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Parents' differential treatment of siblings has been understudied among sibling research in Chinese societies where the government ended its one-child policy. This study, using a three-wave longitudinal design, explored the associations among parents' marital and coparenting relationships, parental differential treatment of siblings, and adolescents' sibling relationships within a theoretical framework of a developmental cascade model of family influence. Adolescents ( M age = 0.76 at Time 1; 51.2% girls) and their mothers from 260 families in China participated in this research (first data collection in January 2018). Mothers completed questionnaires that assessed marital and coparenting relationship quality, and adolescents completed questionnaires that assessed their perceptions of parental differential treatment as well as sibling intimacy and conflict. The results, based on path analyses, revealed that marital satisfaction at Time 1 was positively associated with coparenting support at Time 2. Coparenting support at Time 2 was negatively associated with adolescents' perception of parental differential treatment at Time 3. Parental differential treatment at Time 3 was negatively associated with sibling intimacy at Time 3 but positively associated with sibling conflict at Time 3. These results are consistent with the developmental cascade hypothesis in that parent-parent subsystems influenced parental differential treatment of siblings as a parent-child subsystem, which in turn spilled over to create negative family processes that exacerbated adolescents' sibling subsystem quality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).SD = 0.76 at Time 1; 51.2% girls) and their mothers from 260 families in China participated in this research (first data collection in January 2018). Mothers completed questionnaires that assessed marital and coparenting relationship quality, and adolescents completed questionnaires that assessed their perceptions of parental differential treatment as well as sibling intimacy and conflict. The results, based on path analyses, revealed that marital satisfaction at Time 1 was positively associated with coparenting support at Time 2. Coparenting support at Time 2 was negatively associated with adolescents' perception of parental differential treatment at Time 3. Parental differential treatment at Time 3 was negatively associated with sibling intimacy at Time 3 but positively associated with sibling conflict at Time 3. These results are consistent with the developmental cascade hypothesis in that parent-parent subsystems influenced parental differential treatment of siblings as a parent-child subsystem, which in turn spilled over to create negative family processes that exacerbated adolescents' sibling subsystem quality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

We investigated how sibling status and sex of younger siblings influence Chinese adolescents' relationships with their fathers and mothers as a function of resource dilution and preference for sons. The sample included 1,093 adolescents from the 8th grade (M age  = 13.96 years, SD = 0.75 years; 47% girls) and the 11th grade (M age  = 17.25 years, SD = 0.74 years; 57% girls) in a longitudinal study. Consistent with expectations pertaining to the hypothesis of resource dilution and son preference in combination, girls with a younger brother reported less positive relationships with mothers than either singleton girls or girls with a younger sister. No significant difference was found between singleton boys and boys with a younger sibling. The current findings show implications that the resource-dilution theory and son preference culture together may place girls with a younger brother in an unfavorable condition of resource allocation., (© 2022 Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Parents' comparisons of siblings have been understudied among sibling research, especially in Chinese societies where the government recently relaxed its one-child policy. This study, using a two-wave longitudinal design, explored how parents' comparisons of siblings were associated with adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems. Study participants were 260 Chinese adolescents who had siblings and completed questionnaires that assessed their internalizing and externalizing problems, as well as their perceptions of parents' critical comparisons of siblings. Cross-lagged modeling analysis showed that parents' comparisons of siblings predicted more internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents 6 months later. Moreover, adolescents' externalizing problems but not internalizing problems predicted more parents' comparisons of siblings over time. These findings underscore the importance of reciprocal relations between parents' comparisons of siblings and adolescents' externalizing problems and the implication of cultural context in understanding associations between parental practices and adolescents' adjustment.

