milevsky !!!!!!!!

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

1/15

This article was downloaded by: [5.55.145.229]On: 23 February 2013, At: 04:11Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Divorce & RemarriagePublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjdr20

Perceived Parental Marital Satisfactionand DivorceAvidan Milevsky aa Department of Psychology, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania,Kutztown, PA, 19530, USAVersion of record first published: 23 Sep 2008.

To cite this article: Avidan Milevsky (2004): Perceived Parental Marital Satisfaction and Divorce,Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 41:1-2, 115-128

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J087v41n01_07

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

This article may be used f or research, teaching, and private stu dy purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representationthat the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of anyinstructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primarysources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings,

demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J087v41n01_07http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J087v41n01_07http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjdr20

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

2/15

Perceived Parental MaritalSatisfaction and Divorce:

Effects on Sibling Relationsin Emerging Adults

Avidan Milevsky

ABSTRACT. The current study is an examination of how parentalmarital satisfaction and divorce relates to sibling relationships inemerging adulthood. Participants were 116 men and 189 women be-tween the ages of 19 and 33. Participants were administered question-naires regarding their parental marital satisfactionanddivorce, siblingcloseness, sibling communication, and sibling support. Results indi-cated that individuals from non-divorced families were closer to their

siblings, communicated more with their siblings, and received greaterlevels of support from their siblings compared with individuals fromdivorcedfamilies. Additionally, perceived parentalmarital satisfactionwas found to be a significant predictor of total sibling communica-tion, closeness, and support. Finally, perceived parental marital satis-faction was found to mediate the relationship between parental

Avidan Milevsky, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology,Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, PA 19530 (E-mail: [email protected]).

The author would like to thank Mary Levitt and Anita Meehan for their comments onthe manuscript, and Amy Ruppe, Melissa Leh, Kylie Smoot, Abby Siverling, AmandaGoldenberg, Julie Perhacs, Kathy Spess, Andrea Offenbacher, Christine Bailey, andCarol Towers for their assistance with data collection.

Portions of this paper will be presented at the meeting of the Society for Research onAdolescence, Baltimore, March 2004.

Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, Vol. 41(1/2) 2004http://www.haworthpress.com/web/JDR

2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.Digital Object Identifier: 10.1300/J087v41n01_07 115

D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

3/15

divorce and total sibling support andbetweenparentaldivorce and to-tal sibling closeness. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Doc-ument Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website: 2004 by The

Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Children of divorce, sibling relationships, emergingadults, marital satisfaction, divorce

In recent years, there has been a steady increase in research relatingto the outcomes associated with parental divorce. Parental divorce hasbeen shown to have detrimental consequences for children in multiplearenas. When compared with children from non-divorced families, chil-dren of divorced families are more likely to have increased aggressionand hostility, to be less socially responsive, to have fewer close intimaterelationships, to have academic difficulties, to drop out of school, to en-gage in sexual activity at a younger age, to abuse drugs, to associate withantisocial peer groups, to have lower self-esteem and higher degrees of depression and anxiety, and to have poorer physical health (Amato & Keith,1991; Hetherington, 1989; Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980).

Although an extensive body of research has been dedicated to exam-ining the negative effects of divorce on the lives of children, there havebeen a growing number of studies examining the long-term effects of di-vorce by examining the consequences of parental divorce on adults.Several studies have examined the effects of parental divorce on adultsocioeconomic status. Adult children of divorced parents are more likelythan adult children of non-divorced parents to achieve less education, tohave lower occupational status, and lower income (Powell & Parcel,1997; Ross & Mirowsky, 1999). Other studies examined the negative socio-emotional outcomes associated with parental divorce. Adult children of

divorce are more likely to marry young, more likely to divorce, andmore likely to report instability and conflict in their marriage comparedto adult children of non-divorced families (Amato, 1996; Ross & Mirowsky,1999).

