Longitudinal Linkages between Older and Younger Sibling Depressive Symptoms and Perceived Sibling Relationship Quality

• In Event: 1-012 - The Impact of Siblings on Problem Behavior among Adolescents

Integrative Statement

The sibling relationship has an important impact on children’s emotional functioning, as it is often one of the most long-lasting relationships throughout the lifespan and siblings spend considerable time together. The relationship between siblings is generally described as ambivalent due to the presence of positive (e.g., support) as well as negative characteristics (e.g., conflict and rivalry). During adolescence the sibling relationship changes, in that siblings become more intimate and less controlling as they grow older. At the same time depressive symptoms increase during adolescence, and these may be strongly influenced by family relationships. Because we know from earlier studies that siblings affect each other’s emotional wellbeing, the aim of this five-year longitudinal study was to examine 1) the relative importance of older sibling depressive symptoms and perceived relationship quality (i.e. support, conflict and power) in predicting younger sibling depressive symptoms over time; 2) whether perceived sibling relationship quality moderates the effect of sibling depressive symptoms on adolescent depressive symptoms; and 3) whether dyadic gender composition moderate the direct effects.
During home visits across six annual waves, 412 Dutch adolescents (57% boys; Mage = 12.34 years, SDage = 1.22) and their older siblings (47% boys; Mage = 15.36 years, SDage = 2.28) reported on their own depressive symptoms (Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale). Both siblings also reported on perceived quality (support, conflict, power) of their relationship (Network of Relationships Inventory). The average age gap between older and younger sibling was 3.03 years (SD = 1.80), and the sample consisted of 114 brother-brother dyads, 101 sister-sister dyads, and 78 older brother - younger sister dyads and 119 older sister - younger brother dyads.
Cross-lagged panel analyses (performed in Mplus version 8.1) showed that only older sibling depressive symptoms and not perceived relationship quality predicted younger sibling depressive symptoms one year later. This longitudinal effect of older sibling depressive symptoms on younger sibling depressive symptoms was not moderated by perceived sibling relationship quality. Moreover, the longitudinal effects of sibling depressive symptoms and perceived relationship quality on adolescent depressive symptoms were not moderated by dyadic gender composition, and were similar for older and younger siblings.
This study contributes to existing knowledge by examining the relative importance of perceived relationship quality on the one hand and older sibling depressive symptoms on the other hand in predicting younger sibling depressive symptoms over time, using a longitudinal design. Moreover, the focus on three important dimensions of the sibling relationship using a relatively large sample size, with both siblings providing information about depressive symptoms and relationship quality, offers a more comprehensive understanding of processes within the sibling relationship. Moreover, the examination of potential moderators provided insight into the generalizability of effects across sibling dyads.
Our results indicate that within the sibling context especially sibling depressive symptoms should be considered as a risk factor for depressive symptoms during adolescence, regardless of the quality of their relationship, birth order or dyadic gender composition. However, more research is necessary to pinpoint these sibling processes, especially within clinical samples.

Authors

• Kirsten L. Buist, Utrecht University
  Presenting Author

• Marloes S. van Tergouw, Utrecht University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Hans M. Koot, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  Non-Presenting Author

• Susan Branje, Utrecht University
  Non-Presenting Author