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Positive and Negative Interactions Observed Between Siblings: Moderating Effects for Children Exposed to Parents' Conflict
Author(s) -
Iturralde Esti,
Margolin Gayla,
Spies Shapiro Lauren A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/jora.12020
Subject(s) - sibling , psychology , anxiety , developmental psychology , sibling relationship , blame , negativity effect , association (psychology) , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , psychotherapist
This study investigated links between interparental conflict appraisals (specifically threat and self‐blame), sibling relationship quality (positive and negative dimensions), and anxiety in sibling pairs comprised of an adolescent and a younger sibling close in age. Sibling relationship quality was measured through behavioral observation. Links between self‐blame and anxiety were moderated by sibling relationship quality. In older siblings, positive behavior with a sibling was associated with an attenuated relation between self‐blame and anxiety. A paradoxical moderating effect was found for negative interactions; for both younger and older siblings, a relation between self‐blame and anxiety was weakened in the presence of sibling negativity. Results offered support for theorized benefits of sibling relationship quality in helping early adolescents adjust to conflict between parents.