V. Developmental Trajectories of Children's Attention Problems After the Birth of a Sibling

Developmental trajectories of children’s sibling jealousy after the birth of a sibling: Strict parental control, parenting stress and parental depression as pre-birth predictors

“…Previous literature has shown that parenting stress is directly or indirectly associated with sibling interactions, including sibling warmth and conflicts (e.g., Chen, 2020a). Of particular importance to this study, Volling et al (2017) showed that mothers’ parenting stress was more likely associated with firstborn children’s increased emotional reactivity after the birth of a sibling.…”

“…To understand how sibling jealousy may evolve, it is important to consider the conceptualization of children’s adjustment to the birth of a sibling. Volling and colleagues (Volling, 2012; Volling et al, 2017) provided theoretical trajectory patterns of change reflecting children’s adjustment and adaptation following the birth of a sibling typically develops through at least four possible pathways. The first trajectory concerns children who have no or few adjustment problems (i.e., low stable).…”

“…The fourth trajectory concerns children who are resilient with initially high levels of negative adjustment but the return to low levels of adjustment problems (i.e., adjustment and adaptation response). For example, an empirical study did find that there were three patterns of emotional reactivity (i.e., low-stable, mid-increasing, and high stable), which were characterized by children’s worrying, emotional instability, and having emotional difficulties with adapting to change (Volling et al, 2017).…”

“…Different longitudinal patterns depicting sudden change followed shortly afterward by recovery versus persistent maladjustment over time are important to understand because they distinguish which children are having the most difficulty in coping with the arrival of a younger sibling. By highlighting the importance of intraindividual change, the developmental trajectories perspective, proposed by Volling et al (2017), encourages us to study firstborn children’s sibling jealousy trajectories across the transition to siblinghood, to observe how sibling jealousy might ebb and flow across time (i.e., the shape of trajectories). Considering sibling jealousy as one of the reactions to the birth of a sibling, its development may parallel trajectory patterns of the adjustment discussed above, including the low stable, high stable, linear increase, and adjustment and adaptation response trajectories.…”

“…Pre-birth parental characteristics as predictors of sibling jealousy were proposed from the transactional model of sibling jealousy (Volling et al, 2010). Possible trajectory patterns of sibling jealousy after the birth of a sibling were theorized based on the developmental trajectories perspective (Volling et al, 2017). …”