Sibling comparison of differential parental treatment in adolescence: Gender, self-esteem, and emotionality as mediators of the parenting-adjustment association

This study employs findings from social comparison research to investigate adolescents' comparisons with siblings with regard to parental treatment. T he sibling comparison hypothesis was tested on a sample of 516 two-child fa milies by examining whether gender, self-esteem, and emotionality-which hav e been found in previous research to moderate social comparison-also modera te sibling comparison as reflected by siblings' own evaluations of differen tial parental treatment. Results supported a moderating effect for self-est eem and emotionality but not gender. The sibling comparison process was fur ther examined by using a structural equation model in which parenting towar d each child was associated with the adjustment of that child and of the ch ild's sibling. Evidence of the "sibling barricade" effect-that is, parentin g toward one child being Linked with opposite results on the child's siblin g as on the target child-was found in a limited number of cases and interpr eted as reflecting a sibling comparison process. For older siblings, emotio nality and self-esteem moderated the sibling barricade effect but in the op posite direction as predicted. Results are discussed in terms of older sibl ings' increased sensitivity to parenting as well as the report of different ial parenting reflecting the child's level of comfort and benign understand ing of differential parenting, which buffers the child against environmenta l vicissitudes evoking sibling comparison processes.