We investigated the patterns and correlates of parents' differential treatment of adolescent siblings in 246 two-parent Mexican American families. In home interviews, siblings rated 7 domains of differential treatment (e.g., privileges, chores, warmth) as well as their adjustment and perceptions of parental acceptance and fairness, and both parents and adolescents reported on cultural dynamics. More gender-typed patterns of differential treatment were evident when parents were more oriented to Mexican than Anglo culture. The links between differential treatment and youth reports of adjustment, parental acceptance, and parental fairness were moderated by adolescents' familism values, particularly for older siblings: Differential treatment was linked more strongly to adjustment and parent-youth relationship problems when youth reported lower levels of familism.

the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data or in writing the manuscript, apart from their financial contribution; the content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of any of the funding agencies. We would like to thank Claire Chie for her assistance in reliability coding and all participants and their families for their involvement in the study.

Prospective associations among parent-adolescent acceptance and familism values in early and middle adolescence and sibling intimacy in late adolescence and young adulthood were assessed in 246 Mexican-origin families. Older sibling gender and sibling gender constellation were investigated as moderators of these associations. Sibling intimacy was stable over time and younger siblings with older sisters reported higher levels of sibling intimacy than those with older brothers. As predicted, stronger familism values were associated with greater sibling intimacy, but this link was evident only for older sisters and for girl-girl dyads. The links from mother- and father-acceptance to sibling intimacy also depended on the gender constellation of the sibling dyad: Higher levels of maternal warmth were associated with greater sibling intimacy for older sisters and girl-girl sibling pairs but higher levels of paternal warmth were linked to greater sibling intimacy only for older siblings in mixed-gender sibling dyads. Findings are consistent with prior research on the role of gender in family relationships but extend this work to encompass the effects of both parents' and siblings' gender, as well as the role of sociocultural values in parents' socialization influences.

During the COVID‐19 pandemic, adolescents’ typical social support systems have been disrupted. The present study examined adolescent adjustment during the pandemic (summer, 2020) while controlling for pre‐pandemic adjustment (2017–2018) in 170 youth (ages 12–20) from Missouri and Florida. We also examined whether positive and negative relationship qualities with four close others (i.e., mothers, fathers, siblings, and best friends) interacted with COVID‐related stress to impact adolescent adjustment. In general, we found that close relationships impacted adolescent adjustment in expected directions (i.e., positive relationships better for adjustment, negative relationships more detrimental), but while mothers and fathers impacted adolescent adjustment in largely similar ways to pre‐pandemic studies, influences of relationships with best friends and sibling were more impacted by COVID‐related stress.

Using an observational methodology to examine sibling communication, sisters (N = 28 dyads) were videotaped discussing their ideas about dating and sexuality. Social provision theory was used as a framework for the examination of roles enacted by sisters during these conversations. Inductive thematic analytic procedures were conducted and three roles were identified: sisters as confidants, sources of support, and mentors. Older and younger sisters both served as confidants and sources of support for one another, whereas, older sisters were more likely to be mentors for their younger sisters than vice versa. Findings indicate the potential importance of sisters in the formation of adolescent girls’ ideas about romantic relationships and sexuality, sibling communication as a socialization mechanism of sisters’ similarities in romantic experiences and sexual behaviors/attitudes, and the inclusion of older sisters in prevention intervention programs focused on reducing adolescent sexual risk behaviors and promoting healthy romantic relationships and sexuality development.