Becoming an Older Sibling: The Role of Parents Across Cultures

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

The birth of an infant sibling is a significant developmental transition for young children around the world. Yet, few studies have examined how children adjust to becoming an older sibling. This symposium will bring together for the first time, findings from four separate longitudinal studies conducted in different countries (China, Israel, UK, US) on the transition. The first paper reports on findings from 120 Chinese families and may be one of the first longitudinal studies to do so since the one-child policy was lifted in 2016. The results reveal child-driven effects in the increasing use of parental rejection over time in response to children’s problem behaviors. The second paper showcases findings from a sample of 94 Israeli families and finds that mothers’ mind-mindedness with the firstborn during pregnancy reduced the likelihood that internalizing behaviors predicted poor sibling relationships at 18 months. The third paper, using a sample of 45 British mothers, finds that children’s temperament, the mother-child relationship and children’s gender pre-birth predicted sibling relationship quality 4 months after birth. The final paper with 241 US families examines the bidrectional relations between parents’ punitive discipline and sibling conflict starting at 4 months postpartum. The results reveal that maternal and paternal discipline are correlated, and both parents’ discipline is positively related to sibling conflict, within each time (4, 8, and 12 months) but not over time. Collectively, these papers underscore the important role parents have across cultures in supporting children after the birth of a sibling.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Brenda L Volling, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Individual Presentations

• Parental Rejection and Chinese Children’s Behavior Problems across the Transition to Siblinghood - Presenting Author: Bin-Bin Chen, Fudan University; Brenda L Volling, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• The Firstborn's Adjustment and Maternal Reflective Functioning in the Development of the Early Sibling Relationship - Presenting Author: Naama Atzaba-Poria, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Porat Yakov, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

• Predictors of First-born Behaviour Toward Newborn Siblings - Presenting Author: Sumeyra Yalcintas, University of Sussex; Alison Pike, University of Sussex

• Maternal and Paternal Punitive Discipline in Response to Children’s Conflicts with a Baby Sibling - Presenting Author: Brenda L Volling, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Lin Tan, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Lauren R. Bader, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse; Richard Gonzalez, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor