The Association of Sibling Relationship and Abuse With Later Psychological Adjustment

Abstract

This study of 59 undergraduate men and 85 undergraduate women explored how defining emotional and physical sibling abuse affected the frequency of reported sibling abuse. In addition, the current study examined how the emotional context of the sibling relationship (i.e., rivalry and conflict) moderated the relationship between sibling abuse and later psychological adjustment (i.e., depression and anxiety). Respondents completed self-report questionnaires of sibling abuse (CTS2-SP), self-labeling of sibling abuse, quality of sibling relationships (SRQ), depression (CES-D), and anxiety (ZAS). Results indicated differences in frequency of reported abuse depending on how sibling abuse was defined. Also, there were no statistically significant correlations between the CTS2-SP and measures of psychological adjustment. Although self-labeling as emotionally abused correlated with later anxiety, the emotional context of the sibling relationship did not moderate this relationship.

Psychometric Proprieties and Construct Validity of the Brother-Sister Questionnaire in a Sample of Portuguese Adolescents

“…Derkman et al 2010). This result was also consistent with Mackey et al (2010) in which CTS2-SP Emotional and Physical Violence scales were positively related with Conflict in the sibling relationship. Additionally this result indicates that the relationship may be unbalanced (Graham-Bermann 2004).…”

Aggression between siblings: Associations with the home environment and peer bullying

“…Using an inclusive approach, which considers a wide range of aggressive interactions, sibling aggression can incorporate acts of physical or verbal aggression, such as hitting, kicking, and name calling (DeKeseredy, 1997;Hardy, 2001;Mackey, Fromuth, & Kelly, 2010), but also psychological abuse, including teasing, threatening, or exclusion (Button & Gealt, 2010;Caffaro, 2013), and property-based aggression, such as stealing or damaging belongings . Recent estimates suggest that between one third to one half of children report involvement in any form of sibling aggression, as either victims or perpetrators Wolke & Skew, 2012).…”

Measurement of Sibling Violence

“…The CTS is also used widely in sibling violence research (e.g., Goodwin & Roscoe, 1990;Hendy et al 2011;Mackey, Fromuth, & Kelly, 2010;Mangold & Koski, 1990;Noland et al 2004;Roscoe, Goodwin, & Kennedy, 1987;Simonelli et al 2002). However, when applying the marital violence severity construct to intentional ISV, it is important to recognize the diversity in the etiology of, and risk factors for, various forms of violence: different mechanisms may underpin different types of physical aggression (Michie & Cooke, 2006;Monahan & Steadman, 1994).…”