptive information about sibling relationships in later adulthood, investigate predictors of individual differences in sibling relationship quality, and examine associations among sibling relationship quality, loneliness, and well-being in later adulthood. The sample included 608 older adults (329 men, 279 women) who were 64.6 years old (SD = 4.58) on average. Participants provided self-report data about their relationships and well-being. Results showed that older adults reported high levels of sibling warmth and low levels of sibling conflict and parental favoritism. Sister–sister pairs had warmer sibling relationships than other gender-compositions. Sibling conflict and parental favoritism were positively associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, hostility, and loneliness. Sibling warmth was negatively associated with loneliness. Loneliness partially mediated the associations between sibling relationship quality and well-being. Results from this study highlight the importance of sibling relationships in older adults’ health and well-being.

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