One of the many outcomes associated with parental divorce that hasnot received much theoretical or empirical attention is the influence of parental divorce on sibling relationships. Although many aspects of sib-ling relations have only recently been receiving attention in empiricalstudies, it is rather evident that siblings play a major role in peoples lives.

116 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

4/15

Investigations examining sibling relationships reveal that children whohave a positive relationship with a sibling show greater emotional un-derstanding (Dunn, Brown, Slomkowski, Telsa, & Youngblade, 1991),greater cognitive abilities (Howe & Ross, 1990; Smith, 1993), greater so-cial understanding (Bryant & Crockenberg, 1980; Dunn & Munn, 1986),greater moral sensibility (Dunn, Brown, & Maguire, 1995), and better psy-chological adjustment (Dunn, Slomkowski, Beardsall, & Rende, 1994;Milevsky, 2003). Studies assessing sibling relations in adulthood havereported similar findings (Stocker, Lanthier, & Furman, 1997). Researchassessing the variables influencing sibling relationships has focused pri-marily on structural variables such as birth order, sex, family size, and agedifference between the siblings (Pulakos, 1990). However, in recent yearsresearchers have been more interested in understanding process-orientedfactors that may influence sibling relationships, such as parental divorce.

THEORETICAL FOUNDATION

The theoretical work on the issue has proposed two distinct, andseemingly contradictory, hypotheses about the relationship between pa-rental divorce and sibling relationship quality. The buffering hypothesis

perspective suggests that it would be adaptive for an individual to seek out additional sources of support to assist in the coping process in theevent of stressful occurrences (Cohen & Wills, 1985). Thus, a child maydevelop a close sibling bond in the event of familial disharmony and pa-rental divorce to buffer against the stressful event. In a review of theo-retical contributions to the study of sibling relations, Bank and Kahn (1982)reported several qualitative analyses which examined specific siblingrelationships. In many of the examples, they detailed the absence of pa-rental emotional or psychological support contributed to a strong siblingbond. The authors explained that when siblings grow up in a disharmoni-ous family, the children are forced to form their own supportive socialstructure. On the other hand, based on social learning theory (Bandura,1977), it would be expected that a child growing up in a disharmonioushome and, thus, lacking a positive model for interpersonal and socialskills would develop difficulties in maintaining healthy interpersonalrelationships. These social problems would be manifested in the childsinteractions with all social beings, including siblings. Several empiricalstudies assessing the interpersonal habits of children from divorcedfamilies support this theoretical proposition (Amato & Keith, 1991; Beaty,1995; Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980).

Avidan Milevsky 117

D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

5/15

RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF PARENTAL MARITAL HOSTILITY AND DIVORCE

Most of the limited work on the link between parental marital dishar-mony, divorce, and sibling relations has primarily focused on childrenssibling relationships. In a longitudinal study assessing the effects of di-vorce on childrens adjustment, Hetherington (1989) found that boys fromdivorced families were more aggressive, avoidant, rivalrous, and less warmand involved with their siblings compared to boys from non-divorced fam-ilies. MacKinnon (1989) reported that siblings from divorced families con-taining an older brother were more hostile and less compliant than siblingsfrom non-divorcedfamilies containing an older brother. Furthermore,stud-ies have suggested that marital conflict may increase hostility between sib-lings in childhood (Dunn, 1992; Erel, Margoline, & John, 1998; Stocker &Youngblade, 1999).

On the contrary, in accordance with the buffering hypothesis perspec-tive outlined earlier, several other studies have found that siblings from di-vorced families provide emotional and psychological support to eachother (Brubaker, 1985; Nichols, 1986; Scott, 1983).

