C. Stocker et al., MARITAL SATISFACTION AND MATERNAL EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIVENESS - LINKS WITH CHILDRENS SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS, Social development, 6(3), 1997, pp. 373-385
Associations between marital quality, maternal emotional expressivenes
s and children's sibling relationships were examined in a sample of 64
seven-year-olds and their mothers. Mothers reported on the quality of
their marital relationships, and children rated the quality of their
sibling relationships. Mothers and children provided data on maternal
emotional expressiveness. Results indicated that marital dissatisfacti
on was associated with hostile and rivalrous sibling relationships and
with maternal negative emotional expressiveness. Mothers' negative em
otional expressiveness was correlated with hostile and rivalrous sibli
ng relationships, and maternal positive emotional expressiveness was a
ssociated with affectionate sibling relationships. Maternal emotional
expressiveness mediated the links between the marital relationship and
sibling hostility and rivalry.