A family process model linked mothers' and fathers' psychological functioni
ng to sibling relationship quality in a sample of 85 9- to 12-year-old Afri
can American youths and their married parents living in the rural Southeast
ern United States. Members of the rural African American community particip
ated in the development of the research methods. Better parental psychologi
cal functioning was linked to closer and more supportive relationships in t
he nuclear and extended families and with more supportive parenting practic
es. In turn, these family processes ware linked with children's development
of self-regulation. Self-regulated youths experienced more harmonious and
less conflicted sibling relationships.