Due to the structural and functional differences between the siblingrelationships of children and the sibling relationships of adults, research

on the effects of divorce on children may not provide sufficient insightinto the processes associated with the effects of parental divorce on adultsibling relationships. Hence, it is important to examine the long-term influ-ence of marital divorce on adult sibling relationship quality (Riggio,2001). More specifically, current research on young adulthood has fo-cused on a distinct and separate group of adults, defined as the emergingadult population, when assessing individuals in the postsecondaryschool years. Arnett (2000) suggests that the emerging adult populationmust be viewed apart from the adolescent and adult populations due tothe dynamic and unpredictable quality of this age period. The autonomy,exploration, and changing roles of the postsecondary school years entailmany unique characteristics that must be examined in all aspects of sci-entific inquiry. Hence, empirical investigations on divorce and siblingrelations should parallel the emphasis given to the emerging adult popu-lation in other areas of socio-emotional study.

In one of the only studies examining parental divorce and the siblingrelationships of emerging adults, Riggio (2001) administered severalquestionnaires to a sample of 264 young adults. To assess sibling rela-tions, the author administered the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale(Riggio, 2000). The author found that young adults who experienced


D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

6/15

parental divorce during late childhood experienced less positive feel-ings toward their most important sibling compared to young adults fromnon-divorced families and compared to young adults who experiencedparental divorce during early childhood. In a similar study assessing theinfluence of parental marital conflict and divorce on an individuals re-lationship with a specific sibling, Panish and Sticker (2001) reportedthat both parental marital conflict and divorce were associated with sib-ling conflict in young adults. However, the authors continued on to re-port that compared to family intactness, martial conflict was found to bea stronger predictor of sibling conflict.

In sum, although there seems to be evidence that parental divorce andhostility may influence sibling relationships, most of the work has beendone on childhood sibling relationships. The few studies examiningthese processes in adult samples were primarily focused on the relation-ship with a specific sibling and not with the overall sibling network. Inaddition, while parental hostility has been shown to influence the sib-ling interactions of children and adults, much less in known about theinfluence of perceived parental martial satisfaction on sibling relation-ships in emerging adults.

PRESENT STUDY The first goal of the present study was to assess the effects of parental

divorce on the overall sibling relationships of emerging adults. Partici-pants reported on their overall sibling closeness, communication, andsupport. Additionally, participants were asked to report on their rela-tionship with their closest and most important sibling. In accordance withRiggio (2001), analyses examined not only differences between divorcedand non-divorced adult children, but also differences between those who ex-perienced parental divorce during childhood and those who experiencedparental divorce in late childhood or adolescence.

The second intent of the present study was to examine the effects of perceived parental marital satisfaction on sibling relationships. Studieshave suggested that marital conflict may increase hostility between sib-lings in childhood (Dunn, 1992; Erel, Margoline, & John, 1998; Stocker &Youngblade, 1999). Additionally, martial conflict has been found to bea stronger predictor of conflict with a specific sibling than family intact-ness (Panish & Sticker, 2001). However, less is known about the effectsof perceived parental marital satisfaction on the overall sibling relation-ships of emerging adults.

Avidan Milevsky 119

D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

7/15

Finally, the third purpose of the present study was to examine the me-diating effects of perceived parental marital satisfaction on the relation-ship between parental divorce and sibling relationships. More specifically,the current study attempted to determine whether the variability found insibling relationships is a function of parental divorce or whether the dif-ferent relationship patterns can be attributed to perceived parental maritalsatisfaction.

METHOD

Sample

Data were collected using two procedures, 247 participants were re-cruited from undergraduate and graduate psychology and educationclasses in a northeastern rural state university, and 58 noncollege stu-dents were recruited through a snowball sampling technique; that is, re-searchers asked people they knew to fill out the survey, who in turnasked people they knew, thus creating a snowball effect. The participantsin the total sample were 305 young adults (116 men and 189 women)between the ages of 19 and 33 ( M = 22.41, SD = 3.25). By ethnicity, thesample consisted of 10 African-Americans, 5 Hispanic-Americans, 269European-Americans, 3 Asian-Americans and 1 with no ethnicity data.

