Interparental Incongruence in Differential Treatment of Adolescent Siblings: Links With Marital Quality

Kan, Marni; McHale, Susan M.; Crouter, Ann C.

doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00494.x

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…McHale and colleagues have explored inter-parental patterns of PDT (McHale, Crouter, McGuire, & Updegraff, 1995), suggesting that a single parent’s favoritism toward one child may reflect an inter-generational coalition, whereas congruence between parents’ PDT reflects positive coparenting. This work reveals that inter-parental incongruence covaries longitudinally with declines in marital quality (Kan, McHale, & Crouter, 2008) and more adolescent adjustment problems (Solmeyer, Killoren, McHale, & Updegraff, 2011). Thus both PDT and incongruence in PDT across parents is linked to interparental discord and to adolescent maladjustment.…”

Section: Sibling Bonds and The Family Systemmentioning

confidence: 90%

The Third Rail of Family Systems: Sibling Relationships, Mental and Behavioral Health, and Preventive Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence

Feinberg

Solmeyer

McHale

2011

Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev

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229

188

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Sibling relationships are an important context for development, but are often ignored in research and preventive interventions with youth and families. In childhood and adolescence siblings spend considerable time together, and siblings’ characteristics and sibling dynamics substantially influence developmental trajectories and outcomes. This paper reviews research on sibling relationships in childhood and adolescence, focusing on sibling dynamics as part of the family system and sibling influences on adjustment problems, including internalizing and externalizing behaviors and substance use. We present a theoretical model that describes three key pathways of sibling influence: one that extends through siblings’ experiences with peers and school, and two that operate largely through family relationships. We then describe the few existing preventive interventions that target sibling relationships and discuss the potential utility of integrating siblings into child and family programs.

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Section: Sibling Bonds and The Family Systemmentioning

confidence: 90%

The Third Rail of Family Systems: Sibling Relationships, Mental and Behavioral Health, and Preventive Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence

Feinberg

Solmeyer

McHale

2011

Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev

Self Cite

229

188

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“…Siblings have reported emotionally closer relationships when they are closer in age, of the same gender, have easy temperaments, and live in families with low spousal conflict and positive parent–child relationships (McHale et al, ). Differential treatment by parents, particularly when one parent shows preferential treatment toward one sibling and the other parent does not, has been found to create parent–child coalitions that undermine sibling relationship quality (Kan, McHale, & Crouter, ). In addition, sibling differentiation, when siblings “de‐identify from one another by selecting different niches in the family and develop distinct personal qualities” (McHale et al, , p. 921), has been found to protect siblings from rivalry and jealousy, leading to warmer and less conflicted relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shared Children in Stepfamilies: Experiences Living in a Hybrid Family Structure

Sanner

Ganong

Coleman

2019

J of Marriage and Family

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Objective To explore the lived experiences of shared children in stepfamilies (i.e., those born into a repartnered family who live with married parents and older half‐siblings). Background Shared children have been found to fare worse than other sibling groups on a variety of outcomes (e.g., educational outcomes, antisocial behavior, depressive symptoms). Little is known, however, about the lived experiences of these individuals. Method Using descriptive phenomenology, we conducted interviews with 20 shared children to answer the following research question: What is the nature of the experience of being a shared child in a stepfamily? Participants ranged in age from 19 to 30 years and lived in the same household with their half‐sibling(s) for at least some time growing up. Results Shared children's experiences were shaped by living in a hybrid “step‐nuclear” family; their upbringings were characterized by the tension of “reorganizing” as a nuclear unit but doing so within a larger stepfamily structure. The overriding phenomenon of participants' experiences was regulating family privacy boundaries—privacy rules existed surrounding sensitive information about family structure, marital histories, stepfamily dynamics, and more. In the absence of information, these children hypothesized about the topics that were not openly discussed in their families—a key part of their lived experiences. Conclusion Open communication with shared children surrounding family histories and dynamics may help reduce the ambiguity of living in a step‐nuclear family. Implications This study is an important step in understanding what about shared children's lived experiences might put them at higher risk for negative outcomes.

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“…Although most research treats DT by mothers and fathers as independent processes, a family systems perspective (Minuchin, 1974; O’Connor, Hetherington, & Reiss, 1998) highlights the importance of patterns of mothers’ and fathers’ DT. Indeed, some work documents links between family patterns of DT and marital and sibling relationships and youth adjustment (Kan, McHale, & Crouter, 2008; McHale, Crouter, McGuire, & Updegraff, 1995; Volling & Elins, 1998). Our goal was to replicate and extend this work by examining the cultural contexts of parents’ DT, taking into account perspectives of multiple family members.…”

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confidence: 99%

Coparenting around siblings' differential treatment in Mexican-origin families.

Solmeyer

Killoren

McHale

et al. 2011

Journal of Family Psychology

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This study examined patterns of mothers' and fathers' differential affection and discipline toward two adolescent offspring in 243 Mexican-origin families. Grounding our work in a family systems perspective, we used interparental patterns of differential treatment as an index of the coparental alliance and tested their associations with parents' reports of familism values, traditional gender role attitudes, and cultural orientations. We also sought to replicate prior research on European American samples linking interparental patterns of differential treatment to marital qualities (coparenting satisfaction, love, and conflict) and adolescent depressive symptoms and risky behaviors. Three interparental patterns emerged: families in which both mothers and fathers treated their two offspring equally, incongruent families in which one parent treated both offspring equally while the other parent favored one offspring, and congruent families in which both parents favored the same offspring. Most parents reported equal treatment, but others fell into the incongruent affection (30%), incongruent discipline (45%), and congruent discipline (16%) groups. Mixed model ANOVAs revealed that in families in which mothers and fathers both treated their offspring equally, parents reported higher familism values, more traditional gender role attitudes, and relatively stronger orientations to Mexican than Anglo culture. Consistent with previous research, interparental incongruence was associated with less positive marital qualities and more adolescent adjustment problems. Discussion focuses on the role of culture in shaping coparenting and the processes through which these coparenting dynamics are linked to marital and youth adjustment. KeywordsCoparenting; Mexican American Families; Parental Differential Treatment; Marital Quality; Youth AdjustmentCorrespondence should be addressed to Anna R. Solmeyer, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University, S-113 Henderson Building, University Park, PA 16802. .edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/pubs/journals/fam NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptParents' differential treatment (DT) is a common family dynamic and is associated with youth adjustment problems and troubled family relationships (Deal, 1996;Shanahan, McHale, Crouter, & Osgood, 2008). Although most research treats DT by mothers and fathers as independent processes, a family systems perspective (Minuchin, 1974;O'Connor, Hetherington, & ...

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Interparental Incongruence in Differential Treatment of Adolescent Siblings: Links With Marital Quality

Cited by 21 publications

References 30 publications

The Third Rail of Family Systems: Sibling Relationships, Mental and Behavioral Health, and Preventive Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence

The Third Rail of Family Systems: Sibling Relationships, Mental and Behavioral Health, and Preventive Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence

Shared Children in Stepfamilies: Experiences Living in a Hybrid Family Structure

Coparenting around siblings' differential treatment in Mexican-origin families.

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