Psychological support for junior high school students: sibling order and sex

This study is a re-analysis of published data on psychological support for 609 junior high school students (317 boys, 292 girls, mean age = 14.1, SD = 0.8) based on the self-report, Psychological Support Scale, to evaluate sibling order as eldest or youngest and sex. In an earlier study, the questionnaire had been modified to be applicable to junior high school students. The study re-examined the data by extracting samples for categories of eldest and youngest siblings, for re-analysis of self-reported psychological support by sibling order and sex. Eldest children reported receiving more psychological support from both mother and father than youngest. Also, eldest boys received significantly greater psychological support from both the parents than the youngest boys or girls.     

Perpetration of sibling aggression and sibling relationship quality in emerging adulthood

This study examined how emerging adults' perpetration of aggression toward a sibling closest in age was longitudinally associated with their sibling relationship quality. Emerging adults (N = 143; M_age = 19.62; 70% female) completed surveys online or by mail at two time points, 4 years apart. Of emerging adults, 25% perpetrated aggression against their closest‐in‐age sibling. Perpetration of sibling aggression was predictive 4 years later of less sibling warmth, involvement, and emotional help. None of the interactions with gender and sibling gender was significant. This study's findings demonstrate the importance of examining the consequences of perpetration of aggressive behavior toward a sibling for sibling relationship quality in emerging adulthood.     

Prenatal gender preference of mothers of feminine and masculine boys: Relation to sibling sex composition and birth order

A mother's (prenatal) wish for a girl has, at times, been implicated as an etiological factor for boyhood femininity or its DSM-III-R diagnostic equivalent, the Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood. In one sample of 52 feminine and 52 nonclinical control boys from Los Angeles, the proportion of mothers who recalled a wish for a girl during the pregnancy did not differ significantly between groups (26.9% vs. 19.2%, respectively); however, in both groups, the maternal wish for a girl was significantly more common in sibships in which all of the proband's older siblings were male. In a second sample of 103 feminine boys from Toronto, the maternal wish for a girl was significantly higher than that found in the Los Angeles sample (43.7% vs. 26.9%), but a control group was not available; as in the Los Angeles sample, the maternal wish for a girl was significantly more common in sibships in which all of the proband's older siblings were male. Implications of these findings for further study of maternal influences on boyhood femininity are discussed.     

Parental perceptions of sibling differences: towards a theory of sibling differentiation

A hypothesis of 'triadic and tetradic projective identification' is derived from work with nine cases in which family therapy was followed by psychodynamic counselling with the mother. It is suggested, first, that the dimensions of personality in which a parent perceives considerable difference between siblings may be linked to earlier traumatic issues experienced by that parent, especially in the family of origin; and, second, that siblings may identify with their parents' perceptions of difference, leading to differential development.
Case material is used to illustrate the ideas and a small pilot study of six different families is described, which tests a key element of the hypothesis - that personality dimensions in which a parent perceives most difference between siblings will relate more strongly to parental problem areas than dimensions in which a parent perceives least difference between siblings.
Findings give preliminary support to the hypothesis and proposals for further work are presented.     

The sibling uncertainty hypothesis: Facial resemblance as a sibling recognition cue

For the same reason that fathers could not have been certain their mates’ offspring were their genetic progeny during human evolutionary history, full siblings could not have been certain that they shared paternal genes. Previous kin recognition research suggests facial resemblance is a cue men use to help solve the adaptive problem of paternity uncertainty and identify their biological offspring. Facial resemblance may also be a cue individuals use to identify siblings who share paternal genes. In the current study, facial resemblance between siblings was hypothesized to be positively associated with their emotional closeness and altruism, and inversely related with their frequency of conflict. Within families, individuals reported greater closeness and altruism toward siblings who more closely resembled them. In contrast with previous offspring recognition research, the effects of resemblance were not sex-differentiated, suggesting that facial resemblance is a cue both sexes use in sibling recognition.     

Older sibling correlates of younger sibling drug use in the context of parent-child relations

The purpose of this study was to examine older brother correlates of younger brother drug use in the context of parental influences and younger brother personality. The sample consisted of 278 White male college students and their oldest brothers, who volunteered to answer self-administered questionnaires. Results indicated that 3 domains of influence each had an independent impact on younger brother drug use: (a) parent-younger brother relationships and parent drug use, (b) older brother-younger brother relationships and older brother drug use, and (c) younger brother personality. Modeling of nondrug use and a strong attachment relationship in the parent-younger brother and sibling dyads, as well as younger sibling traits of conventionality, had strong links to low younger brother drug use. Our findings highlight the importance of modeling and mutual parent-child attachment relationships as well as sibling relationships as they relate to the possible etiology of drug use.     

