The Effects of Early Parental Death on Sibling Relationships in Later Life

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Y. Mack

The present study draws on elements of kinship and life course perspectives to examine the influence of parental death during childhood on adult sibling contact and closeness. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households ( N = 3,684), comparisons are made between adults who experienced early parental death and those with no history of childhood family disruptions, and between adults who experienced early maternal death and those who experienced paternal death during childhood. Results from Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analyses indicate that adults who experienced parental death during childhood do not have more sibling contact, but are closer to their siblings in adulthood than adults who grew up in intact families. In addition, adults who experienced maternal death during childhood have less sibling contact than adults who experienced paternal death, but there are not differences between these two groups in terms of closeness. These findings indicate that it is important to assess the long-term impact of early parental death on adult outcomes and that gender of the deceased parent may have more significant implications for some dimensions of adult sibling relationships than others.

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 1233-1254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi R. Riggio

This study examined sibling-dyad structural variables (sex composition, age difference, current coresidence, position adjacency, family size, respondent and/or sibling ordinal position) and attitudes toward adult sibling relationships. A sample of 1,053 young adults ( M age = 22.1 years) described one sibling using the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale. Position adjacency and family size were related to attitudes toward sibling relationships, including more positive recalled childhood sibling relationships in adjacent dyads and larger families and less positive sibling relationships recalled from childhood and in adulthood experienced by individuals with only one sibling. Results for respondent and sibling ordinal position were consistent, with individuals in the youngest-of-two ordinal position and those describing eldest siblings reporting less positive attitudes toward adult siblings. Implications for future research on the quality of adult sibling relationships throughout the life span are discussed.


Author(s):  
Danijela Randjelovic ◽  
◽  
Jelisaveta Todorovic ◽  
Miljana Spasic Snele

"The main objective of this study was to examine the relationship between parental educational styles, perfectionism in children, and the quality of adult sibling relationships. Additionally, the goal is to determine whether parental educational styles represent a significant predictor of perfectionism and quality of relationship between adults. The research was conducted on a sample of 200 respondents, students of the Faculty of Philosophy, the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics in Niš. EMBU questionnaires were used to examine the parental educational styles, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), and the KOBS Questionnaire on the quality of relationships with siblings in adulthood. The starting hypotheses have been partially confirmed and new questions have been raised about these constructs and their relationship. Statistically significant predictors of different aspects of perfectionism that were measured were a) significant predictors for the aspect of Parental Expectations were the following parental educational styles Overprotective mother (?=0.375, p=0.003) and Father’s Favoritism (?=-0.186, p=0.035), b) a significant predictor for the aspect of Organization was the following educational style Mother’s Emotional Warmth (?=0.335, p=0.031); c) significant predictors for Parental Criticism were the following educational styles Father’s Rejection (?=0.254, p=0.009) and Mother’s Emotional Warmth (?= -0.437, p=0.000), d) the significant predictor of Personal Standards was Overprotective mother (?= 0.307; p=0.042), e) significant predictors for Concern over Mistakes, were the following educational styles Parental Inconsistency (?=0.160; p=0.048) and Mother’s Emotional Warmth (?= -0.308, p=0.027), f) significant predictors of Doubts about Actions were the following educational styles, Parental Inconsistency (?=0.235, p=0.007), Overprotective mother (?= 0.304, p=0.035) and Mother’s Favoritism (?=0.222, p=0.028). When it comes to the quality of relationship between brothers and sisters, parental educational styles are also significant predictors of various aspects of those relationships. We are pointing out the most important results. Statistically significant predictors of the subscale Competition between siblings were the educational styles Father’s Rejection (?=0.469, p=0.000), Mother’s Favoritism (?=0.475, p=0.000), Father’s Favoritism (?=-0.196, p=0.029), and Mother’s Emotional Warmth (?=-0.313, p=0.019). Statistically significant predictors for the subscale Closeness or Warmth between siblings were the following educational styles Mother’s Rejection (?=-0.456, p=0.006) and Father’s Emotional Warmth (?=0.391, p=0.002). Statistically significant predictors for subscale the Conflict between siblings were the following educational styles Father’s Rejection (?=0.355, p=0.003) and Mother’s Favoritism (?=0.337, p=0.000). These results show that both rejection and favoritism by the parents contribute to the development of less desired relationships between siblings. Overprotective parents, inconsistency and favoritism of a child contribute to less desired aspects of perfectionism. Additional analysis of connection between perfectionism and relationship between siblings revealed that the less desired aspects of perfectionism are connected with bad relationships between siblings. The only exception is the aspect of Organization as it is connected with emotional and instrumental support, familiarity, closeness and admiration between siblings."


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