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

Abstract

Sibling aggression is a common form of intra-familial aggression, yet has been largely neglected by research. Using an inclusive measure of sibling aggression, this study investigated, firstly, prevalence of sibling aggression and associations with family and household characteristics, and secondly, the relationship between sibling aggression and peer bullying. Participants were 4,237 adolescents from Wave 1 of Understanding Society. Four types of sibling aggression were measured: physical, verbal, stealing and teasing, and combined into composite measures of victimization and perpetration. Regression analysis identified associations with demographic characteristics, family and sibling composition, parent-child relationships and socioeconomic status and explored the link between sibling aggression and involvement in peer bullying. Using a broad definition, sibling aggression was found to be widespread, with 46% of all participants being victimized and 36% perpetrating aggression. Household and family characteristics, including a large family size, male siblings, and financial difficulties were associated with greater rates of sibling aggression. Parenting behavior showed the strongest relationship: harsh parenting increased the risk of sibling aggression while positive parenting protected against it. Sibling aggression was also homotypically related to involvement in peer bullying. Victimization by siblings significantly increased the odds of being a victim of peer bullying, and perpetrators of sibling aggression were more likely to be both peer bullies and bully-victims. Considering the adverse effects of sibling aggression on physical and mental health, the study provides pointers for efforts to reduce the risk of sibling aggression. Furthermore, the link with peer bullying suggests that school anti-bullying efforts should also take account of children's sibling relationships.3

Bullying in the family: sibling bullying

“…The behaviours involved in sibling bullying closely resemble findings on peer bullying, with most children reporting a range of physical, verbal, or relational behaviours 1,35,43,44 . There are also similarities regarding age and sex variations.…”

“…In the UK over 85% of adolescents have at least one sibling 1 ; in other regions it is normal for families to have several siblings 2 , with the largest offspring size found in sub-Saharan Africa 3 . There are exceptions, such as the China "One Child Policy (OCP)" which restricted the number of children that urban couples could have to one between 1979 and 2013 when it was relaxed 4 .…”

“…The lack of an accepted definition, as well as the use of differing terms, such as aggression, violence, abuse, bullying, or rivalry, has been a barrier to research on sibling aggression 1,7,30 .…”

“…A unique aspect of sibling bullying is the high prevalence of bully-victims, children who are both victimised by, but also bully their siblings 1,33,35 . Most children involved in sibling bullying fall into this category, contrasting distinctly with peer bullying, where children tend to adopt stable victim or bully roles (although these decline with age) 51,52 , and only a small minority are identified as peer bully-victims 50 .…”

“…There are also similarities regarding age and sex variations. As with peer bullying 53,54 , incidence of sibling victimisation and bullying perpetration shows some decline with age, particularly in physical aggression 1,6,49 , and males are more likely to perpetrate acts of sibling aggression, although there are no clear gender differences in regards to victimisation 1,35,44,55 . While these characteristics show individual associations, the sex and age composition of the sibling relationship can have a significant impact on overall rates, with more sibling bullying reported in male-male 30 or older male-younger female sibling dyads 55 .…”