Anna R. Solmeyer

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

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.

Siblings Are Special: Initial test of a New Approach for Preventing Youth Behavior Problems

PURPOSE A growing body of research documents the significance of siblings and sibling relationships for development, mental health, and behavioral risk across childhood and adolescence. Nonetheless, few well-designed efforts have been undertaken to promote positive and reduce negative youth outcomes by enhancing sibling relationships. METHODS Based on a theoretical model of sibling influences, we conducted a randomized trial of Siblings Are Special (SIBS), a group-format afterschool program for fifth graders with a younger sibling in second through fourth grades, which entailed 12 weekly afterschool sessions and three Family Nights. We tested program efficacy with a pre- and post-test design with 174 families randomly assigned to condition. In home visits at both time points, we collected data via parent questionnaires, child interviews, and observer-rated videotaped interactions and teachers rated childrens behavior at school. RESULTS The program enhanced positive sibling relationships, appropriate strategies for parenting siblings, and child self-control, social competence, and academic performance; program exposure was also associated with reduced maternal depression and child internalizing problems. Results were robust across the sample, not qualified by sibling gender, age, family demographics, or baseline risk. No effects were found for sibling conflict, collusion, or child externalizing problems; we will examine follow-up data to determine if short-term impacts lead to reduced negative behaviors over time. CONCLUSIONS The breadth of the SIBS programs impact is consistent with research suggesting that siblings are an important influence on development and adjustment and supports our argument that a sibling focus should be incorporated into youth and family-oriented prevention programs.

Long-term follow-up of a randomized trial of family foundations: effects on children's emotional, behavioral, and school adjustment.

This study examines long-term effects of a transition to parenthood program, Family Foundations, designed to enhance child outcomes through a strategic focus on supporting the coparenting relationship. Roughly 5 to 7 years after baseline (pregnancy), parent and teacher reports of internalizing and externalizing problems and school adjustment were collected by mail for 98 children born to couples enrolled in the randomized trial. Teachers reported significantly lower levels of internalizing problems among children in the intervention group compared with children in the control group and, consistent with prior findings at age 3, lower levels of externalizing problems for boys in the intervention group. Baseline level of observed couple negative communication moderated intervention effects for parent and teacher report of child adjustment and teacher report of school adjustment and adaptation. Effect sizes ranged from 0.40 to 0.98. Results indicate that relatively brief preventive programs for couples at the transition to parenthood have the capacity to promote long-term positive benefits for childrens adjustment. Although we attended to missing data issues in several ways, high levels of attrition in this long-term follow-up study is a cause for caution.

Intimate Partner Violence and Coparenting Across the Transition to Parenthood

Intimate partner violence (IPV) between parents has been linked to negative parenting and child maladjustment, yet the mechanisms underlying this association are not fully understood. Based on a theory that violence among parents disrupts the coparental alliance—which has been linked to parenting quality and child adjustment—the authors examined the effect of prebirth violence on coparenting across the transition to parenthood. A community sample of 156 couples reported on IPV prior to the birth of their first child and on coparenting at child age 1 year. Both men and women’s violence perpetration were related to coparenting quality. Couple relationship quality and parent mental health problems accounted for the links between prenatal IPV and coparenting. This study adds to an understanding of the associations between IPV and family functioning across the transition to parenthood, and has important implications for preventive intervention.

Sibling Differences in Parent-Child Conflict and Risky Behavior: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study

To better understand why siblings growing up in the same family are often as different as unrelated individuals, this study explored the role of differential experiences with parents in the development of sibling differences. Cross-lagged models tested directions of effect by examining whether differential parent-child conflict predicted sibling differences in risky behavior over time, or vice versa. Participants were mothers, fathers, and the 2 eldest adolescent siblings (mean ages at Time 1 = 15.12 and 12.58 years) from 355 European American, working- and middle-class families. On 3 occasions over a 2-year period, mothers and fathers reported on their conflict with each of the 2 siblings, and siblings reported on their own risky behavior. Results revealed that, controlling for sibling age differences and average levels of conflict and risky behavior at Time 1, youths who had more conflict with their mothers and fathers in relation to their siblings subsequently engaged in relatively more risky behavior. Also, youths who engaged in more risky behavior in relation to their siblings experienced relatively more conflict with their fathers, but not mothers, at later time points. Findings highlight the importance of examining both family dynamics and child characteristics in understanding sibling differentiation, and illuminate potential differences in parenting processes involving mothers versus fathers.