Corinna Jenkins Tucker

Free-Time Activities in Middle Childhood: Links with Adjustment in Early Adolescence

This study assessed links between free-time activities in middle childhood (hobbies, sports, toys and games, outdoor play, reading, television viewing, and hanging out) and school grades, conduct, and depression symptoms both concurrently and 2 years later, in early adolescence. It also explored two mechanisms that might underlie activity-adjustment links: whether the social contexts of childrens activities mediate these links, child effects explain these connections, or both. Participants were 198 children (M = 10.9 years, SD = .54 years) in Year 1, and their parents. In home interviews in Years 1 and 3 of the study, mothers rated childrens conduct problems, children reported on their depression symptoms, and information was collected on school grades from report cards. In seven evening phone interviews, children reported on the time they spent in free-time activities during the day of the call and their companions in each activity. Links were found between the nature of childrens free-time activities and their adjustment. The social contexts of free-time activities explained activity-adjustment links to a limited degree; with respect to child effects, evidence also suggested that better adjusted children became more involved in adaptive activities over time.

When does parents' differential treatment have negative implications for siblings?

We compared the extent of parents’ differential treatment (PDT) and girls’ and boys’ perceptions of parents’ fairness in middle childhood and adolescence as a function of the gender constellation of the sibling dyad. Further, we examined links between PDT in three domains, parental warmth, parents’ temporal involvement, and the allocation of household tasks, and both siblings’ self esteem and positivity in the sibling relationship. Participants were mothers, fathers and both first- and secondborn siblings from 385 families. To collect information on siblings’ family experiences and well-being, family members were interviewed individually in their homes. During the subsequent 2–3 weeks, 7 evening telephone interviews also were conducted; these focused on siblings’ daily activities. Analyses revealed different patterns of PDT for siblings as a function of age and gender constellation, stronger links with self esteem and sibling positivity for perceptions of fairness than for PDT, and different patterns of association with self esteem and sibling relations across domains of PDT. We emphasize the importance of studying the processes through which PDT experiences have implications for siblings.

Older siblings as socializers of younger siblings' empathy

In this study, the ways in which older siblings’personal qualities and sibling relationship experiences were associated with younger siblings’levels of empathy during early adolescence and preadolescence were explored. Participants were 199 sibling dyads (mean years of age = 11 and 8, respectively) who were interviewed using two procedures: (a) in their homes about their family relationships and personal qualities and (b) in a sequence of seven nightly telephone interviews about their daily activities and companions. Multiple regression analyses were conducted separately by younger siblings’gender to examine the relations of older siblings’personal qualities and sibling relationship experiences to younger siblings’ empathy. Analyses revealed that younger sisters’ as compared to younger brothers’ empathy was related differentially to their older siblings’ personal qualities and to the nature of their sibling relationship. Additional analyses to examine younger siblings’ personal qualities and sibling relationship experiences as potential predictors of older siblings’ empathy generally were nonsignificant, indicating that older siblings enhance younger siblings’empathy rather than vice versa.

Association of Sibling Aggression With Child and Adolescent Mental Health

OBJECTIVE: Sibling aggression is common but often dismissed as benign. We examine whether being a victim of various forms of sibling aggression is associated with children’s and adolescents’ mental health distress. We also contrast the consequences of sibling versus peer aggression for children’s and adolescents’ mental health. METHODS: We analyzed a national probability sample (n = 3599) that included telephone interviews about past year victimizations conducted with youth aged 10 to 17 or an adult caregiver concerning children aged 0 to 9. RESULTS: Children ages 0 to 9 and youth ages 10 to 17 who experienced sibling aggression in the past year (ie, psychological, property, mild or severe physical assault), reported greater mental health distress. Children ages 0 to 9 showed greater mental health distress than did youth aged 10 to 17 in the case of mild physical assault, but they did not differ for the other types of sibling aggression. Comparison of sibling versus peer aggression generally showed that sibling and peer aggression independently and uniquely predicted worsened mental health. CONCLUSIONS: The possible importance of sibling aggression for children’s and adolescents’ mental health should not be dismissed. The mobilization to prevent and stop peer victimization and bullying should expand to encompass sibling aggression as well.

Prevalence and correlates of sibling victimization types

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to document the prevalence and correlates of any past year sibling victimization, including physical, property, and psychological victimization, by a co-residing juvenile sibling across the spectrum of childhood from one month to 17 years of age. METHODS The National Survey of Childrens Exposure to Violence data set (N=1,705) was used which includes telephone interviews conducted with an adult caregiver (usually a parent) about one child randomly selected from all eligible children living in a household. If the selected child was 10-17 years old, the main telephone interview was conducted with the child. RESULTS Sibling victimization rates were 37.6% for the full sample, peaking at 45% for the 2-5 year olds and 46% for the 6-9 year olds. Rates were higher for males, whites, and those who were closer in age to their sibling. Sibling victimization was also higher in brother-brother pairs and among children who had a parent with some college education. CONCLUSION The results add to a growing body of literature on aggressive sibling behavior by demonstrating the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to studying sibling victimization and considering individual, sibling, and family correlates of such behavior. This studys approach to the study of sibling aggression also extends the literature on this generally unrecognized form of family violence.