Procedures

The college sample participants were administered questionnaires insmall groups and received extra credit for taking part in the study. Thenoncollege sample participants received the questionnaire directly from

the researchers and returned the completed questionnaire in a sealed en-velope. Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Measures

Measures included indices of general sibling closeness, communica-tion, and support in addition to measures of specific sibling relations.Additionally, participants were asked about their parental martial statusand parental martial satisfaction. If their parents were divorced, they were


D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

8/15

asked to indicate their age at the time of their parents divorce. The fol-lowing specific measures were analyzed.General Sibling Closeness . Overall sibling closeness was measured by

asking the participants to indicate, in reference to each of their siblings,How close do you feel to this sibling? (1) extremely close, (2) close,(3) somewhat close, (4) not close, or (5) not at all close? The total sib-ling closeness score was obtained by averaging the scores of all siblings.

General Sibling Communication . Overall sibling communicationwas measured by asking the participants to indicate, in reference to eachof their siblings, How often do you communicate with this sibling in

person, by phone, or e-mail? (1) every day, (2) once a week, (3) once amonth, (4) a few times a year, or (5) once a year or less? The total sib-ling communication score was obtained by averaging the scores of allsiblings.

General Sibling Support . Overall sibling support was assessed usingthe support questions from the adolescent version of the Convoy Map-ping Procedure (Levitt, Guacci-Franco, & Levitt, 1993). Specifically,they were asked to indicate to what extent do they agree or disagree withthe following statements regarding their overall relationship with theirsibling: I confide in my siblings about things that are important to me,

They reassure me when something bothers me or I am not sure aboutsomething, They would make sure I am cared for if I were ill, Theylike to be with me and do enjoyable things with me, They would giveme immediate help if I needed it, and They make me feel special orgood about myself. Participants responded on a five-point scale withhigher scores indicating higher levels of support. Total sibling supportwas obtained by averaging the scores of all six support functions. Alphareliability for sibling support was .92.

Sibling Relationships . The warmth and conflict subscales of the shortversion Adult Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (ASRQ) (Lanthier &

Stocker, 1992) was used to assess specific sibling relationships. Partici-pants were asked to respond to the items on the scale based on their rela-tionship with their closest or most important sibling. A sample item forthe warmth subscale is How much do you know about this sibling? and asample item for the conflict subscale is How much do you put this siblingdown? Participants were asked to respond on a five-point scale withhigher scores indicating higher levels of warmth or conflict. Alphareliabilities were .95 for the warmth subscale and .91 for the conflictsubscale.

Avidan Milevsky 121

D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

9/15

RESULTS Parental Divorce and Sibling Relationships

Sibling relationship differences between individuals with marriedparents (n = 217), those who had experienced parental divorce in earlychildhood (n = 37), and those who had experienced parental divorce af -ter the early childhood years (n = 35) were analyzed using a multivariateanalysis of variance (MANOVA) with gender and parental marital sta-tus as the independent variables and sibling closeness, communication,support, and the ASRQ warmth and conflict scores as the dependentvariables. The MANOVA indicated a significant main effect for par-ental marital status, F (10,566) = 4.59, p < .01. Univariate tests indicatedthat the three groups differed significantly in sibling closeness, F (2,286) =9.49, p < .01, sibling communication, F (2,286) = 18.93, p < .01, and siblingsupport, F (2,286) = 9.35, p < .01.

The MANOVA was followed with Tukey LSD post hoc comparisonsyielding a significant difference in sibling closeness at the .01 signifi-cance level between those with married parents ( M = 3.93, SD = .82)and those who had experienced parental divorce in early childhood orafter the early childhood years ( M = 3.39, SD = .84, and M = 3.51, SD =

.85, respectively). Additionally, the post hoc comparison yielded a sig-nificant difference in sibling communication at the .01 significancelevel between those with married parents ( M = 4.00, SD = .70) and thosewho had experienced parental divorce in early childhood or after theearly childhood years ( M = 3.34, SD = .83, and M = 3.46, SD = .86, re-spectively). The post hoc comparison also yielded a significant differ-ence in sibling support at the .01 significance level between those withmarried parents ( M = 4.08, SD = .84) and those who had experienced pa-rental divorce in early childhood or after the early childhood years ( M =3.56, SD = .69, and M = 3.62, SD = .87, respectively).

