Sibling and Peer Relationships in Emerging Adulthood

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Growing up in a family where so much emphasis is placed in strong familial ties made me appreciate my family. I love spending time with my family because they have taught me so much about life and what I should value in life. My parents emigrated from Hong Kong to New York City when they were in their teens. My brother, Jacky, and I are one and a half years apart from each other. As we were growing up, my brother and I had a very interesting relationship. We fought a lot, like every sibling but we would get along when we wanted to play together. During childhood, my grandparents often took care of my brother, while my parents took care of me. My mom didn’t have the option to opt-out of work because she was my dad’s partner in business. It was hard for her to take care of my brother and me at the same time. When my parents were working during the day, my grandparents babysat the both of us. During night time, my parents took me while my brother stayed with my grandparents, but we were only next door. Growing up, I’ve always valued friendships. Friends were as important to me as family. I’ve attended Catholic school from first grade through eighth grade. My classmates were the same 35 people throughout grade school. I went through many hardships and obstacles trying to find peers who were similar to me. In 6th grade, I went through identity crisis to find out who I was. Before that, I was constantly changing myself so that I could fit in and be like others. Throughout the years in grade school, I struggled with my identity but as I went through high school and am going through college, I have a good grasp of my identity and who my friends are. One of the topics I am going to discuss is the relationship with my brother and how i... ... middle of paper ... ... and perceived peer relationship quality in emerging adulthood: The mediating role of attachment-related emotions. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1417-1425. Milevsky, A. (12/2005). "Compensatory patterns of sibling support in emerging adulthood: Variations in loneliness, self-esteem, depression and life satisfaction". Journal of social and personal relationships (0265-4075), 22 (6), p. 743. Scharf, M. (01/2005). "Sibling Relationships in Emerging Adulthood and in Adolescence". Journal of adolescent research(0743-5584), 20 (1), p. 64. Wong, T. M. L., Branje, S. J. T., VanderValk, I. E., Hawk, S. T., & Meeus, W. H. J. (2010). The role of siblings in identity development in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescence, 33(5), 673-682. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.11.003

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