Predicting Sibling Relationship Quality from Family Conflict: A Longitudinal Study from Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Abstract

Socialization experiences in the family have profound and lasting effects on development. The present study investigated whether exposure to family conflict in early adolescence influences relationship quality with siblings during young adulthood. Using a longitudinal design, observations of family conflict were used to predict self-and other-reported sibling relationship quality a decade later in an at-risk sample of 98 male and female older siblings of target boys in the Oregon Youth Study. Results indicated that familial conflict during early adolescence reliably predicted quality of sibling relationships during emerging adulthood. These findings are discussed with respect to social learning theory, previous research, and treatment implications.

Predicting Young Adults’ Romantic Relationship Quality: Sibling Ties and Adult Attachment Styles

“…Moreover, research has focused on the effect of experiences within the family and young adult outcomes (e.g., Pauldine, Snyder, Bank, & Owen, 2015; Young & Ehrenbery, 2007), and only a few studies have specifically investigated the link between within-family experiences, especially with parents and siblings, and adult romantic relationships. Rauer and Volling (2007) found a positive correlation between experiencing differential parental treatment, sibling jealousy, attachment styles, and adult romantic relationship quality.…”