Objectives: The reaction of firstborns to the impending arrival of a sibling has received little attention from family psychologists. The present study examined whether firstborns' positive feelings about their sibling before the birth were related to the time at which they were told about the mother's pregnancy and their effortful control, which was defined as the self-regulatory ability to inhibit a dominant response to perform a subdominant response. The goal of this research was to provide preliminary evidence in the social context of the two-child policy in China., Methods: The sample included 52 Chinese parents and their firstborns when mothers were in their third trimester of pregnancy with their second child. Data were obtained by means of observation and parent-reported questionnaires., Results: Firstborn children who were told earlier in their mothers' pregnancy were more likely to have positive feelings about their sibling before the birth. In addition, firstborns' effortful control was positively associated with positive feelings about a sibling before the birth. Last, firstborns' effortful control moderated the association between the time at which they were told and positive feelings about the sibling before the birth. Specifically, only when firstborns had low levels of effortful control, being told later about the pregnancy, was related to lower levels of positive feelings about the sibling., Conclusions: Findings enhanced our understanding of how parents' preparation and firstborns' individual characteristics may have a role on firstborns' positive adjustment before the birth of a sibling.

This longitudinal research identified the developmental trajectories of sibling jealousy in firstborn children (M age = 49.9 months; 55% boys) among 107 Chinese families from 1 to 12 months after the birth of a younger sibling. Four sibling jealousy trajectories were identified: (a) low-increasing, (b) middle-stable, (c) high-stable, and (d) sharp-increasing. Trajectory group membership varied as a function of pre-birth parental factors including strict parental control (i.e., tiger parenting), parenting stress, and parental depression. These results highlight the benefit of examining the development of sibling jealousy over the transition to siblinghood and the importance to recognize pre-birth parental characteristics, especially paternal factors, as determinants when identifying children who may be at greater risk of adjustment difficulties following the birth of a younger sibling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study examined the reciprocal associations between paternal and maternal rejection and firstborn children's (Mage = 49.9 months; 55% boys) behavior problems across the transition to siblinghood in a sample of 120 families recruited from 2016 to 2018 from Shanghai, China. Parental rejection and behavior problems were assessed before (prenatal) and 1, 6, and 12 months after the birth of a baby sibling. Random intercept cross‐lagged panel models revealed positive relations between internalizing problems and both maternal and paternal rejection, and between externalizing problems and paternal rejection at the between‐person level (rs =.32–.37), but only cross‐lagged effects from children's internalizing and externalizing problems to maternal rejection at the within‐person level (βs =.30–.54). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the longitudinal associations between perception of sibling relationship quality (i.e., sibling warmth and conflict) and sibling influence (i.e., sibling modeling and differentiation), as well as the potential moderating role of birth order among Chinese adolescents. Participants were 150 adolescents (Mage = 12.84 years, SD = 0.71; gender combination: 41.22% same-sex pairs) from Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Measures of sibling relationship quality and sibling influence were collected via self-reports at two time points, 6 months apart. We study at the individual level and the target child is one of a pair of siblings. Results based on a cross-lagged model indicated that (a) perceiving sibling relationship as warmer positively predicted imitating one’s sibling, (b) imitating one’s sibling positively predicted perceiving sibling relationship as more conflicted for younger siblings but not for older siblings, and (c) perceiving sibling relationship as warmer positively predicted differentiating one’s sibling for older siblings but not for younger siblings. These findings illustrate reciprocal associations between perception of sibling relationship quality and sibling influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associations between parent–child relationships and adolescents' shyness are well documented, but relatively little is known about the role of siblings. This three‐wave longitudinal research examined reciprocal associations between parental and sibling warmth and adolescents' shyness in China. One hundred and fifty Chinese adolescents (Mage = 12.84 years; 56.7% girls) participated. Data were collected from multiple sources including self‐reports and peer assessments. Cross‐lagged model analyses revealed unique longitudinal paths from sibling warmth to adolescents' shyness and from adolescents' shyness to sibling warmth. Moreover, no cross‐lagged paths existed between fathers' and mothers' warmth and adolescents' shyness. The results suggest that sibling relationships may be a unique social context for socialization and development among Chinese adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationships of parents' and children's sibling status to parenting and co-parenting in Shanghai, China. Parents of 652 children (mean age = 61.55 months) from 12 preschools completed the questionnaire. The fathers and mothers provided demographic information and responded to items that assessed parenting style and