Publication year
2014
Citation Title
Family dynamics and young children’s sibling victimization
Journal Name
Journal of Family Psychology
Journal Volume
28
Issue Number
5
Page Numbers
625-633
DOI
10.1037/e557672014-001
Summary
Sibling aggression is a common form of family violence, therefore it is important to examine its risk factors. Caregivers of 2-9 year old children were interviewed in this study about sibling aggression and family dynamics (i.e., interparental conflict, family violence, and parenting quality). Results emphasized the importance of good family dynamics on preventing sibling victimization.
Key Findings
Sibling victimization in general was significantly associated with negative family dynamics.
Compared with children who experienced common types of sibling victimization, children in the severe group had less parental supervision and warmth, and were exposed to more interparental conflict and family violence.
Children who were severely assaulted by their siblings were likely to experience low well-being.
Implications for Military Professionals
Integrate assessment of sibling aggression into their practice when working with military families
Educate military parents on how to be more sensitive to sibling aggression, and offer them strategies to prevent and intervene
Implications for Program Leaders
Design workshops for military families to promote healthy family dynamics (e.g., parental warmth, marital harmony, positive sibling interactions)
Offer support groups for military parents so that they can communicate parenting issues and marriage problems safely in a supportive environment
Implications for Policy Makers
Raise awareness of the deleterious effects of sibling victimization on children’s development and well-being
Recommend integrating assessment of sibling victimization into military children’s routine wellness screening
Methods
The present study was part of the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence which aimed to examine the incidence and prevalence of childhood victimizations.
The primary caregiver of each participating child was interviewed by telephone, and was asked questions about sibling victimization, interparental conflict, family violence, and parenting quality.
Sibling victimization was divided into common types (psychological, property, or minor physical aggression) and severe types (physical aggression with a weapon and/or injury).
Participants
The sample included 1,726 children who had at least one sibling under age 18 years at the time of data collection.
The average age of the participants was 5.68 years (SD = 2.27, age range = 2-9 years), and 51% of them were male.
Most of the children were White (58%), followed by Latino (20%), Black (16%), and Other (6%).
Limitations
Only one child was examined in each family, so it is impossible to understand both the perpetrator’s and victim’s experiences.
Similarly, only one caregiver was interviewed in each family, therefore the examination of family dynamics might be inaccurate
The definition of sibling victimization was not standardized in the study, so caregivers might define sibling victimization differently based on their own experiences.
Avenues for Future Research
Design longitudinal studies to examine the direction of the effects between sibling victimization and family dynamics
Interview more than one caregivers in the family to have a holistic understanding of the nature of family members’ interactions
Standardize the definition of sibling victimization to eliminate inconsistency across participants
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
This research examines how family dynamics like interparental conflict, family violence, and quality of parenting are associated with young children’s experiences of sibling victimization. We use nationally representative data from interviews with caregivers of 1,726 children aged 2 to 9 years of age. We hypothesized different family dynamics predictors for a composite of common types of sibling victimization (property, psychological, and mild physical aggression) in comparison to severe physical sibling victimization (victimization that includes physical aggression with a weapon and/or injury). Multinomial regression results showed that sibling victimization in general was associated with negative family dynamics but that children in the severe group had even less parental warmth, poor parental supervision, and greater exposure to interparental conflict and family violence than children in the common types victimization group. Different aspects of family dynamics contribute to sibling victimization, but possibly in different ways and with different consequences. The findings underscore the importance of a family systems theory approach to clinical and intervention work.
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