Ea. Stormshak et al., THE QUALITY OF SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL COMPETENCE AND BEHAVIORAL-CONTROL IN AGGRESSIVE-CHILDREN, Developmental psychology, 32(1), 1996, pp. 79-89
To understand the relations between sibling interactions and the socia
l adjustment of children with behavior problems, 53 aggressive 1st- an
d 2nd-grade children, their mothers, and their siblings were interview
ed about positive and negative aspects of the sibling relationship. Wh
en conflict and warmth were considered together, 3 types of sibling dy
ads emerged: conflictual (high levels of conflict, low levels of warmt
h), involved (moderate levels of conflict and warmth), and supportive
(low levels of conflict, high levels of warmth). On most measures of s
ocial adjustment at school, children in involved sibling relationships
showed better adjustment than did children in conflictual relationshi
ps. Results are discussed in terms of a developmental model for at-ris
k children in which some sibling relationships may foster the developm
ent of social skills in addition to providing emotional support, which
may enhance adjustment at school.