Nina Howe

Siblings as Confidants: Emotional Understanding, Relationship Warmth, and Sibling Self‐Disclosure

Associations among (a) self-disclosures between early adolescent siblings, (b) emotional understanding, and (c) relationship warmth were investigated. Grade 5–6 children (M age = 11.5 years) were interviewed concerning the incidence of disclosures to closest-in-age siblings (20 = older, 20 = younger), feelings regarding disclosing (or not), and sibling relationship quality. Warmth was measured with the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985) and emotional understanding was assessed with the Hypothetical Relationships Picture Task (adapted from Schneider, 1989, & Aquan-Assee, 1992). Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated self-disclosure was positively associated with feeling good about sharing and negatively associated with reports of not trusting or not receiving emotional support from their sibling. Sibling relationship warmth was a key characteristic associated with both emotional understanding and self-disclosure; female target children demonstrated greater emotional understanding. Warmth, but not emotional understanding, was associated with self-disclosure. Findings are discussed in light of the importance of links between affective relationships and children’s social-emotional understanding.

Solitary play and convergent and divergent thinking skills in preschool children

This study examined the relationship between multiple forms of solitary play (solitary-active, solitary-passive, reticence) and convergent and divergent thinking. Seventy-two children (42 boys, 30 girls, M age=4.5 years) were observed and social and cognitive play, types and use of materials were recorded. All children were administered the Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement Test (TCAM) (Torrance, 1981) to assess divergent thinking and the PPVT test and the Picture Completion subtest (WISC-R) to measure convergent thinking. Reticent behavior was more strongly negatively associated with convergent and divergent thinking than either solitary-active or solitary-passive play, whereas solitary-active play was more strongly positively related to divergent thinking. Associations between types of materials (open-, closed-ended) and use (intended, nonintended ways) and (a) types of solitary players and (b) thinking skills were investigated. Findings are discussed in terms of recent theoretical advances in understanding types of solitary activity and links with thinking skills. Practical recommendations are advanced for supporting solitary play in the early childhood classroom.

Perceived non-shared environment, personality traits, family factors and developmental experiences in bulimia nervosa

OBJECTIVE The role of perceived non-shared environmental influences and personality traits in the risk of developing bulimia nervosa (BN) was compared in 40 women with BN and their non-eating disordered sisters. METHODS The two sisters were compared for (a) eating pathology, (b) perceived non-shared environmental factors (differential family relationships, developmental teasing, traumatic experiences), (c) personality traits (impulsivity, affective instability, narcissism), and (d) psychopathology (anxiety, depression). RESULTS Specific perceived non-shared risk factors (e.g. perceptions of teasing), nonspecific non-shared risk factors (e.g. insecure paternal attachment) and personality traits (e.g. narcissism) distinguished women with BN from sisters. In the final logistic regression, insecure paternal attachment predicted the risk for BN, while trends were apparent for narcissism and developmental teasing after controlling for psychopathology. CONCLUSIONS Our correlational cross-sectional design does not allow for investigation of direction of effects. However, it is an important first step in identifying possible perceived non-shared environmental influences and personality traits that may constitute vulnerability factors predisposing individuals to the development of BN. Findings are discussed in the light of existing models of risk factors for the etiology of BN.

The Influence of the Physical Design of the Dramatic Play Center on Children's Play.

The center theme (extended house, train station) and design of the equipment (solitary versus group design) of the dramatic play center were manipulated to observe the effects on childrens social and cognitive play behaviors. Thirty-one 4- and 5-years-olds were observed in the traditional housekeeping center, 1 week before, 1 week after, and during the implementation of the four intervention dramatic play centers (i.e., extended house-solitary, extended house-group, train station-solitary, train stationgroup). Results revealed that (a) the solitary-designed centers facilitated more solitary play interactions and group-designed centers facilitated more group play interactions; (b) overall, a significantly higher frequency of dramatic play was observed in the intervention and follow-up housekeeping centers than in the baseline housekeeping centers; (c) children engaged in a wider range of roles (e.g., garage mechanic, taxi driver, mother, father) in the extended house center compared with other centers; (d) thematic centers may have limited the childrens role enactment to the theme of the center. Theoretical implications of the influence of the physical ecology of the dramatic play center on childrens play were discussed.

