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. 2014 Feb;50(2):600-10.
doi: 10.1037/a0033207. Epub 2013 Jun 17.

Longitudinal associations between sibling relationship qualities and risky behavior across adolescence

Anna R Solmeyer  1 , Susan M McHale  1 , Ann C Crouter  1
Affiliations

Longitudinal associations between sibling relationship qualities and risky behavior across adolescence

Anna R Solmeyer et al. Dev Psychol. 2014 Feb.

Abstract

This study examined the associations between sibling intimacy and conflict and youths' reports of risky behavior in a sample of adolescents ages 11-20. Participants were mothers, fathers, and sibling dyads in 393 families who were interviewed annually for 3, 4, or 5 years. Multivariate multilevel models tested longitudinal links between sibling intimacy and conflict and youths' risky behavior and whether these associations were moderated by birth order, sex, or dyad sex constellation. Controlling for parent-youth conflict, the results showed positive within-person covariation between sibling conflict and risky behavior for all youths except firstborns with younger brothers. Controlling for parent-youth intimacy, sibling intimacy was positively linked with risky behavior at the between-person level, but only in brother-brother pairs. The discussion focuses on sibling relationships as a context for adolescents' individual development and the roles of birth order, sex, and dyad sex constellation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated growth curves for risky behavior as a function of age, adolescent sex (Panel A), and sibling's sex (Panel B). Lines in Panel A represent the effects of the adolescent's own sex (i.e., firstborn lines are the effects for firstborn sex on firstborn risky behavior, second-born lines are the effects for second-born sex on second-born risky behavior). Lines in Panel B represent the effects of sibling's sex (i.e., firstborn lines are the effects for second-born sex on firstborn risky behavior, second-born lines are the effects for firstborn sex on second-born risky behavior). Because there were no Dyad sex constellation × Age effects and because female was the reference group, the line for firstborn females in Panel A is identical to the line for firstborns with younger sisters in Panel B. Similarly, the line for second-born females in Panel A is the same as the line for second-borns with older sisters in Panel B.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interaction between between-person sibling intimacy and dyad sex constellation predicting youths' risky behavior. Asterisks indicate an effect that was significantly different from zero, p < .01.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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