Intercorrelations of Study Variables

Intercorrelations of the predictor and outcome variables and correla-tions of the predictor variables with the sibling relationship criteria arepresented in Table 1. As expected, parental divorce was correlated withperceived parental marital satisfaction. Sibling support, closeness, com-munication, and the ASRQ warmth subscale were all intercorrelated. Acorrelation of parental divorce with the sibling relationship criteria indi-cated that individuals from non-divorced families reported higher levels


D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

10/15

of sibling support, closeness, andcommunication.Perceived parental mari-tal satisfaction was positively correlated with sibling support, closeness,communication, and the ASRQ warmth subscale.

Parental Divorce, Marital Satisfaction and Sibling Relationships

To determine the contribution of perceived parental marital satisfac-tion in predicting sibling relationships, a simple regression was performed.Perceived parental marital satisfaction was found to be a significant predic-tor of total sibling communication, F (1,282) = 36.03, p < .01, accountingfor 11% of the variance, total sibling closeness, F (1,282) = 31.54, p < .01,accounting for 10% of the variance, total sibling support, F (1,282) =40.90, p < .01, accounting for 13% of the variance, and the ASRQ warmthsubscale, F (1,282) = 11.15, p < .01, accounting for 4% of the variance.

Finally, hierarchical regression analyses were used to determine themediating effects of perceived parental marital satisfaction on the rela-tionship between parental divorce and sibling relationships. For theanalyses, family intactness was entered into block 1 of the regression,followed by the parental marital satisfaction variable in block 2. The re-sults of the regression analyses are presented in Table 2. Mediating ef-fects were determined, using the method detailed by Baron and Kenny

(1986), by assessing the contribution of family intactness after per-ceived parental martial satisfaction was entered into the equation. If af-ter parental marital satisfaction is entered into the regression parental

Avidan Milevsky 123

TABLE 1. Intercorrelations of the Predictor and Outcome Variables and Corre-lations of the Predictor Variables with the Sibling Relationship Criteria

Measures

Measures 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. Parental Divorce .57** .24** .24** .34** .08 .06

2. Martial Satisfaction -- .36** .32** .34** .20** .06

3. Sibling Support -- .61** .42** .57** .15**

4. Sibling Closeness -- .53** .60** .08

5. Sibling Communication -- .32** .00

6. ASRQ Warmth -- .12*

7. ASRQ Conflict --

*p < .05 ** p < .01

D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

11/15

divorce is no longer found to be significantly related to the outcome vari-able, a mediating effect can be assumed. Perceived parental marital satis-faction was found to mediate the relationship between parental divorceand total sibling support ( t = .64, p = .52) as well as the relationship be-tween parental divorce and total sibling closeness ( t = 1.04, p = .30).

DISCUSSION

The goals of the current study were (a) to assess whether parental di-vorce relates to sibling relationships in emerging adulthood, (b) to de-termine whether perceived parental marital satisfaction relates to siblingrelationships, and (c) to examine the mediating effects of perceived pa-rental marital satisfaction on the relationship between parental divorceand sibling relationships.