perceived co-parenting. The results found that, in two-child families, mothers without siblings reported more authoritative parenting styles and less authoritarian parenting styles than mothers with siblings. Co-parenting positively related to authoritative parenting style and negatively related to authoritarian parenting style for both parents and regardless of parents' and children's sibling status. The results support the resource dilution model for Chinese families, emphasize the importance of sibling status on parenting and co-parenting, clarify gender differences, and add to the emerging discourse on China's changing population policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Limited research has investigated how parenting stress may play a role in sibling relationships. Little is known about co-parenting in buffering against the role of parenting stress on sibling relationships. This study examined these links in a Chinese contest. Methods: A sample of 167 two-child Chinese families were recruited to attend this study. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing parenting stress, co-parenting, parental warmth, and the quality of their children's sibling relationships. Results: Mothers' parenting stress was indirectly associated with positive sibling relationships through the role of maternal warmth. In addition, mothers' parenting stress interacted with their perception of co-parenting to play a role in maternal warmth. Conclusions: These findings provide useful information about the pathway through which mothers' parenting stress influences sibling relationships. In identifying the moderating role of co-parenting on the mediating process of parenting behaviors, we encourage fathers to support the mothers' role in caring for two children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how maternal involvement in sibling relationships and coparenting behaviors were associated with adolescents' sibling conflicts. Adolescents (Mage = 12.25 years; 47.8% boys) and their mothers from 542 families in China participated in this research. Mothers completed questionnaires that assessed their strategies of involvement in sibling relationships, as well as their perceptions of the quality of their coparenting behaviors. Furthermore, adolescents completed questionnaires that assessed sibling conflicts. Results revealed that the mother's positive guidance was negatively related and their authoritarian control was positively related to sibling conflict. A significant interaction was also found between positive maternal guidance in sibling relationships and undermining coparenting behaviors. These findings underscore the unique and interactive effects of mothers' direct involvement in sibling relationships and coparenting behaviors in adolescents' sibling conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Parents' experiences as siblings have received little attention from family psychologists. This study examined whether Chinese mothers' sibling status—growing up with or without siblings—played a role in the quality of their children's sibling relationships. It also tested whether the association between mothers' sibling status and children's sibling relationships was moderated by supportive coparenting. The research goal was to provide preliminary evidence relevant to the importance of parents' sibling experiences on their children's sibling relationships.Methods: The sample comprised 167 two-child families in Shanghai, China. Mothers (M = 34.5 years old; 55.1% of mothers without siblings) completed questionnaires assessing supportive coparenting and the quality of their children's sibling relationships.Results: The results indicated that there were differences in the quality of sibling relationships among children whose mothers grew up with siblings and their counterparts whose mothers grew up without siblings. Specifically, the former had sibling relationships characterized by more positive involvement, but less conflict, rivalry and avoidance than the latter. In addition, supportive coparenting was positively related to positive sibling involvement and—in children of mothers without siblings—negatively related to both sibling conflict and sibling avoidance.Conclusions: These findings enhance understanding of how mothers' experiences as siblings may have a role in their children's sibling relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wealth of research has revealed that both sibling absence or presence and sibling relationship are essential contributors to children's theory of mind (ToM) skills. However, almost all these studies were conducted in Western, individualistic countries, and no study has yet focused on the sibling-ToM link in Chinese children. To address these gaps, firstly,113 children without siblings (M age = 4.38 years, SD = 0.84, 53 boys) and 150 one-sibling children (M age = 4.24 years, SD = 0.85, 64 boys) from China were compared by an established developmental ToM Scale. This study revealed that sibling status (e.g., children with a sibling vs without a sibling; children with an older or child-aged sibling vs. children with a young sibling) did not influence ToM scores. Moreover, for children with a sibling, positive interactions (but not negative interactions) between sibling dyads were positively associated with children's ToM skills. In conclusion, these findings suggested that the presence of one sibling at home only doesn't necessarily accelerate Chinese children's acquisition of ToM skills. It is the positive interaction between siblings that promotes the development of children's ToM skills. • Sibling status do not affect ToM skills of Chinese children. • Sibling negative interactions have no effect on Chinese children's ToM skills. • Sibling positive interactions could promote Chinese children's ToM skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]