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

Abstract

This longitudinal research identified the developmental trajectories of sibling jealousy in firstborn children (M age = 49.9 months; 55% boys) among 107 Chinese families from 1 to 12 months after the birth of a younger sibling. Four sibling jealousy trajectories were identified: (a) low-increasing, (b) middle-stable, (c) high-stable, and (d) sharp-increasing. Trajectory group membership varied as a function of pre-birth parental factors including strict parental control (i.e., tiger parenting), parenting stress, and parental depression. These results highlight the benefit of examining the development of sibling jealousy over the transition to siblinghood and the importance to recognize pre-birth parental characteristics, especially paternal factors, as determinants when identifying children who may be at greater risk of adjustment difficulties following the birth of a younger sibling.

Chinese parents’ marital and coparenting relationships, parental differential treatment of siblings, and adolescents’ sibling relationships.

“…Since China’s gradual implementation of the relaxed population policy (e.g., a two-child policy, which allows couples to have two children) in the past several years, millions of Chinese parents now have two or more children. After many decades of single-child families, parents are now enjoying family life with more than one child, but they now face more challenges given that the birth of one or more siblings makes the family system more complex (Chen, Ning, & Lv, 2022; Chen & Volling, 2023; Kreppner, 1988; Volling, 2012). The issue of how to treat children equally in the same family (or “to hold a bowl of water level,” which is a commonly used saying in China) is one of the challenges Chinese parents may encounter (Chen, Shen, et al, 2022).…”

“…In this study, parental differential treatment of siblings is defined as an adolescent’s perceptions of being treated less favorably when compared with a brother or sister (Jensen & Whiteman, 2014). During adolescence, children tend to pay increased attention to differential treatment (McHale et al, 2000) because their social and cognitive skills gradually increase but their positive relationships with their parents decrease (e.g., Chen, Ning, & Lv, 2022 ; Shanahan et al, 2008). This heightened awareness may exacerbate the adolescent’s reactions to parental differential treatment (McHale et al, 2000).…”