Destructive Sibling Conflict and the Development of Conduct Problems in Young Boys

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Destructive Sibling Conflict and the Development of Conduct Problems in Young Boys

The two biggest variables in this study centered around Rejecting Parenting which is characterized basically by no affection, meanness, and just a basic neglect of a child and not providing the essential things needed by a minor.

The second biggest factor centered around sibling rivalry and the influence of siblings on each other. This was measured on how well the children played together, how they handled change and conflict.

Participants in this study included a sample of 180 families from a population of 310 low-income families recruited from the Women, Infant, and Children Nutritional Supplement Program (WIC). They chose from these families European American, African-American, and Hispanic boys and sibling with 1-4 years of age between them.

Each family had a series of visits and test that they had to undergo during different time frames. Teachers, parents, an assistant and an examiner assessed the children. When the child that was being observed turned age 2 home laboratory visits were done, and reports were compiled. At age 5 the child was observed playing along with his sibling and how they responded to different stimuli and at age 6 follow-up reports were done tracking the children’s performance.

Along with the two variables that I mentioned before, two hypotheses were being tested. The first hypotheses dealt with destructive sibling conflict and if it would be directly related to delinquent and aggressive behavior in children older than 4. They were trying to associate a direct link between sibling issues and delinquency (which they consider proactive behavior) and a direct link between rejecting parenting and aggressive behavior (which they consider reactive behavior).

The second hypotheses (which is a little unclear to the reader) suggests that there will be a difference between was what originally reported and a difference would be created in reference to conduct issues after the children learn how to manage their anger and different behaviors.

Following the findings of the studies one area were parents and teachers held constant was the area of combined sibling conflict and rejecting parenting and the effect it had on a child’s behavior.

The children who had both these variables in the situation were assessed with a higher rating of reactive behavior than children who had just one variable by both the teachers and the parents.

This fact leads them to believe that if a child has conflict with their siblings such as fighting, arguing or rivalry and they have negative parenting at home, it can spread into their everyday relationships.

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