Overall, the findings of the current study involving emerging adultsare consistent with previous work on the effects of marital disharmonyon childrens sibling relations (Hetherington, 1989; MacKinnon, 1989).Emerging adults from divorced families perceive their overall siblingrelationships as being less close and less supportive than the sibling re-lationships of emerging adults from intact families. Furthermore, thefindings suggest that emerging adults from divorced families communi-cate with their siblings less often than emerging adults from intact fami-lies. These findings support the social learning theorys view on divorce


TABLE 2. Path Analysis of Parental Divorce, Parental Marital Satisfaction andSibling Relationship Measures

Criteria

Total SiblingCommunication

Total SiblingSupport

Total SiblingCloseness

Stages/Predictors Beta r 2 Beta r 2 Beta r 2

Stage 1 Analysis Parental Divorce

.34* .12 .24* .06 .24* .06

Stage 2 Analysis Parental Divorce

.22* .15 .04 < .01 .07 < .01

Marital Satisfaction .21* .15 .34* .13 .29* .12

* p < .01

D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

12/15

and sibling relations. Social learning theory proposes that a child grow-ing up in a disharmonious home, lacking a positive model for interper-sonal and social skills, would develop difficulties in maintaining healthyinterpersonal relationships, including sibling relationships (Bandura, 1977).

In contrast with Riggio (2001), the current study did not yield anydifferences in overall sibling relationships based on the age at which theparental divorce occurred. Riggio (2001) suggested that individualswho experience parental divorce at an older age have been exposed tonegative parental interactions for a longer period of time compared tothose who experience parental divorce at a younger age. Thus, the pro-longed exposure to negative parental interactions may impact the sib-ling relationships of young adults negatively. Additionally, Riggio(2001) proposed that young adults who experience parental divorce at ayounger age have had ample time to recover from the divorce and,hence, would have more positive sibling interactions. As the effects of divorce on sibling relationships in emerging adults has not receivedmuch empirical attention, conclusions regarding this issue are necessar-ily speculative. Further research is necessary in order to gain some in-sight into the variability of sibling relationships as a function of developmental stage and parental divorce.

In relation to the second goal of the current study, perceived parental

marital satisfaction was found to be a significant predictor of total sib-ling communication, total sibling closeness, total sibling support, andspecific sibling warmth in emerging adulthood. Although there has notbeen extensive research dealing with the connection between perceivedparental martial satisfaction and sibling relations in adulthood, the cur-rent findings are somewhat consistent with research on marital hostilityand sibling relationships in childhood and adulthood. Several studieshave suggested that marital hostility may increase conflict between sib-lings in childhood (Dunn, 1992; Erel, Margoline, & John, 1998; Stocker &Youngblade, 1999) and adulthood (Panish & Sticker, 2001).

This interconnection between parental and sibling relationships isfurther evidence for the need to examine specific family relationships inthe context of the entire family system. According to the family systemstheory (Cicirelli, 1991), familial relationships can be categorized intothree subsystems: the spousal subsystem, the parent-child subsystemand the sibling subsystem, with each of the subsystems influencing theother. The dynamic nature of social relationships and the importance of assessing these integrated processes has been the focus of several recenttheoretical and empirical investigations (Levitt et al., 1993; Levitt,Guacci-Franco,& Levitt, 1994; Magnusson& Stattin,1998). As Magnusson

Avidan Milevsky 125

D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

13/15

(1998) has acknowledged, The developmental processes of an individ-ual cannot be understood by studying single variables in isolation fromother, simultaneously operating variables (p. 38).

The importance of examining parental relationship variables whenassessing divorce and sibling relations is further supported by the medi-ating effects of perceived parental marital satisfaction found in thecurrent study. Mediating effects were determined by assessing the contri-bution of family intactness after perceived parental martial satisfactionwas entered into the regression equation. Family intactness was notfound to be significantly related to sibling support and closeness onceperceived parental marital satisfaction was accounted for. Similarly, Panishand Sticker (2001) found that marital conflict was more important inpredicting sibling conflict than family intactness. The importance of as-sessing the mediators of divorce effects has been highlighted in severalrecent studies (Amato, 2000; Hetherington, Bridges, & Insabella, 1998).However, most studies emphasize postdivorce variables as possiblemediators of the effects of divorce (Goodman, 1993; Kitson, 1992;Masheter, 1991). As opposed to the narrow focus of examining the effectsof divorce, it is becoming evident that future studies should examinepre- and postdivorce mechanisms through which divorce may influence anindividuals outcome.