Pupil dilation, sex of stimulus, and age and sex of observer

10-yr.-old, 16-yr.-old, and 20-yr.-old male and female observers (ns = 10; N = 60) rated a number of male and female faces for how 'good-looking' they were. Some of these faces were identical save that in one version the pupils were larger. Pupil dilation in the photographs of males produced no significant effects, whereas pupil dilation in the female photographs caused such faces to be rated as more good-looking by the two oldest groups of male observers. The 10-yr.-old boys and the 16- and 20-yr.-old women rated the female faces with enlarged pupils as significantly less 'good-looking' than the same faces with smaller pupils.     

Workaholism,sex, and sex role stereotyping among female professionals

This paper examines the relationship between workaholism, sex, and sex role orientation among professionals. The sample consisted of 86 male and 106 female attorneys, physicians, and psychologists/therapists. Results indicated a significant relationship between sex and sex role stereotyping. Among females, workaholics were grouped exclusively in the sex role categories masculine and androgynous. Implications for counseling include increasing awareness of changing sex role attitudes among professional women and possible role conflict that can occur from integration of work and family.     

Individual characteristics,child-mother and child-younger sibling interactions of 4-year-olds

This paper is concerned with the relations between the individual characteristics (Temperament, Locus of Control, Self-concept) of 4-year-olds, child-mother and child-sibling interactions. The temperamental characteristics Active and Moody, and the Self-concept categories Worrying/Cross and Likes to be Alone, had generally similar relations to child-mother and child-sibling interactions, but the other characteristics did not. The relations between child-mother and child-sibling interactions did not support either the hypothesis that a ‘good ’ child-mother relationship leads to ‘good ’ interactions with a sibling, or that firstborns compensate for a ‘poor ’ child-mother relationship with a ‘good ’ sibling one. The relations were more complex than either of these hypotheses would suggest, but made intuitive sense.     

Interpersonal aggression as a function of subject's sex, subject's sex role identification, opponent's sex, and degree of provocation.

Ninety-five undergraduates served as subjects in an experiment where they could administer electric shock to an opponent and receive the same from an opponent. The independent variables were subject's sex, subject's sex role identification (as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory), opponent's sex, as well as degree of provocation from the opponent. Aggression was defined as level of shock chosen by the subject for the opponent. The results indicated that masculine subjects facing a male opponent were more aggressive than individuals of other sex role identifications whether or not they were provoked. It was also found that masculine males were more aggressive than other males or anyof the females. Furthermore, opponent's sex influenced the males' aggressiveness but had no effect on the degree of aggression in females. Finally, aggression increased in all subjects following increases in provocation. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for pyschological androgyny.     

Delinquency, sidedness, and sex

One hundred and thirty male and 213 female college students responded to a self-report delinquency and crime measure and to a scale of sidedness preferences. Consistent with most of the literature on official delinquency and crime, left handedness was positively associated with involvement in several forms of delinquency (including some degree of criminality) among males. Other measures of sidedness among males largely failed to correlate with delinquency, however. Among females, sidedness was much less systematically related to delinquency than among males.     

Longitudinal direct and indirect pathways linking older sibling competence to the development of younger sibling competence

A 4-wave longitudinal model tested direct and indirect links between older sibling (OS; M = 11.7 years) and younger sibling (YS; M = 9.2 years) competence in 152 rural African American families. Data were collected at 1-year intervals. At each wave, different teachers assessed OS competence, YS competence, and YS self-regulation. Mothers reported their own psychological functioning; mothers and YSs reported parenting practices toward the YS. OS competence was stable across time and was linked with positive changes in mothers' psychological functioning from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Mothers' Wave 2 psychological functioning was associated with involved-supportive parenting of the YS at Wave 3. OS Wave 2 competence and Wave 3 parenting were indirectly linked with Wave 4 YS competence, through Wave 3 YS self-regulation. Structural equation modeling controlled for Wave 1 YS competence; thus, the model accounted for change in YS competence across 3 years.