Sibling Conflict in Middle Childhood: Influence of Maternal Context and Mother-Sibling Interaction over Four Years

Two issues relevant to relationships models of development were investigated: (1) the influence of maternal context (present, absent) on frequency and types of conflicts of 24 sibling dyads in middle childhood and (2) the stability of maternal and sibling interaction over four years. Maternal presence depressed conflict frequency and aggression; in maternal absence, siblings disagreed about abstract (i.e., procedures/play plans) and concrete (i.e., object) issues and used relatively sophisticated resolutions. Longitudinal findings revealed that earlier patterns of family interaction were related to later indices of sibling conflict and maternal interaction. Specifically, (1) earlier rates of sibling play and hostile interaction were related to sibling conflicts, (2) greater maternal interaction was associated with later sibling conflict, and (3) greater sibling interaction was related to less maternal interaction over time. Findings are discussed in light of recent literature on sibling conflict and the development of social understanding within the context of close relationships.

Patterns in Mother-Child Internal State Discourse across Four Contexts

Internal state language is a unique indicator of childrens social understanding. In the current study, the role of context and type of internal state language was investigated. Mother-child internal state discourse in 32 middle-class Canadian families (child M age = 46.4 months) was examined across four contexts: (1) a reflective picture task, and (2) home interactions characterized by (a) neutral, (b) positive, and (c) negative exchanges. Type of mother and child internal state discourse (cognitions, goals, preferences, emotions) varied across and within the different contexts. The strength of the associations between different types of maternal and child talk also varied across and within contexts, which may illuminate the degree of responsiveness in mother-child discourse. Implications for developing greater family sensitivity to internal states, as well as links with current theory and research, are discussed.

Individual Differences in Sibling Teaching in Early and Middle Childhood.

Research Findings: Sibling teaching and learning behaviors were investigated in 2 studies of children in early and middle childhood. Study 1 addressed individual differences in teaching/learning and associations with dyadic age, age gap, gender, birth order, and relationship quality in 71 middle-class dyads (firstborns M age = 81.54 months; second-borns M age = 56.27 months). Half of the firstborn and half of the second-born siblings were assigned the role of teacher. Regression analyses indicated that dyadic age and age gap made unique contributions to teacher and learner behavior. Few birth order differences in approaches to teaching/learning were revealed. Findings highlight the reciprocal nature of sibling teaching and learning. Study 2 investigated longitudinal associations between sibling relationship quality and teaching in a second sample (at Time 1 firstborns = 46.8 months; second-borns = 14 months). Positive sibling interaction (including play) at Time 1 was associated with teaching/learning behaviors 4 years later. Practice or Policy: Findings are discussed in light of recent social constructivist notions that childrens development is facilitated in the context of intimate relationships.

The ecology of dramatic play centers and children's social and cognitive play*

Traditional housekeeping and novel dramatic play centers were employed to compare the effects of theme, novelty, and duration on the social and cognitive play of 2 1/2- to 5-year-old children in a repeated-measures design (Term 1, n = 47; Term 2, n = 53). Significantly more dramatic play was observed in the familiar than the unfamiliar centers and on Day 1 of each novel center than on Day 3. The hypothesis that children would engage in more frequent dramatic play in the novel and postintervention housekeeping centers, compared to baseline, was generally not supported. Girls preferred the traditional housekeeping centers, whereas boys preferred the novel centers; age differences in preferences were also apparent. Findings are discussed in light of direct implications for curriculum planning and specific recommendations are advanced for educators.

Sibling relationships as sources of risk and resilience in the development and maintenance of internalizing and externalizing problems during childhood and adolescence.

Sibling relationships are a unique and powerful context for childrens development, characterized by strong positive features, such as warmth and intimacy, as well as negative qualities like intense, potentially destructive conflict. For these reasons, sibling interactions may be both a risk and a protective factor for the development and maintenance of emotional and behavioral dysfunction. We review evidence indicating that sibling interactions are linked to internalizing and externalizing symptoms and identify possible mechanisms for these associations. Sibling conflict contributes uniquely to symptomatology and may be particularly problematic when accompanied by lack of warmth, which is generally associated with decreased internalizing and externalizing problems. On the other hand, greater warmth can be associated with heightened externalizing symptoms for later-born children who may model the behavior of older siblings. Although it will be important to monitor for increased sibling collusion, several intervention studies demonstrate that it is possible to reduce conflict and increase warmth between brothers and sisters, and that improving sibling interactions can teach children social-cognitive skills that are beneficial in other relationships (e.g., friendships). Developing brief assessment tools differentiating normative from pathogenic sibling conflict would assist clinical decision making. Future intervention work could provide a more stringent test of the hypothesis that strengthening sibling relationships improves childrens socio-emotional adjustment.

Sibling Relationships as a Context for Learning and Development

Close relationships are key contexts for young childrens development, and siblings in particular play a critical role in family dynamics and are important socialization agents for one another (Car...