Sarah E. Killoren

Mechanisms of sibling socialization in normative family development

Siblings are important sources of social influence throughout childhood and adolescence. Nevertheless, the processes by which siblings influence one another remain relatively unexplored. We highlight two theories of sibling influence-sibling deidentification and social learning-that offer insights as to how and why siblings develop similar and different attributes, attitudes, and behaviors. Recognizing the need to move past post hoc explanations, we suggest several directions for how these two influence processes can be measured directly in future work. Research on sibling influence also can be improved by integrating these theories and attending to their domains of influence.

Family and cultural correlates of Mexican-origin youths' sexual intentions.

Understanding how culture and familial relationships are related to Mexican-origin youths’ normative sexual development is important. Using cultural-ecological, sexual scripting, and risk and resilience perspectives, the associations between parent-adolescent relationship characteristics, adolescents’ cultural orientations and familism values, and sexual intentions among 246 Mexican-origin adolescents (50% female) were investigated. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the connections between youths’ cultural orientations and familism values and their intentions to engage in sexual intercourse and to test the moderating role of parent-adolescent relationship characteristics and adolescent sex. For boys, under conditions of high maternal acceptance, higher Anglo orientations and higher Mexican orientations were related to greater sexual intentions. For girls, familism values played a protective role and were related to fewer sexual intentions when girls spent less time with their parents. The findings highlight the complex nature of relationships between culture, family relationships, and youths’ sexual intentions and different patterns for girls versus boys.

Domain Differentiated Disclosure to Mothers and Siblings and Associations with Sibling Relationship Quality and Youth Emotional Adjustment.

Disclosure, or revealing personal information to others, is important for the development and maintenance of close relationships (Jourard, 1971; Rotenberg, 1995). More recently within developmental psychology, however, the focus has been the study of adolescent disclosure to parents as a means of information management regarding their daily activities. This research assumes that a) disclosure between multiple adolescents and parents within the same family are similar, and b) only information transmitted from adolescents to parents is important for adolescent well-being. Thus, this article presents the findings of 2 within-family studies to investigate differences in the amount and social domain (Smetana, 2006; Turiel, 2002) of youth disclosure to mothers versus siblings, and the influence of disclosure to siblings on relationship quality and youth emotional adjustment. Study 1 utilized 101 sibling dyads with youth ranging in age from 11-21 years, but all siblings living together. Study 2 investigated a sample of 58 sibling dyads in which all first-borns were first-year college students and all second-borns were in high school. All participants completed questionnaire measures to assess study variables. Findings revealed that while youth disclosed more to mothers than siblings, this difference disappears by emerging adulthood, particularly depending on the domain of the issue. Additionally, while greater disclosure among siblings was positive for the quality of the relationship, sibling disclosure was differentially associated with emotional adjustment depending on whether youth were the disclosers or being disclosed to, the domain of the issues disclosed, and the gender composition of the dyad.

Sibling relationship quality and Mexican-origin adolescents’ and young adults’ familism values and adjustment:

We examined profiles of sibling relationship qualities in 246 Mexican-origin families living in the United States using latent profile analyses. Three profiles were identified: Positive, Negative, and Affect-Intense. Links between profiles and youths’ familism values and adjustment were assessed using longitudinal data. Siblings in the Positive profile reported the highest familism values, followed by siblings in the Affect-Intense profile and, finally, siblings in the Negative profile. Older siblings in the Positive and Affect-Intense profiles reported fewer depressive symptoms than siblings in the Negative profile. Further, in the Positive and Negative profiles, older siblings reported less involvement in risky behaviors than younger siblings. In the Negative profile, younger siblings reported greater sexual risk behaviors in late adolescence than older siblings; siblings in opposite-sex dyads, as compared to same-sex dyads, engaged in riskier sexual behaviors. Our findings highlight sibling relationship quality as promotive and risky, depending on sibling characteristics and adjustment outcomes.

Implications of parent–child relationships for emerging adults’ subjective feelings about adulthood.

Little is known about the role of parents in promoting their children’s successful transition to adulthood, particularly for college students who may maintain stronger ties to parents than other emerging adults. The present study therefore investigated longitudinal implications of parent–child relationship qualities during emerging adults’ first year of college for their feelings about the upcoming transition to adulthood 3 years later, as well as implications of 3 types of parental control (behavioral control, psychological control, helicopter parenting) for these associations. Multilevel models indicated that emerging adults who reported less negativity in their relationships with mothers and fathers felt more like adults 3 years later compared with emerging adults with low-quality relationships, while high levels of psychological control and helicopter parenting had detrimental implications for their vocational identity development and perceived competence regarding their transition to adulthood. However, nuanced interactions between parent–child relationship quality and parental control indicated that behavioral control had positive implications for outcomes if it occurred within the context of high-quality relationships, or when utilized with sons. The present study highlights the complex role that parents may play during college students’ transition to adulthood, and future work should continue to examine ways that clinicians can incorporate parents as a potential resource for promoting emerging adults’ successful transition to adulthood and the workforce.