There are some limitations to the present study. First, in order to cap-ture the true nature of sibling relationships, it would be more appropri-ate to study both partners of the sibling dyad. Relying on the responsesof only one member of the dyad does not supply information about theinterdependence of the sibling relationship (Riggio, 2001). Addi-tionally, although the present study used a relatively large sample of participants, the present results may not generalize beyond the homoge-neous sample included in the study. Previous studies have reported eth-nic differences in divorce adjustment (Kitson, 1992) and in siblingrelationships (Avioli, 1989; Hays & Mindel, 1973). Additional work isneeded using a sample drawn from a more urban, multiethnic community

to assess the generality of the influence of parental divorce and maritalsatisfaction on sibling relationships.In sum, the results indicate that parental divorce and perceived paren-

tal marital satisfaction is related to sibling relations in emerging adult-hood. In addition, the study highlights the importance of examining themechanisms through which divorce may influence an individuals func-tioning. In general, the current study contributes to an important area of inquiry by identifying significant but complex associations between pa-rental relationships and sibling interactions within the emerging adultpopulation.


D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

14/15

REFERENCESAmato, P. R. (1996). Explaining the intergenerational transmission of divorce. Journal

of Marriage and the Family , 58 , 628-640.Amato, P. R. (2000). The consequences of divorce for adults and children. Journal of

Marriage and the Family , 62 , 1269-1287.Amato, P. R., & Keith, B. (1991). Consequences of parental divorce on childrens

well-being: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin , 110 , 26-46.Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens

through the twenties. American Psychologist , 55 , 469-480.Avioli, P. S.(1989) The social support functions of siblings in later life. American Be-

havioral Scientist , 33 , 45-57.Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Bank, S. P., & Kahn, M. D. (1982) The sibling bond . New York: Basic Books.Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in

social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology , 51 , 1173-1182.

Beaty, L. A. (1995). Effects of parental absence on male adolescents peer relationsand self-image. Adolescence , 30 , 873-880.

Brubaker, T. H. (1985). Later life families . Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Bryant, B., & Crockenberg, S. (1980). Correlates and dimensions of prosocial behav-

ior: A study of female siblings with their mothers. Child Development , 51 , 529-544.Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis.

Psychological Bulletin , 98 , 310-357.Dunn, J. (1992). Sisters and brothers: Current issues in developmental research. In F.

Boer, & J. Dunn (Eds.), Childrens sibling relationships (pp. 1-17). Hillsdale, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum.

Dunn, J., Brown, J. R., & Maguire, M. (1995). The development of childrens moralsensibility: Individual differences and emotional understanding. DevelopmentalPsychology , 31 , 649-659.

Dunn, J., Brown, J. R., Slomkowski, C., Telsa, C., & Youngblade, L. M. (1991). Youngchildrens understanding of otherpeoples feelings and beliefs: Individual differencesand their antecedents. Child Development , 62 , 1352-1366.

Dunn, J., & Munn, P. (1986). Siblings and the development of prosocial behavior. In-ternational Journal of Behavioral Development , 9, 265-284.

Dunn, J., Slomkowski, C., Beardsall, L., & Rende, R. (1994). Adjustment in middleschool and early adolescence: Links with earlier and contemporary sibling relation-ships. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry & Allied Disciplines , 35 , 491-504.

Erel, O., Margoline, G., & John, R. S. (1998). Observed sibling interaction: Links with themarital and the mother-child relationship. Developmental Psychology , 34 , 288-298.

Goodman, C. C. (1993). Divorce after long-term marriages: Former spouse relations. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage , 20 , 43-61.

