We are in this Together: Retrospective Parentification, Sibling Relationships, and Self-Esteem

Abstract

Parentification occurs when children provide caregiving for family members that typically exceeds their capacity and developmental stage. Parentification roles and responsibilities are often linked with deleterious outcomes, including robbing children of age-appropriate opportunities, activities, and support. However, in some circumstances, such as caring for a sibling vs. caring for a parent, parentification may engender feelings of self-efficacy, competence, and other positive outcomes. The primary objective of the current study was to explore the possible benefits of parentification. Using an understudied, international population, the current study tested the benefits of parentification in the context of the sibling relationship. Two research questions guided the study: to what extent are perceived benefits of parentification positively associated with self-esteem among a sample of Polish late adolescents? And to what extent does the quality of the sibling relationship mediate the association between perceived benefits of parentification and self-esteem? Results from the current sample showed the quality of sibling relationships partially mediated the relation between parentification and self-esteem. The findings underline the importance of assessing the quality of sibling relationships when an individual or family presenting for clinical services related to past and current family discord and dysfunction. Future research might consider other factors in the sibling relationship, such as personality, that could relate to positive outcomes from parentification.

The Relations Among Types of Parentification, School Achievement, and Quality of Life in Early Adolescence: An Exploratory Study

“…Those can enable them to perceive their situation positively and foster their development, also in the context of school achievement, despite the task overload and adversities they face at the family home. This buffering role may be served, for example, by the adolescent’s good health condition, the school environment, friends, hobbies, and sibling relationships or other family ties (see Chee et al, 2014 ; Borchet et al, 2020b ).…”

Parentification Experiences of Filipino Young Professional Daughters During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Relegating them into a caregiving role at a young age can convert to long-term caregiving roles, transcending their age and maturity level (Boumans & Dorant, 2018). On the contrary, Borchet et al (2020) argued that parentification experience increases the child's sense of maturity, self-resilience, empathy, and social understanding (Borchet et al, 2020). The benefits and consequences of parentification depend on age appropriateness and cultural and familial context (Cho & Lee, 2019).…”

“…The phenomenon can also negatively impact interpersonal relationships by demanding the child to dedicate their time as a caretaker instead of forming meaningful bonds (Andsager, 2015). Parentification, therefore, is found to have lowered one's competence in developing interpersonal relations and incites socializing difficulties (Borchet et al, 2020;Van Parys et al, 2015;Van Loon et al, 2014). Limited interaction with peers leaves them isolated by restricting social support (Andsager, 2015;Preciado, 2020;Van der Mijl & Vingerhoets, 2017).…”

Exploring Resiliency and Parentification in Polish Adolescents

“…Relationships with these people may become a protective factor minimizing the consequences of parentification [ 34 , 35 ]. As it results from research devoted to the significance of relations with siblings in the situation of parentification, the closeness with a brother or sister may also constitute an important protective factor during this period of development [ 36 ].…”

“…Research concerning constructive parentification, in which the child’s difficult situation is understood as one in which it has a chance to reveal and develop its potential, is of less interest. Existing studies indicate such benefits as increased self-esteem, empathy, and altruism [ 15 , 36 , 45 , 49 ] as well as overall life satisfaction [ 50 ].…”