THE FAMILY CORRELATES OF MATERNAL AND PATERNAL PERCEPTIONS OF DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT IN EARLY-CHILDHOOD

Family patterns of differential parental treatment were examined for b oth mothers and fathers of preschool-aged siblings in an effort to det ermine (1) whether parents ''favored'' the younger sibling over the ol der sibling; (2) whether similar distributions of differential treatme nt emerged across the affection, control and favoritism dimensions of parenting; and (3) whether different correlates of family functioning emerged across different family constellations of differential parenta l treatment. Most parents reported treating their two children equally and did not favor younger children over their older siblings. In the case of differential control, mothers reported disciplining older sibl ings more than a younger brother or sister. Mothers' reports of differ ential favoritism did not parallel their reports of differential affec tion and control, yet there was an association between differential pa ternal favoritism and differential enjoyment. Congruent patterns of di fferential treatment (i.e., mothers and fathers showed the same patter n) were the most frequent. Optimal family functioning was not always a ssociated with equal treatment of siblings.