Hays, W. C., & Mindel, C. H. (1973). Extended kinship relations in Black and Whitefamilies. Journal of Marriage and the Family , 35 , 51-57.

Hetherington, E. M. (1989). Coping with family transitions: Winners, losers, and Sur-vivors. Child Development , 60 , 1-14.

Avidan Milevsky 127

D

w

7/29/2019 Milevsky !!!!!!!!

15/15

Hetherington, E. M., Bridges, M., & Insabella, G. M. (1998). What matters? What doesnot? Five perspectives on the association between marital transitions and childrensadjustment. American Psychologist , 53 , 167-184.

Howe, N., & Ross, H. S. (1990). Socialization, perspective-taking, and the sibling rela-tionship. Developmental Psychology , 26 , 160-165.

Kitson, G. C. (1992). Portrait of divorce: Adjustment to marital breakdown . NewYork: Guilford Press.

Levitt, M. J., Guacci-Franco, N., & Levitt, J. L. (1993). Convoys of social support inchildhood and early adolescence: Structure and function. Developmental Psychol-ogy , 29 , 811-818.

Levitt, M. J., Guacci-Franco, N., & Levitt, J. L. (1994). Social support and achieve-ment in childhood and early adolescence: A multicultural study. Journal of Applied

Developmental Psychology , 15, 207-222.MacKinnon, C. E. (1989). An observational investigation of sibling interactions in

married and divorced families. Developmental Psychology , 25 , 36-44.Magnusson, D. (1998). The logic and implications of a person approach. In R. B.

Cairns, L. R. Bergman, & J. Kagan (Eds.), Methods and models for studying the in-dividual (pp. 33-63). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Magnusson, D., & Stattin, H. (1998). Person-context interaction theories. In Lerner, R.M. (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology. Vol. 1: Theoretical models of human de-velopment (pp. 685-760). New York: Wiley.

Masheter, C. (1991). Postdivorce relationships between ex-spouses: The role of attach-ment and interpersonal conflict. Journal of Marriage and the Family , 53 , 103-110.

Milevsky, A. (2003, April) Sibling support in preadolescence and adolescence . Presentedat the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Tampa, FL.

Nichols, W. C. (1986). Sibling system therapy in family system reorganization. Jour-nal of Divorce , 9, 13-31.

Panish, J. B., & Sticker, G. (2001). Parental marital conflict in childhood and influence onadultsibling relationships. Journal of Psychotherapy in Independent Practice , 2, 3-16.

Pulakos, J. (1990). Correlations between family environment and relationships of young adult siblings. Psychological Reports , 67 , 1283-1286.

Powell, M. A., & Parcel, T. L. (1997). Effects of family structure on the earnings attainmentprocess: Differences by gender. Journal of Marriage and the Family , 59, 419-433.

Riggio, H. R. (2000). Measuring attitudes toward sibling relationships: The Lifespan Sib-ling Relationship Scale. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 17 , 707-728.

Riggio, H. R. (2001). Relations between parental divorce and the quality of adult sib-ling relationships. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage , 36 , 67-82.

Ross, C. E., & Mirowsky, J. (1999). Parental divorce, life-course disruption, and adultdepression. Journal of Marriage and the Family , 61 , 1034-1045.Scott, J. P. (1983). Siblings and other kin. In T. H. Brubaker (Ed.), Family relationships

in later life (pp. 47-62). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Smith, T. E. (1993). Growth in academic achievement and teaching younger siblings.

Social Psychology Quarterly , 56 , 77-85.Stocker, C. M., & Youngblade, L. (1999). Marital conflict and parental hostility: Links

with childrens sibling and peer relationships. Journal of Family Psychology , 13 ,598-609.

Wallerstein, J. S., & Kelly, J. B. (1980). Surviving the breakup: How children and par-ents cope with divorce . New York: Basic Books.


D

w

milevsky !!!!!!!!

Documents