Relationship of Order and Number of Siblings to Perceived Parental Attitudes in Childhood

Abstract

Despite the increasingly recognized link between perceived parenting behavior and the onset of psychopathology in adults, studies of the possible determinants of perceptions of parenting behavior are rare. In a sample of 1,145 pregnant Japanese women, correlations were examined between the numbers and sexes of siblings and perceived rearing practices, as rated by the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI; Parker, Tupling, & Brown, 1979). The participants with more elder sisters viewed their parents' attitudes as less caring, whereas those with more brothers, particularly younger brothers, viewed their parents' attitudes as less overprotective. However, the proportion of the variance of all the PBI scores explained by different types of siblings was very small.

A Multicenter Study Investigating Empathy and Burnout Characteristics in Medical Residents with Various Specialties

“…However, having many siblings does appear to increase the odds of promoting socio-emotional development. Conversely, Lam et al ( 29 ) proposed that sibling conflict may act as a negative factor in the development of empathy development and Kitamura et al ( 5 ) reported that nurturing by parents declines as the number of siblings increases. Thus, both the number of siblings and the qualitative aspect of sibling relationships can act as critical factors for empathy development.…”

“…Various factors have been reviewed, including type of specialty, years of clinical experience, gender, personality, and culture; however, there were differences in evaluation results even in studies using the same criteria. In research comparing the empathic capacity (according to the Jefferson Scale of Empathy) ( 5 ) of medical students and residents according to their years of education and training, empathy decreased as years of experience increased ( 6 7 ). Hojat et al ( 4 ) explained this as an “erosion of empathy.” In contrast, some research reports either an increase or no difference in empathy scores as years of training increase ( 8 9 10 ).…”

Nine‐Year Follow‐up of girls with Anorexia Nervosa and their Siblings: Retrospective Perceptions of Parental Bonding and the Influence of Illness on their Everyday Life

“…The PBI seems to be unaffected by age and sex of the respondent, shows no consistent social class effect, but sensitivity to cultural differences (Parker, ; Parker, ). The influence of order and number of siblings on PBI scores seem to be low (Kitamura, Sugawara, Shima, & Toda, ). Current psychological problems may influence retrospective perceptions of parents.…”

The Association Between Current Intergenerational Family Relationships and Sibling Structure

“…However, more recently, birth order and sibling number, as they relate to a wide range of variables, have been examined extensively in the literature (e.g., Nyman, 1994;Sputa & Paulson, 1995;Zajonc & Mullally, 1997). Although research has indicated their important influence on parent-child relationships (e.g., Kitamura, Sugawara, Shima, & Toda, 1998;Sputa & Paulson, 1995), critics have argued that birth order and number of siblings alone fail to accurately model family structure (Kidwell, 1981;Richardson, Abramowitz, Asp, & Petersen, 1986). As a result, additional sibling variables, such as sibling gender and sibling spacing, have been combined in various groupings with birth order and number of siblings to improve the descriptive and predictive properties of sibling structure.…”