Quality of sibling relationship and family functioning in Greek families with school-age children

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to examine the quality of sibling relationships in relation to family functioning in Greek families with typically developing school-age children. The sample: 251 intact Greek families with two children (251 parents — 1 parent participated from each family — and 251 children). Research instruments: (a) the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales III (FACES III; Olson, 1986), administered to both parents and children), (b) the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ; Furman& Buhrmester, 1985); and (c) the family constellation: number of children, birth order, gender and socioeconomic level. According to the findings, the quality of a sibling relationship is associated with family cohesion and adaptability. Regarding children’s gender, the Warmth/Closeness scale is lower in families with children of different gender compared to families with children of the same gender. Regarding birth order, first-born children report higher levels of cohesion (ideal and actual), as well as higher Warmth/Closeness (children and parents), in comparison to the second-born children. Regarding parental educational level, parents and children report a higher level when it comes to ideal family and cohesion type (ideal level), as well as higher Warmth/Closeness (parents) when at least one of the parents has a university education background.

Development of Family Adaptability and Cohesion from Adolescence to Young Adulthood and Associations with Parental Behavior

“…Families with a higher SES were seen as more adaptable by their youth. This finding is in accordance with other studies indicating that a higher educational level and higher income of the parents was generally associated with lower parental stress and conflict and better coping strategies (Mirnics et al, 2010;Tsamparli & Halios, 2019). However, the present study failed to find similar associations with perceived family cohesion indicating that the ability to adapt leaderships and might depend on familial SES, rather than on the emotional bonds between family members.…”

“…Furthermore, in our sample we did not observe any influence of the number of siblings on either adaptability or cohesion. Other studies have revealed an effect of the presence of siblings on family functioning but they used other variables like quality of sibling relationships (Tsamparli & Halios 2019) or sibling position (Byrd et al, 1993). Therefore, one may assume that the number of siblings alone is less likely to exert an influence on family structure but rather the qualitative characteristics of the sibling relationship.…”

“…To our knowledge there are no studies supporting a possible effect of sex on adaptability Scabini & Galimberti, 1995). Since family functioning also involves additional family members and their relationships, it is conceivable that variables such as educational level of the parents, socioeconomic status (Mirnics et al, 2010;Tsamparli & Halios 2019), marital status (Baer, 1999;Waldren et al, 1990), or the presence of other siblings (Byrd et al, 1993;Tsamparli & Halios, 2019) may exert an influence on the development of family functioning.…”

The role of basic psychological needs in bullying victimisation in the family and at school

“…In the case of perpetration, exposure to violence by any family member underlines that early socialisation processes at home may determine intimidation in the school domain (Low & Espelage, 2013). Briefly, the results are conforming to studies suggesting that family may be predominant over other social contexts in shaping basic relationship styles even in late childhood and early adolescence (Rigby, 2013;Tsamparli & Halios, 2019).…”

Domestic Abuse Sibling studY (DASY): a multimethod study protocol

“…The tool has been used in many studies to measure the quality of sibling relationships 22 25–27. Some use the SRQ-R as a retrospective tool,20 28 whereas it has also been used in real time with children and young people 29.…”