US Latino adolescents’ use of mass media and mediated communication in romantic relationships*

Abstract The present study uses uncertainty reduction theory to analyze how Latino adolescents perceive that mass media influence their conceptions of romantic relationships. In addition, we explore how these adolescents use social media in their romantic relationships. Data are from five focus groups with 44 Latino adolescents (M = 16.39 years old; 59% female) in the US Midwest. Findings indicate that Latino adolescents believe media portray unrealistic ideals of romantic relationships, yet these teens also see the portrayals as ideals to which they should aspire. When it comes to social media, the youth perceived one-to-one mediated communication (e.g. Skype) as beneficial to their romantic relationships, but evaluated one-to-many mediated communication (e.g. Facebook, Instagram) as largely negative. Our findings identify three sources of evidence in the latter context that create relational uncertainty: (1) visual, (2) partner communication, and (3) third-party communication.

Content and correlates of sisters’ messages about dating and sexuality

Siblings are influential on one another’s romantic relationships and sexual behaviors, and examining mechanisms of this influence is important. Using a sample of 62 sister dyads, we examined the content of sisters’ messages about dating and sexuality and correlates of these messages. Sisters shared messages with one another about dating logistics, dating partners, sex, and the importance of self. Using actor–partner interdependence models, we examined how both dyad members’ romantic relationship status and sexual experiences, intentions, and attitudes were associated with sisters’ messages. We found sisters’ experiences—especially older sisters’ experiences—were associated with the content of messages. Consistent with symbolic interactionism, the findings point to the importance of examining sibling communication about dating and sexuality as an important socialization mechanism through which sisters may influence one another’s romantic relationships and sexuality development.

Mexican American college students’ perceptions of youth success.

Given the recent research agenda focused on positive youth development (PYD), it is important to consider PYD from the perspective of young people. Using qualitative data collected from open-ended responses, 141 Mexican American college students (Ages 18–22; 81.6% female; 84.2% U.S.-born) reported on their perceptions of the definition of youth success and ideas about what contributes to youth success. We conducted inductive thematic analysis and found that Mexican American college students identified definitions of success related to 3 themes: academic (e.g., school success), individual (e.g., personal qualities), and social (e.g., positive family relationships) factors. Further, factors relating to the individual (e.g., school involvement), relationships (e.g., supportive family), and the environment (e.g., resource availability) emerged as important contributors to youth success. Academic success, youths’ personal qualities, and positive and supportive family relationships and friendships were of particular importance to Mexican American college students’ perspectives on definitions of youth success and contributors to youth success. Debido a la reciente agenda de investigación enfocada en el desarrollo positivo de la juventud (DPJ), es importante considerar el DPJ desde la perspectiva de los jóvenes. Utilizando datos cualitativos recabados mediante las respuestas de preguntas abiertas de 141 estudiantes universitarios México-Americanos (de 18–22 años de edad; 81.6% mujeres; 84.2% nacidos en Estados Unidos), investigamos las percepciones de estudiantes universitarios sobre la definición del éxito juvenil y sobre sus ideas acerca de lo que contribuye al éxito juvenil. Utilizando un análisis temático inductivo, encontramos que los estudiantes universitarios México-Americanos identificaron definiciones de éxito relacionadas a tres temas: a factores académicos (por ejemplo, éxito escolar), individuales (por ejemplo, cualidades personales) y sociales (por ejemplo, relaciones familiares positivas). Además, hubieron factores relacionados con el individuo (por ejemplo, participación en la escuela), con sus familiares y amigos (por ejemplo, recibir apoyo de la familia), y con el ambiente (por ejemplo, disponibilidad de recursos) que surgieron como contribuyentes importantes al éxito juvenil. El éxito académico, las cualidades personales de los jóvenes, y las relaciones positivas con familiares y amigos fueron de mayor importancia en las perspectivas de los estudiantes universitarios México-Americanos sobre sus definiciones del éxito juvenil y sobre los contribuyentes al éxito juvenil.

Family Members’ Relationship Qualities and Prosocial Behaviors in U.S. Mexican Young Adults: The Roles of Familism and Ethnic Identity Resolution:

Scholars have asserted that family relationships may have a prominent role in fostering prosocial behaviors. However, there is limited research on the quality of relationships with fathers and siblings in predicting prosocial behaviors, particularly in U.S. Mexican samples. Furthermore, culture-related mechanisms are rarely considered in examining these relations. The present study examines the associations between family relationship quality and U.S. Mexican young adults’ prosocial behaviors. Participants included 186 U.S. Mexican young adults who completed measures of parental acceptance, sibling intimacy, familism values, ethnic identity resolution, and prosocial behaviors. Relationship quality was positively associated with greater endorsement of familism values. In turn, familism values were positively associated with ethnic identity resolution, and ethnic identity resolution was associated with multiple forms of prosocial behaviors. These results highlight the importance of examining multiple sources of socialization and culture-related processes as mechanisms that may predict positive social outcomes in U.S. Mexican young adults.