**3. Sibling relations**

#### **3.1 Sibling behaviour and interactions**

Sibling relationships encompass patterns of emotionally charged interactions that are defined by strong, uninhibited reactions of positive, negative and sometimes ambivalent dimensions [29–35]. The language used in sibling interactions is translated by researchers into positive and negative dimensions of their behaviour [29–35]. Positive dimensions encompass 'prosocial' characteristics in sibling interactions, including verbal affection, sharing, comfort and cooperation, whereas negative dimensions encompass 'agonistic' characteristics, including commands, insults, teasing, struggles over objects and physical aggression [34]. There is evidence that quality of sibling interactions is associated with internalising and externalising behaviours, links found contemporaneously and over time [31, 50–52]. Research indicated that variations in how siblings behave and react towards one another are

**23**

*Parenting and Sibling Relations in Predicting the Development of Personality Traits*

processing, emotional functioning and adaptation [17–28, 31, 32, 37].

derived from different aspects of the individual's beliefs, personality, sociocognitive

Brody, Stoneman and McCoy, Furman and Giberson and Minuchin suggested that there are interdependent influences among dyads (subsystems) within the family system [36, 52, 53]. Modry-Mandell, Gamble and Taylor defined family emotional climate by the impacts of family emotional expressiveness, parental agreement and children's exposure to conflict within the family system on the sibling relationship quality [31]. Cummings and Smith suggested that anger and conflict are a salient feature of the emotional climate of the home from the perspective of the children [44, 54]. Given the consensuses link provided in research between conflict within the family system and child maladjustment, evidence corroborates the interactional system perspective by Cicirelli [20], involving three subsystems within the family context by the correspondence between the positive and negative dimensions of the parent-parent interactions, parent-child interactions and the

In this context, sibling relationships are conceptualised as more positive and warm in families that consist of a positive/secure relational pattern, whereas sibling relationships are prone to conflict, hostility and aggression in family systems that are exposed to threatening/insecure relational patterns (i.e. distressed or conflictual parent-child relationship and interparental conflict) [31, 55]. To further elaborate, Cummings indicated that children exposed to interparental conflict exhibit greater levels of distress and behavioural problems and show higher sensitivity to subsequent angry expressions by their parents than non-exposed children [31, 57]. Moreover, Brody indicated that parent-child relationships that involve harsh parenting and unresolved anger underlie children to develop behavioural styles, emotional regulation strategies and cognitions that motivate sibling conflict and poor adjustment outcomes [31, 51]. Hence, the interactional and reciprocal influences between subsystems of the family system can exacerbate problems in children's emotional functioning and adaptation by children approaching sibling disputes with anger-focused coping strategies and

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93486*

sibling-sibling interactions [31, 51, 55, 56].

aggressive behaviour [34, 57].

**3.3 Parental management and sibling relationship quality**

Garcia et al., Modry-Mandell, Gamble and Taylor and Query and Mahoney suggested that there is a direct link between negative sibling relationships and child behaviour problems [31, 34, 55]. Researchers have indicated that increased indices of externalising behaviour (i.e. aggression, attention problems and emotional negativity) between siblings may undermine the individual's well-being and predict greater conflicts and negative interactions between the siblings [29]. Noting that there are interactional and reciprocal influences between subsystems of the family system, the level of distress within the sibling relationship is a significant risk factor related to child behaviour problems in children living with distressed families [34, 55]. Thus, due to the limited social, cognitive and emotional competence of the child to adjust externalising behaviour, parental intervention is a merit to facilitate conditions conductive for co-constructing positive interactions between siblings and to prevent a developmental pattern of hostile sibling relations that threaten the emotional climate of the family [29, 34, 55]. Research suggested three management strategies for parental interventions: (a) anticipatory intervention, (b) interactive intervention and (c) directive intervention (Howe, Aquan-Assee and Bukowski). Research indicated that the construct of these interventions

**3.2 Family emotional climate**

derived from different aspects of the individual's beliefs, personality, sociocognitive processing, emotional functioning and adaptation [17–28, 31, 32, 37].
