Associations Between Adolescent Sibling Conflict and Relationship Quality During the Transition to College

Lindell, Anna K.; Campione‐Barr, Nicole; Greer, Kelly Bassett

doi:10.1177/2167696813502778

Cited by 32 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(72 reference statements)

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“…In contrast, issues related to equality and fairness were associated with greater symptoms of depression (Campione‐Barr, Greer, & Kruse, ; Campione‐Barr & Smetana, ). However, greater conflicts over equality and fairness between siblings living together in middle to late adolescence were associated with more egalitarian relationships after the first‐born left home for college (Lindell, Campione‐Barr, & Greer, ). Therefore, siblings’ conflicts may be detrimental if particularly intense or consistent over long periods; in fact, observed destructive conflicts between siblings have been associated with greater conduct problems (Garcia, Shaw, Winslow, & Yaggi, ) and lower quality of relationships (Rinaldi & Howe, ).…”

Section: Conflict and Negativity: Not All Badmentioning

confidence: 99%

Love Them and Hate Them: The Developmental Appropriateness of Ambivalence in the Adolescent Sibling Relationship

Campione‐Barr

Killoren

2019

Child Dev Perspectives

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The quality of sibling relationships has important implications for each sibling's development, and not always in the expected ways, because both conflict and intimacy are associated with both positive and negative developmental outcomes. Additionally, these relationship qualities do not occur in isolation since sibling relationships are known as the quintessential love-hate relationship. The ambivalence (i.e., coexistence of positive and negative feelings) siblings experience toward one another during childhood and adolescence and the prevalence of this feeling make the sibling relationship unique. Ambivalence in the sibling relationship during adolescence is developmentally appropriate and may benefit individuals throughout life. In this article, we argue that adolescence is the tipping point in the sibling relationship that sets the stage for how healthy and engaged, or distant and uninvolved, relationships with siblings become in adulthood. KEYWORDS-siblings; adolescenceUnsurprising to the more than 80% of youth who grow up with a sibling, sibling relationships are often considered the quintessential love-hate relationship. It is this ambivalence, or the coexistence of positive and negative feelings toward one another, that is often considered one of the unique hallmarks of siblinghood. While ambivalence in other close relationships (e.g., parent-child relationships, friendships, romantic liaisons) is considered suboptimal, we argue in this article that the ambivalent nature of the sibling relationship, particularly during adolescence, is both relationally and developmentally appropriate, and can have unique costs and benefits.Research and theory suggest that all close relationships must involve balancing positivity and negativity or conflict and closeness. From a social relational perspective, Collins and Laursen (1992) suggest that how much conflict or negativity a relationship can handle is determined by the type of relationship. Closed-field relationships (e.g., parent-child relationships, sibling relationships) are constrained by genetics, norms, or laws. Alternatively, open-field relationships (e.g., friendships, romantic relationships) are more likely to be voluntary and to form (and dissolve) at much faster rates. Given these distinct traits, closedfield relationships can withstand greater conflict or negativity than open-field relationships.As closed-field relationships, sibling relationships can withstand more conflict and intensity of affect than other egalitarian relationships (e.g., those with friends, romantic partners). Additionally, while parent-child relationships can also withstand more conflict than relationships with peers, siblings are likely able to withstand greater ambivalence than parents and children because of the more imbalanced hierarchy children have with their parents. Over the course of adolescence, the parent-child power imbalance shifts, and at least until autonomy is achieved, youth are at a disadvantage in terms of making decisions within the relationship. Relationships wit...

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Section: Conflict and Negativity: Not All Badmentioning

confidence: 99%

Love Them and Hate Them: The Developmental Appropriateness of Ambivalence in the Adolescent Sibling Relationship

Campione‐Barr

Killoren

2019

Child Dev Perspectives

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“…However, increased social and cognitive abilities also enable younger siblings to push for more equality in their sibling interactions with greater success (Buhrmester & Furman, ), which, for some, may be manifested in terms of greater relationship negativity. Indeed, issues of equality and fairness are among the most frequent sources of conflict for adolescent siblings (Campione‐Barr & Smetana, ), and may be used as a means to maintain or improve their level of relative power within the relationship (Perlman et al., ), especially during adolescence (Tucker et al., ) and the transition to emerging adulthood (Lindell, Campione‐Barr, & Greer, ). In the present study, this increased competence hypothesis would therefore be supported if adolescents’ perceptions of their sibling's relative power declined for those reporting both higher average levels of positivity, and higher levels of negativity.…”

Section: Developmental Trends In Adolescent Sibling Relative Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative Power in Sibling Relationships Across Adolescence

Lindell

Campione‐Barr

2017

New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development

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During childhood, older siblings typically hold a more powerful position in their relationship with their younger siblings, but these relationships are thought to become more egalitarian during adolescence as siblings begin to prepare for their relationships as adults and as younger siblings become more socially and cognitively competent. Little is known about relationship factors that may explain this shift in power dynamics, however. The present study therefore examined longitudinal changes in adolescents' and their siblings' perceptions of sibling relative power from age 12 to 18 (n = 145 dyads), and examined whether different levels of sibling relationship positivity and negativity, as well as sibling structural variables, indicated different over-time changes in relative power. Multilevel models indicated that adolescents reported significant declines in their siblings' relative power across adolescence, with older siblings relinquishing the most power over time. However, only siblings with less positively involved relationships reported declines in relative power, suggesting that siblings who maintain highly involved relationships may not become more egalitarian during adolescence.

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“…During childhood there is considerable variability in the level of closeness and hostility within sibling relationships (McGuire et al, 1996). However, even frequent sibling conflict during adolescence may be a predictor of healthy relationships by emerging adulthood (Lindell, Campione-Barr, & Greer, 2014). In addition, although most siblings report significant decreases in shared time (Scharf et al, 2005) and communication (White, 2001) during the transition to college, intimacy and closeness with siblings often remain stable (Burhmester, 1992) or even increases (Scharf et al, 2005).…”

Section: Relationship Positivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology‐Mediated Communication with Siblings During the Transition to College: Associations with Relationship Positivity and Self‐Disclosure

2015

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An important task for emerging adults is the effective maintenance of sibling relationships given their importance for well‐being later in adulthood. However, little is currently known about how siblings maintain communication with one another during this developmental stage when they often live apart for the first time, or about whether different communication patterns have unique relational implications. Using a sample of first‐year college students (n = 250), the present study identified four distinct groups of emerging adults who used information and communication technologies differently in communicating with their siblings. Emerging adults who frequently used synchronous communication methods (as opposed to more passive methods) generally had more positive and self‐disclosive relationships with their siblings about a variety of topics, although there were important gender and birth order differences. Implications for college administrators and mental health professionals are discussed.

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Associations Between Adolescent Sibling Conflict and Relationship Quality During the Transition to College

Cited by 32 publications

References 44 publications

Love Them and Hate Them: The Developmental Appropriateness of Ambivalence in the Adolescent Sibling Relationship

Love Them and Hate Them: The Developmental Appropriateness of Ambivalence in the Adolescent Sibling Relationship

Relative Power in Sibling Relationships Across Adolescence

Technology‐Mediated Communication with Siblings During the Transition to College: Associations with Relationship Positivity and Self‐Disclosure

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