Longitudinal associations between sibling relationship quality and child adjustment after divorce

Abstract

Objective This study examined the interplay between the parent–child and sibling relationships in their associations with child adjustment after divorce, in order to understand the postdivorce impact of the sibling relationship more thoroughly. Background The sibling relationship is unique in its lifetime duration and frequent interactions, and is associated with child adjustment in intact families. Research on the sibling relationship in divorced families is warranted, as it is one of the few stable factors in children's lives shortly after divorce. Method To examine direct and moderating effects of the sibling relationship, data from N = 117 children (Mage = 12.85) of 65 families and their recently divorced parents (60 mothers, 45 fathers) were used. Longitudinal associations of sibling support, sibling conflict, parent–child relationship quality, and their interactions with child adjustment were estimated with generalized estimating equations. Results The sibling relationship was related to children's (relative change in) externalizing problems and self‐esteem over time, but not to internalizing problems. Especially high sibling support was found beneficial and buffered the adversity of sibling conflict regarding children's self‐esteem. There was no substantial evidence that siblings moderated parent–child relationship quality. Conclusions In the context of divorce and adequate parent–child relationship quality, the sibling relationship seems to be complementary rather than compensatory to that of parents. Given the role of siblings in externalizing behaviors and self‐esteem, potential benefits of targeting the sibling relationship in (preventive) interventions aimed at divorced families should be explored.

An integrated model: marital effect on adolescent behavioral problems through siblings

“…More specifically, sibling hostility is positively associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms ( Campione-Barr et al, 2013 ), difficulties with peers, problems at school, and substance use ( Odudu et al, 2020 ). At the same time, siblings are an important source of emotional support ( Johnson and Salafia, 2022 ), and sibling affection is not only positively correlated with adolescents’ satisfaction with life and emotional wellbeing ( Padilla-Walker et al, 2010 ; Harper et al, 2016 ) but also associated with lower instances of behavioral problems, including depressive symptoms and aggression ( Branje et al, 2004 ; van Dijk et al, 2022 ). Thus, sibling relationships may mediate the connection between marital relationships and adolescent behavioral problems.…”

Sibling Separation Due to Parental Divorce: Diagnostic Aspects

“…Studies on the effects of divorce on sibling relationships show a big variation in how children, as a family subsystem, cope with changes in the family [11]. It is emphasized that relations with siblings are among those few factors in children's lives during the divorce and shortly after the divorce and complement the relations with parents [12]. The consequences of divorce stem not only from the separation of the child from the parent but also from the family malfunctioning before the divorce and/or difficult living conditions and conflicts after the divorce (e.g., on the level of parental cooperation) [13,14].…”

Illuminating the landscape of sibling relationship quality: An evidence and gap map

“…Although the sibling relationship can be characterized by conflict and aggression (Tucker & Finkelhor, 2017), it is also one of the closest, most enduring emotional bonds throughout life (Buhrmester & Furman, 1990;Volling, 2003). In fact, some studies suggest that siblings may turn to one another for affection and support in an effort to compensate for negativity in their caregivers' relationship (van Dijk et al, 2021) and that siblings can play a supportive role and act as a buffer in other stressful family contexts (Gass et al, 2007;Sanner et al, 2023). For example, Gass et al (2007) found sibling affection moderated the stressful life events on internalizing behaviors in siblings 5 to 17 years old in an English sample.…”

“…In the mid‐1980s, researchers began to examine the quality of sibling relationships (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985b). Since then, some researchers examined sibling relationship quality among siblings where one sibling has a disability such as autism (Walton & Ingersoll, 2015) or a major health condition such as cancer (Cheung et al., 2020), and other researchers have focused on sibling relationship quality among siblings with shared experiences, such as parental divorce or foster care involvement (van Dijk et al., 2021; Wojciak et al., 2018). However, many of the sibling relationship quality studies have utilized general population sibling samples to understand what predicts sibling relationship quality (e.g., Kramer & Baron, 1995; Ruff et al., 2018) or what type of sibling relationship qualities predicts child well‐being outcomes (e.g., Finan et al., 2018; Gamble & Modry‐Mandell, 2008; Richmond et al., 2005).…”