School Adjustment in Latinx Children in Middle Childhood: The Role of Sibling Relationships

• In Event: Advancing and Understanding of Sibling Relationships

Abstract

Children’s school adjustment in middle childhood, including their academic, social, and
behavioral functioning, provides a critical foundation for their long-term educational success (Magnuson
et al., 2016; Rabiner et al., 2016). Understanding factors associated with Latinx children’s school success
is important including because they comprise 27% of U.S. school-age children (National Center for
Education Statistics, 2021) and will be one-third of the workforce by 2060 (Toosi, 2016). Although
parents’ role in their children’s school adjustment is well-documented (Bornstein et al., 2018), less is
known about sibling influences. During middle childhood, children spend substantial time with siblings
(Dunifon et al., 2017; Updegraff et al., 2011), and consistent with a social learning perspective, siblings
provide opportunities for children to learn and practice interpersonal skills that may be beneficial in
school settings (e.g., Lam et al., 2021). Our focus is on Latinx sibling relationships and school
adjustment, given the centrality of family in this sociocultural context (Knight et al., 2011) and as a
resource for children’s education. We expected that more positive and less conflictual sibling
relationships would be associated with better emotion regulation and school performance and fewer peer
relationship difficulties. We also tested moderation by birth order and sibling gender, expecting stronger
sibling effects for younger versus older siblings given older siblings’ roles as models (McHale et al.,
2012) and for girls relative to boys, given girls’ greater family orientation especially in Latinx culture
(Cauce & Domenech-Rodríguez, 2002).
Data came from the baseline phase (2018 to 2019) of a larger clinical trial testing the efficacy of a
family-based, sibling-focused prevention program. Participants were 5 th graders (45% female; Mage =
10.6 years old; SD = .39), younger siblings (51% female; Mage = 8.3, SD = 1.06), and mothers (95%
biological) in 216 Latinx families (82% Mexican-origin) in a southwestern state. During afterschool
sessions with interviewers, children rated their positive and negative sibling experiences (Blyth & Foster-
Clark, 1987; Stocker & McHale, 1992) and their perceived school competence (Harter, 1982; 1985).
During phone interviews, mothers also reported on each sibling’s prosocial and negative behaviors toward
the other (Stocker & McHale, 1992; Stormshak et al., 1996). Further, teachers rated children’s school
performance, emotional regulation, and peer difficulties (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group
1999). (See Table 1 for descriptive statistics.)
Path analyses were conducted in Mplus (Version 8.6; Muthén & Muthén, 2017), and the
hypothesized model fit the data well (see Figure 1). Multiple group models testing moderation by birth
order and child gender revealed that one path was moderated by child gender. Results showed that greater
sibling positivity predicted girls’ (but not boys’) more positive reports of their school competence. Sibling
negativity was negatively associated with child-reported school competence and teacher-reported school
performance. In addition, mothers’ reports of children’s negativity toward siblings predicted teacher
ratings of less emotional regulation and more peer difficulties. Discussion focuses on the role of sibling
dynamics in Latinx children’s school adjustment in middle childhood and the implications for prevention
programs.

Authors

• Julissa G. Duran, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author

• Daye Son, Arizona State University

• Kimberly Updegraff, Arizona State University

• Susan McHale, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

• Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor, Harvard University