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Affiliation
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Department of Home Economics, Central Michigan University, 48859 Mt. Pleasant, Michigan; Department of Family and Child Development, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 24061 Blacksburg, Virginia, USA |
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Abstract
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Negative physical and verbal interactions occurring between early adolescents and their closest-spaced sibling were examined. Two hundred forty-four junior high school students provided information concerning their experiences as victims and perpetrators of aggressive and agonistic behaviors. Results confirm earlier studies'' findings that siblings engage in numerous hostile interactions and that females and males perform these behaviors to an almost equal extent. Participants'' self-reports suggest that parents may underestimate sibling use of physical force to resolve conflicts. Findings indicate there is further need to examine sibling interactions in order to better understand family functioning and family violence.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The primary purpose of this study by Roscoe et al. was to describe the types and causes of violent sibling interactions and to broaden our understanding of family violence.
METHODOLOGY:
A quasi-experimental cross-sectional design with non-probability sampling was employed to gather information from seventh grade students in two junior high schools - one in a rural college community, and the other in a small city. No students refused to participate, although some questionnaires were only partially completed and were unable to be included in the study. Instruments were distributed and completed at the start of a study hall period, to which each student was assigned throughout the day of the study. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to each of 275 students with a completion rate of 88.7% (n=244). The questionnaire was based upon Straus' (1979) Conflict Tactics Scale, Abramovitch et al.'s (1982) survey of agonistic behaviors and Steinmetz' (1977) categories of conflict inducing events and resolution strategies. As the study was exploratory, descriptive and non-parametric statistical techniques were used for data analysis.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Results supported the contention that the most prevalent form of family violence is that between siblings, with such conflicts being normal and occurring often. It was found that siblings engage in varied and numerous hostile interactions, with males and females doing so to an almost equal extent. The most frequently cited causes of difficulty were verbal exchanges, with the primary means of conflict resolution being yelling, ignoring and compromising. Males were found to be more likely to use harsher forms of physical force to deal with sibling conflict, whilst females were more inclined to ignore provocation.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
It was suggested that strategies of empowerment be developed in relation to sibling interaction. Children could be informed that although sibling aggression is common amongst American families, it is not inevitable that one must become a victim of such behaviors. Varieties of non-aggressive strategies could be taught to help resolve conflict or to avoid potentially hostile situations. The authors concluded that future research may be well served by: employing a sample of sufficient size to enable a breakdown of sibling dyads by number of years between siblings; independent questioning of both members of the sibling dyad; examining parental methods of conflict resolution when conflict occurs between siblings and between parents; and employing a control group of families without sibling violence in order to identify the various factors contributing to the absence of negative interactions.
EVALUATION:
This study was more comprehensive than previous research in this field as it included single parent households as well as two parent families. Also, the instrument utilized contained a more extensive listing of less violent behaviors than had measurement devices in previous research, thereby covering a greater range of possible interaction situations. The methodologies were sound, with relatively good internal validity, and the study concluded with an interesting discussion of implications of the results. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Domestic Violence Offender
KW - Domestic Violence Victim
KW - Domestic Violence Causes
KW - Sibling Violence Offender
KW - Sibling Violence Victim
KW - Sibling Violence Causes
KW - Early Adolescence
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Juvenile Victim
KW - Junior High School Student
KW - Family Relations
KW - Sibling Relations
KW - Sibling Conflict
KW - Family Conflict
KW - Juvenile Aggression
KW - Verbal Aggression
KW - Aggression Causes |