Sibling relationship quality and young children’s mental health in Chinese two-child families

With enactment of the universal two-child policy in China in 2016, the two-child family will replace the one-child family as the main family form. In this study we examined the contribution of sibling relationship quality in shaping the mental health of Chinese children in a two-child family. Parents (N = 280) reported the quality of their children’s sibling relationship, and their firstborn’s problematic and prosocial behavior, and temperament. Parents’ marital satisfaction and coparenting were also assessed. The results showed that after we had controlled for the child characteristics of age, gender, temperament, sibling age difference, and sibling gender difference, and for the parental characteristics of age and marital satisfaction, and coparenting, sibling negativity and positivity were both significantly related to child problematic behavior. In addition, sibling positivity was significantly related to child prosocial behavior. The results suggest that parents in a two-child family should provide guidance for their children’s sibling relationship, and, in particular, increase the children’s positive interaction to improve their mental health.

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Rethinking leisure time use metrics: Greater diversity in shared sibling leisure is associated with higher relationship quality during emerging adulthood

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships ◽

10.1177/0265407519867771 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 516-537

Author(s):

Eric K. Layland ◽

Camilla J. Hodge ◽

Mikala Glaza ◽

Jerrica O. Peets

Keyword(s):

Emerging Adulthood ◽

Relationship Quality ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Sibling Relationship ◽

Age Difference ◽

Sibling Relationship Quality ◽

Taxonomic Analysis ◽

Gender Dyads ◽

Sibling Gender ◽

Mixed Gender

Leisure diversity—the total number of unique leisure categories shared within a sibling dyad—may vary according to sibling characteristics (e.g., sibling gender, age difference) and predict sibling relationship quality. Using triangulated lists, brief narratives, and focus groups, we constructed a taxonomy of shared sibling leisure in emerging adulthood and then calculated individual leisure diversity scores. The sample ( N = 185) included college-attending emerging adults with an average age of 20.1 years (35.7% female). Taxonomic analysis suggested 19 categories of shared sibling leisure. Analyses of variance indicated differences by dyadic gender composition in endorsement rates of select leisure categories and average levels of leisure diversity (lowest for mixed-gender dyads). Greater shared leisure diversity was associated with higher levels of affective (sister–sister dyads) and cognitive relationship quality (sister–sister and mixed-gender dyads). The association of leisure diversity with sibling relationship quality was strongest for sister–sister dyads and not significant for brother–brother dyads. Sibling dyads that include a sister are more likely to be impacted by the level of shared leisure diversity. The results of this study introduce leisure diversity as a metric for quantifying sibling leisure and support its potential as a means for understanding and impacting sibling relationship quality in emerging adulthood.

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