Sibling and peer victimization in childhood and adolescence.

This study examined how victimizations by either a sibling or peer are linked to each other and to mental health in childhood and adolescence. The data were from the National Survey of Childrens Exposure to Violence which includes a sample of children aged 3-9 (N=1,536) and adolescents aged 10-17 (N=1,523) gathered through telephone interviews. An adult caregiver (usually a parent) provided the information for children while self-reports were employed for adolescents. Fifteen percent of each age group reported victimization by both a sibling and peer. Victimization by a sibling alone was more common in childhood than adolescence. Victimization by a sibling was predictive of peer victimization. Children and adolescents victimized by both a sibling and peer reported the greatest mental distress. This work establishes that for some children and adolescents, victimization at the hands of other juveniles happens both at home and school. Programs should consider the role of siblings and target parents and siblings to encourage the development and maintenance of constructive sibling interactions.

Proactive and Reactive Sibling Aggression and Adjustment in Adolescence

Existing research on aggression tends to narrowly focus on peers; less is known about sibling aggression, most likely due to its historical acceptance. Aggression is characterized by its forms (i.e., physical vs. social or relational aggression) and its functions (i.e., the motivations behind the aggressive act and categorized as proactive vs. reactive aggression). We use data from a two-wave study of middle (n = 197; Mage = 12.63 years at Wave 1) and older (n = 159; Mage = 16.50 years at Wave 1) adolescents to assess the extent to which proactive and reactive functions of sibling aggression make unique or conditional contributions to adolescent adjustment (i.e., depression, delinquency, and substance use). We find that proactive sibling aggression increases risk for problem substance use and delinquent behavior, reactive sibling aggression increases risk for depressed mood and delinquent behavior, and such results are observed even with statistical adjustments for sociodemographic and family variables, stressful life events, and prior adjustment. Few conditional effects of proactive or reactive sibling aggression by sex or grade are observed; yet, for all three outcomes, the harmful effects of reactive sibling aggression are strongest among adolescents who report low levels of proactive sibling aggression. The results speak to the importance of understanding the proactive and reactive functions of sibling aggressive behaviors for adolescent adjustment.

Family dynamics and young children's sibling victimization

This research examines how family dynamics like interparental conflict, family violence, and quality of parenting are associated with young childrens experiences of sibling victimization. We use nationally representative data from interviews with caregivers of 1,726 children aged 2 to 9 years of age. We hypothesized different family dynamics predictors for a composite of common types of sibling victimization (property, psychological, and mild physical aggression) in comparison to severe physical sibling victimization (victimization that includes physical aggression with a weapon and/or injury). Multinomial regression results showed that sibling victimization in general was associated with negative family dynamics but that children in the severe group had even less parental warmth, poor parental supervision, and greater exposure to interparental conflict and family violence than children in the common types victimization group. Different aspects of family dynamics contribute to sibling victimization, but possibly in different ways and with different consequences. The findings underscore the importance of a family systems theory approach to clinical and intervention work.

The State of Interventions for Sibling Conflict and Aggression: A Systematic Review:

Sibling conflict and aggression is often a pervasive part of family life that parents want help managing and can have negative effects on children’s well-being. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate current research regarding programs to reduce sibling conflict and aggression and promote positive sibling relationships. Online databases, reference lists, and Google Scholar were searched using key words and inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied. The search located five unique studies of programs focused on school-aged children. Heterogeneity of the studies precluded meta-analysis, but characteristics of the studies were systematically described. Three interventions were aimed at directly improving children’s social skills and two interventions trained parents on mediation techniques to use during sibling conflicts. Overall, of the four studies that included assessment of children’s social skills, the results were positive. Two of the three studies that evaluated sibling relationship quality demonstrated improved sibling interactions compared with the control group. With further research and evidentiary support, these programs have promise to modify sibling behaviors as part of current parenting education programs or as a stand-alone program to address sibling conflict and aggression.

Practical Considerations Community Context in a Declining Rural Economy and Emerging Adults’ Educational and Occupational Aspirations

We examine how aspects of community context (i.e., social and familial attachments, attachment to place, and economic environment) are linked to rural emerging adults’ educational and occupational experiences and aspirations. We use a year of qualitative interview data and 2 years of longitudinal survey data to explore how community context may shape two groups of rural emerging adults’ aspirations for those who remain in their rural home community posthigh school graduation and those who leave after high school to seek opportunities elsewhere. We found that the declining economic context of these rural communities shaped educational and occupational aspirations of both groups toward practically focused occupations. Interviewees struggled to balance their positive community attachments with the area’s lack of occupational opportunities. Our work uniquely underscores that analysis of community context may be a key to understanding emerging adults’ educational and occupational pathways and aspirations in economically strained rural environments.