Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T05:37:41.324Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Quality of sibling relationship and family functioning in Greek families with school-age children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2019

Anastasia Tsamparli  and
Helias Halios
Anastasia Tsamparli*
Affiliation:
Department of Primary Education, University of the Aegean, Greece
Helias Halios
Affiliation:
Department of Primary Education, University of the Aegean, Greece
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to examine the quality of sibling relationships in relation to family functioning in Greek families with typically developing school-age children. The sample: 251 intact Greek families with two children (251 parents — 1 parent participated from each family — and 251 children). Research instruments: (a) the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales III (FACES III; Olson, 1986), administered to both parents and children), (b) the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ; Furman& Buhrmester, 1985); and (c) the family constellation: number of children, birth order, gender and socioeconomic level. According to the findings, the quality of a sibling relationship is associated with family cohesion and adaptability. Regarding children’s gender, the Warmth/Closeness scale is lower in families with children of different gender compared to families with children of the same gender. Regarding birth order, first-born children report higher levels of cohesion (ideal and actual), as well as higher Warmth/Closeness (children and parents), in comparison to the second-born children. Regarding parental educational level, parents and children report a higher level when it comes to ideal family and cohesion type (ideal level), as well as higher Warmth/Closeness (parents) when at least one of the parents has a university education background.

Keywords

sibling relationships in school-aged childrenperception of the quality of sibling relationshipsfamily cohesion and adaptabilityGreek family cohesion and adaptability
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , December 2019 , pp. 190 - 205
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Cambridge University Press 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adamis, D., Tsamparli, A., & Talanti, K. (2015). Psychometric analysis of the Greek version of the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire. Psychology, 22, 1–13.Google Scholar
Bibou, I., Stogiannidou, A., Papageorgiou, B., & Kioseoglou, G. (2002). The reliability of FACES III scale in Greece. Athens, Greece: Hellinika Grammata.Google Scholar
Brody, G.H. (2004). Siblings’ direct and indirect contributions to child development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 124–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brody, G.H., Stoneman, Z., & McCoy, J.K. (1994). Contributions of family relationships and child temperaments to longitudinal variations in sibling relationship quality and sibling relationship styles. Journal of Family Psychology, 8, 274–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowen, M. (1976). Family therapy: Theory and practice. New York, NY: Gadner Press.Google Scholar
Buist, K.L., Metindogan, A., Coban, S., Watve, S., Paranjpe, A., Koot, H.M., … Meeus, W.H.J. (2017). Cross-cultural differences in sibling power balance and its concomitants across three age periods. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 156, 87–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coplan, R.J., Arbeau, K.A., & Armer, M. (2008). Don’t fret, be supportive! Maternal characteristics linking child shyness to psychosocial and school adjustment in kindergarten. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 359–371.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dawson, A., Pike, A., & Bird, L. (2015). Parental division of household labour and sibling relationship quality: Family relationship mediators. Infant and Child Development, 24, 379–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Della, Porta S., & Howe, N. (2017). Siblings’ power and influence in polyadic family conflict during early childhood. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 156, 15–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dreikurs, R., & Dinkmeyer, D. (1979). Encouraging children to learn the encouragement process. Athens, Greece: Thimari.Google Scholar
Dunn, J. (2007). Siblings and socialization. In Grusec, J.E., and Hastings, P.D. (Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (pp. 309–327). New York, NY: Guilford.Google Scholar
Faith, M.A., Elledge, L.C., Newgent, R.A., & Cavell, T.A. (2015) Conflict and dominance between siblings as predictors of children’s peer victimization. Journal of Child and Family Studies 24, 3623–3635.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fosco, G, Stormshak, E Dishion, T., & Winter, C (2012). Family relationships and parental monitoring during middle school as predictors of early adolescent problem behavior. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 41, 202–213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frank, H. (2007). Young adults’ relationship with parents and siblings: The role of marital status, conflict and post-divorce predictors. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 46, 105–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Children’s perceptions of the qualities of their sibling relationships. Child Development, 56, 448–461.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1992). Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships. Child Development, 63, 103–115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Furman, W., & Giberson, R. (1995). Identifying the links between parents and their children’s sibling relationships. In Shulman, S. (Ed.), Close relationships and socioemotional development (pp. 95–108). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Gamble, C.W., & Yu, J.J. (2014). Young children’s sibling relationship interactional types: Associations with family characteristics, parenting, and child characteristics. Early Education and Development, 25, 223–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iosifidis, T. (2003). Analysis of qualitative data in social sciences. Athens, Greece: Kritiki.Google Scholar
Iosifidis, T. (2008). Qualitative research methods in social sciences. Athens, Greece: Kritiki.Google Scholar
McGuire, S., Manke, B. Eftekhari, A., & Dunn, J. (2000). Children’s perceptions of sibling conflict during middle childhood: Issues and sibling (dis)similarity. Social Development, 9, 173–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kogidou, D. (2004). Demographic trends and changes in family organization in Greece. In Karavatos, T. (Ed.), Inside and outside and on psychiatry (pp. 47–77). Thessaloniki, Greece: University Studio Press.Google Scholar
Manders, W.A., Cook, W.L., Oud, J.H.L., Scholte, R.H.J., Janssens, J.M.A., & De Bruyin, E.E.J. (2007). Level validity of self-report whole-family measures. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 605–613.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McHale, S.M., & Crouter, A.C. (1996). The family contexts of children’s sibling relationships. In Brody, G.H. (Ed), Sibling relationships: Their causes and consequences. Advances in applied developmental psychology (pp. 173–195). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.Google Scholar
