Does stress exacerbate parental differential treatment of siblings? A pattern-analytic approach

To develop a typology based on family members' perspectives on parental dif ferential treatment of siblings, data from mothers, fathers, firstborn adol escent siblings (M = 15 years), and second-born adolescent siblings (M = 12 .5 years) from 187 families were submitted to cluster analysis. A 4-cluster solution based on the convergence or divergence of reports and the levels of parental differential treatment was identified and replicated: convergen t/all below average (n = 94), convergent/all above average (n = 48), diverg ent/all below average except older sibling (n = 20), and divergent/all abov e average except mother (n = 25). Analyses revealed cluster differences in family structure (e.g., sex of siblings, age spacing) and in parents' perce ived levels of stress across several domains (e.g., work, marriage, and ind ividual mental health).