The Firstborn's Adjustment and Maternal Reflective Functioning in the Development of the Early Sibling Relationship

• In Event: Becoming an Older Sibling: The Role of Parents Across Cultures

Abstract

Introduction: The arrival of a second child is a normative - although stressful - transition for most families. Some firstborn children adjust easily whereas others may experience difficulties. In addition, they are required to create a new relationship, namely, the sibling relationship. This study examines how firstborn adjustment to this family transition correlates with the quality of the later sibling relationship and examines the role of maternal reflective functioning (RF) as a moderator. Previous studies showed correlations between the quality of the sibling relationship and the firstborn’s behavioral problems, when measured concurrently. Additionally, mother-child RF is known to be related to better child adjustment. Thus, we propose a possible moderating influence of maternal RF - as measured using the mind-mindedness coding system - on the connection between the elevation in internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors after the arrival of the second-born and its later link to the quality of the sibling relationship (Figure 1).
Methods: This study included 94 families with a 12- to 42-month-old firstborn child who were also expecting a second child. Data collection had three timepoints: The first assessment (T1) was a home visit at 23-34 weeks of gestation; the second assessment (T2) was at 4-6 months postpartum; and the third assessment (T3) was an online session when the second-born was age 18 months. At each assessment, mothers reported on child problem behaviors and early social relationships via questionnaires. Additionally, in the first assessment, mother-child play interactions were videotaped and coded for maternal mind-mindedness.
Results: Preliminary analyses indicated that firstborns showed a significant increase in both internalizing (t[92] = -3.28, p < .00) and externalizing (t[92] = -4.09, p < .00) problems after the arrival of the second-born. Furthermore, the increase in behavioral problems was related to a less positive sibling relationship at T3. Next, maternal mind-mindedness at T1 significantly moderated the link between the firstborn’s internalizing (β = .30, Bse = .11, p < .05) problems at T2 and the quality of the sibling relationship at T3. These moderation effects were not found for externalizing problems. The conditional indirect effect for internalizing behaviors was only significant when mothers were less mind-minded (1 SD below the mean) or at mean level. However, when mothers were highly mind-minded (1 SD above the mean), the indirect effect was nonsignificant (Figure 2). In other words, mothers’ RF toward their firstborn, as assessed before the arrival of their second-born, eliminated the negative correlation between the firstborn’s increase in internalizing behavioral problems and the quality of the sibling relationship.
Discussion and conclusion: These findings show that firstborns react to this familial change and may experience difficulties following the arrival of the second-born, which predicts a negative sibling relationship later.. Mothers who are more reflective can facilitate the difficulties that firstborns experience and buffer negative influences on the sibling relationship. This research demonstrates that the quality of the early sibling relationship may be related to both the firstborns’ early adjustment to the family change along with the mother’s reflective capacity.

Authors

• Naama Atzaba-Poria, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
  Presenting Author

• Porat Yakov, Ben Gurion University of the Negev