Milevsky, A. (2004). Perceived parental marital satisfaction and divorce: Effects on sibling relations in emerging adults. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 41, 115–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milevsky, A., Smoot, K., Leh, M., & Ruppe, R. (2005). Familial and contextual variables and the nature of sibling relationships in emerging adulthood. Marriage and Family Review, 37, 123–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Morgan, J.K., Shaw, D.S., & Olino, T.M. (2012). Differential susceptibility effects: The interaction of negative emotionality and sibling relationship quality on childhood internalizing problems and social skills. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40, 885–899.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Modry-Mandell, K.L., Gamble, W.C., & Taylor, A.R. (2007). Family emotional climate and sibling relationship quality: Influences on behavioral problems and adaptation in preschool-aged children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 61–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noller, P., Feeney, J.A. Sheehan, G. Darlington, Y., & Rogers, C. (2008). Conflict in divorcing and continuously married families: A study of marital, parent–child and sibling relationships. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 49, 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ohannessian, C.M., Laird, R., & De Los Reyes, A. (2016). Discrepancies in adolescents’ and mothers’ perceptions of the family and mothers’ psychological symptomatology. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 2011–2021.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olson, D.H. (1986). Circumplex Model VII: Validation studies and FACES III. Family Process, 25, 337–351.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perlman, M., Garfinkel, D.A., & Turrell, S.L. (2007). Parent and sibling influences on the quality of children’s conflict behaviors across the preschool period. Social Development, 16, 619–641.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peretolcina, D., & Liders, A (2014). Cultural differences in the perception of family situation among teens from Uzbek and Russian families. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 146, 124–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pollet, T.V., & Nettle, D. (2009). Birth order and family relationships in adult life: Firstborns report better sibling relationships than laterborns. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 26, 1029–1046.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poortman, A.R., & Voorpostel, M. (2009). Parental divorce and sibling relationship: A research note. Journal of Family Issues, 30, 74–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Recchia, H.E., & Witwit, M. (2017). Family perspectives on siblings’ conflict goals in middle childhood: Links to hierarchical and affective features of sibling relationships. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 156, 33–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richmond, M.K., & Stocker, C.M. (2008). Longitudinal associations between parents’ hostility and siblings’ externalizing problems behavior in the context of marital discord. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 231–240.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sameroff, A. (Ed.). (2009). The transactional model of development: How children and contexts shape each other (pp. 3–21). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, R. (2004). Sibling relationships: Theory and issues for practice. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scharf, M., Shulman, S., & Avigad-Spitz, L. (2005). Sibling relationships in emerging adulthood and in adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20, 64–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheehan, G., Darlington, Y., Noller, P., & Feeney, J. (2004). Children’s perceptions of their sibling relationships during parental separation and divorce. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 41, 69–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shulman, S., & Scharf, M. (2010). Adolescent romantic behaviors and perceptions: Age- and gender-related differences, and links with family and peer relationships. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 10, 99–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spear, L.P. (2000). The adolescent brain and age-related behavioral manifestations. Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews, 24, 417–463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spitze, G., & Trent, K (2006). Gender differences in adult sibling relations in two-child families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 977–992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanley, S.M. (2007). Assessing couple and marital relationships: Beyond form and toward a deeper knowledge of function. In Hofferth, S.L., and Casper, L.M. (Eds.), Handbook of measurement issues in family research (pp. 85–100). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Stormshak, E.A., Bellanti, C.J., Bierman, K.L., & Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1996). The quality of sibling relationships and the development of social competence and behavioral control in aggressive children. Developmental Psychology, 32, 79–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svetina, M., Zabret, E., & Bajec, B. (2015). Perception of family functioning: Parental vs. non-parental perspective. Suvremena Psihologija, 14, 5–15.Google Scholar
Tafoya, M.A., & Hamilton, M.A. (2012). Relational dynamics and the expression of aggression and comforting between siblings. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 31, 49–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tippett, N., & Wolke, D (2015). Aggression between siblings: Associations with the home environment and peer bullying. Aggressive Behavior, 41, 14–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Volling, B.L., & Belsky, J (1992). The contribution of mother-child and father-child relationships to the quality of sibling interaction: A longitudinal study. Child Development, 63, 1209–1222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Voorpostel, M., Van Der Lippe, T., & Flap, H. (2012). For better or worse: Negative life events and sibling relationships. International Sociology, 27, 330–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, L.K. (2001) Sibling relations over the life course: A panel analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 555–568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whiteman, S.D., Bernard, J.M.B., & Jensen, A.C. (2011). Sibling influence in human development. In Caspi, J. (Ed.), Sibling development: Implications for mental health practitioners (pp. 1–16). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company LLC.Google Scholar
Whiteman, S.D., Solmeyer, A.R., & McHale, S.M. (2015). Sibling relationships and adolescent adjustment: Longitudinal associations in two-parent African American families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 2042–2053.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yu, J.J., & Gamble, W.C. (2007). Familial correlates of overt and relational aggression between young adolescent siblings. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 655–673.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yu, J.J., & Gamble, W.C. (2008) Pathways of influence: Marital relationships and their association with parenting styles and sibling relationship quality. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 17, 757–778.CrossRefGoogle Scholar