THE ASSESSMENT OF CHILDHOOD SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS - VARYING PERSPECTIVES ON COOPERATION AND CONFLICT

The levels of cooperation and conflict in the relationships of 40 sibl ing pairs, 11 to 14 years old, were explored from several different pe rspectives. Ratings of levels of cooperation and conflict in the sibli ng relationship were obtained from the participants, siblings, and mot hers. Amounts of cooperation and conflict were also coded from respons es to a projective story test that elicited perceptions of the relatio nship from each child, and from their conjoint performance on three in teractive tasks. Either child's perspective on the sibling relationshi p evidenced more conflict and less cooperation relative to maternal ev aluations. Interactive tasks revealed more cooperation, whereas projec tive stories revealed more conflict for these siblings. In addition, l evels of cooperation varied by sex, birth order, and dyad type, wherea s conflict levels differed only by dyad type.