Perceived Sibling Relationships and Adolescent Development

• Published in: Journal of youth and adolescence Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 133 - 147
• Main Authors: Yeh, Hsiu-Chen, Lempers, Jacques D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Springer-Verlag New York, LLC 01.04.2004; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Adolescents; Alcohol; Biological and medical sciences; Child development; Children & youth; Couple and family; Depression (Psychology); Development; Developmental psychology; Drug use; Families & family life; Friendship; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Loneliness; Longitudinal studies; Parents & parenting; Peers; Personal relationships; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Self esteem; Self image; Sexual behavior; Sibling Relationship; Sibling relationships; Siblings; Social change; Social psychology; Social support; Structural Equation Models; System theory; Systems Approach; Teenagers; USA; Human; Social environment; Academic achievement; Structural equation modeling; Personality development; Personality; Sibling; adolescent development; longitudinal; perceived sibling relationships; structural equation modeling; Follow up study; Social interaction; Adolescent; Family environment; Familial relation; Self esteem; Socialization
• ISSN: 0047-2891; 1573-6601
• DOI: 10.1023/B:JOYO.0000013425.86424.0f

Utilizing longitudinal, 3-wave data collected from multiple informants (fathers, mothers, and target children) in 374 families, the potential effects of sibling relationships on adolescent development across early and middle adolescence were investigated. Adolescents who perceived their sibling relationships more positively at Time 1 tended to have better friendships and higher self-esteem at Time 2, which, in turn, were associated with less loneliness, less depression, and fewer delinquent behaviors and less substance use at Time 3. Moreover, a bidirectional relationship was found between adolescent self-esteem and the quality of their sibling relationships, suggesting that a more positive sibling relationship helps to enhance adolescent self-esteem, and that higher adolescent self-esteem predicts a more positive sibling relationship. A bidirectional relationship was also found between adolescent sibling relationships and adolescent friendships. However, a much stronger association between adolescent sibling relationships at Time 1 and adolescent friendships at Time 2, than between adolescent friendships at Time 1 and adolescent sibling relationships at Time 2, may suggest that the quality of an earlier sibling relationship is more predictive of the quality of a later friendship for adolescents rather than the other way around.