Written by Yandy Li

There is that type of people who share the same origin of blood with you and grow in the same environment with you. You love them as much as you hate them. They are your siblings. Despite the differences in age gap, characteristic and closeness, this type of relationship is unparalleled. Like parent-child relationship, siblings share the rights and responsibilities of being children, which is quite mysterious.

 

According to social comparison theory, we will evaluate our situation by comparing with others. Siblings living under the same roof tend to be the targets of comparison (Festinger, 1954). Concerning theories about sibling rivalry, it is assumed that comparisons among siblings are numerous. Sibling rivalry can also be found among animals. For example, blue-footed booby siblings often treat each other in an aggressive manner, with older chicks pecking at younger chicks. The tendency of this behavior increases with the problem of food shortage, indicating more intense competition (Drummond & Chavelas, 1989). American robin chicks will compete for food provided by their parents through making louder and more prominent cheeps or other vocalizations (Smith & Montgomerie, 1991).

 

Humans are no exception. Whiteman, McHale and Soli (2011) pointed out that when siblings found out that the others are receiving more love and resources from parents, it will likely result in upward social comparison (compare with someone who is better than you), Repercussions include hostility, frequent conflicts and jealousy. However, seeing our siblings achievement boosts our self-esteem. Coming from the same family, we take pride in accomplishment of our siblings and feel proud of him or her. (Tesser, 1980).

 

Gender and age are also factors affecting relationship and characters of siblings. Siblings with the same gender tend to share common topics or hobbies. Due to plentiful similarities with each other, they will like the other more ,and therefore, have a closer relationship with them (Byrne, 1971). However, study also revealed that they are more likely to compare themselves to each other, resulting in jealousy and competition. Siblings with different genders may need to face various social roles. For instance, elder brother have to take care of younger brother and sister so he needs to be mature and caring; while younger silblings are more likely to be spoiled and dependent. We may find parallelity in how siblings with wider age gap communicate and how the elder communicates with youngsters. Siblings with narrorer age gap tend to communicate as in they are talking with their peer.

 

Appropriate social skills and social competence are correlated with harmonious sibling relationship. We can learn and practice social skills through positive interactions with siblings, which can help us develop and maintain healthy relationships with peer (Yeh & Lempers, 2004), and thus improving well-being (Buist & Vermande, 2014).

 

For many affluent and well-developed cities, single-child family is the leading trend. It is not common to have siblings. If you do have one, please treasure this precious fate with your “blood brothers”.

 

 

 

References

Buist, K., & Vermande, M. (2014). Sibling relationship patterns and their associationswith child competence and problem

          behavior. Journal of Family Psychology,28(4), 529.

 

Byrne, D. (1971). The attraction paradigm. New York, NY: Academic Press.

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Drummond, H., & Chavelas, C. G. (1989). Food shortage influences sibling aggression in the blue-footed booby. Animal        

          Behaviour, 37, 806-819.

 

Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2),117-140.

 

Tesser, A. (1980). Self-esteem maintenance in family dynamics. Journal of Personalityand Social Psychology, 39, 77-91.

 

Whiteman, S., McHale, S., & Soli, A. (2011). Theoretical perspectives on siblingrelationships. Journal of Family Theory &

          Review, 3(2), 124–139.

 

Yeh, H & Lempers, J. D. (2004). Perceived sibling relationships and adolescent development. Journal of Youth and

          Adolescence, 33, 133-147.