In the last decade, the significance of siblings in children's development and adjustment has been widely recognized, and research on brothers and sisters has increased dramatically. Bringing together exciting research on siblings by leading developmental psychologists and clinicians, this volume's contributions were originally presented at the First International Symposium on Siblings held in Leiden. This book focuses on both the significance of siblings as influences on individual development, and on the importance of the relationship in families with sick, disabled or troubled children. It covers the recent developmental research with chapters on the development of sibling relationships in early and middle childhood, the links between sibling relationships and those with parents, peers and friends, and the influence of siblings on children's adjustment. It then focuses on clinical issues such as siblings as sources of support for unhappy or sick children, or for children in disharmonious homes, and the vulnerability of siblings of disabled children. These clinical issues are discussed in practical terms by leading practitioners. Clear in presentation, comprehensive in its coverage of the exciting recent research, and full of practical insights, this volume brings to light important developmental principles, and raises questions regarding the assumptions about family processes and how different relationships within the family affect one another. For family researchers, those interested in the individual development of children, and for clinicians concerned about the impact of troubled or disabled children on their siblings or the potential of siblings as therapists, this book will be the key. No other book covers the recent research in this important topic and discusses the clinical issues in depth and in practical terms.

Many people grow up with at least one sibling. These siblings are often ‘fellow travellers’ through adversity or significant life events; they can act as a source of support for some children while a source of conflict for others. For these reasons, siblings are a potentially powerful influence on development and this book is one of the first of its kind to provide an overview of cutting-edge psychological research on this important relationship. Why Siblings Matter is a cornerstone text on siblinghood. Integrating findings from a 10 year longitudinal study alongside wider research, it provides a lifespan perspective examining the impact of sibling relationships on children’s development and well-being. This text situates siblings in their historical, developmental and family context, considers the influence of siblings on children’s development and adjustment, and provides an introduction to new research on siblings in diverse contexts. The authors discuss sibling relationships in varied populations such as siblings with disabilities, siblings in different cultures and siblings in non-traditional families, while also considering the practical implications of research. Covering both classical studies and new results this book offers take-home messages for promoting positive sibling interactions. It will be invaluable reading for students and researchers in developmental psychology and family studies and professionals in education, health and social work.

This is a volume on loneliness and what can be done to address its pain. While most books simply describe loneliness from one author’s point of view, this volume includes a comprehensive review of the literature and employs top researchers in the field discuss their own research findings, conclusions and clinical experience. It explores the relationship between loneliness and sexuality, loneliness and optimism, and parental loneliness during pregnancy and childbirth. It also addresses loneliness throughout the life cycle in children, adolescents, the elderly and disabled, leading to a variety of coping and therapeutic modalities aimed at helping those who suffer from loneliness in its various forms.

Even in advanced economies where family sizes has declined over the last 50 years, most children and youth today have at least one sibling. Despite this ubiquity and the known mental health benefits from a supportive sibling relationship, research on emerging adulthood has rarely examined if siblings may contribute in reducing psychological distress. Hence, the overarching question of my thesis was to examine mechanisms (protective, compensatory, and promotive) through which sibling support may mitigate the risky effects of parent and peer alienation on stress and psychological distress in emerging adulthood. The literature in childhood and adolescence appears to suggest that siblings are protective and foster mental health. However, the beneficial effects of siblings have rarely been theorized at the beginning of adulthood, notably in college students who are known to develop more independence from their family. Nevertheless, I was able to ground my thesis in two well-established theoretical frameworks. First, the stress-buffering hypothesis, which postulates that perceived social support should counteract the adverse effects of stress on mental health. Second, concepts of developmental psychopathology, which operationalize the notions of risk, protective, promotive and compensatory factors. Four empirical studies, presented across three articles, were conducted to address the overarching question of this thesis. In Article 1, which presents the first study, we examined the protective role of a supportive sibling climate (i.e. supportive experiences across all siblings) in the hypothesized moderated-mediation model across three independent samples of emerging adults (N=310, N=259, and N=416) using latent moderated structural equation modeling (LMSEM). The hypothesized moderated-mediation model examined the protective (moderating) role of sibling support in a mediation model of the effect that parent and peer alienation has on psychological distress through stress. Inconsistent with our hypothesized model, sibling climate did not moderate the paths linking parent and peer alienation to stress and psychological distress. Nonetheless, in support of the risk mediation model, general stress partially mediated the link between parent (and not peer) alienation and psychological distress. This first study underscored that while not protective, a supportive sibling climate may be a promotive of mental health, and that parents may have an enduring influence during emerging adulthood given that experiences of alienation in these relationships was indicative of more stress and psychological distress. In Article 2, which reports the second and third studies, we used the same moderated-mediation model to examine whether a supportive sibling relationships with one's closest sibling could have protective effects among emerging adults (N=789 and N=325). Additionally, the mediating role of two stress-related mechanisms we also tested: (a) stress in general (Study 2) and interpersonal stress specific to parents and peers (Study 2 and 3). Contrary to our hypothesized protective effects, these studies found mixed effects in the form of both accentuating and attenuating influences of sibling support in the links among alienation, stress, and psychological distress. In Study 2, a worsening effect of siblings suggested peer alienation was related to more stress but only when emerging adults receive more support from a sibling. At the same time, stress from peer alienation was related to less psychological distress in the context of more sibling support. In study 3, a buffering effect of siblings indicated parent alienation was related to less psychological distress in the context of higher levels of support from siblings. Partly consistent with the proposed mediation model, both studies found parent and peer alienation were associated with more psychological distress and this path is mediated by stress in general and not interpersonal stress (only Study 2). Overall, these studies imply sibling support only partially and rarely buffers the link between experiences of alienation and psychological distress as these protective effects failed to replicate across the studies. Given the limited evidence for the protective role of siblings in the moderated-mediation model, in the last article, which reports the fourth study, we focused on the compensatory role of siblings on the development of stress and psychological distress over a semester, specifically in the context of parent and peer alienation among emerging adults (N =234). The 3-month longitudinal findings suggest psychological distress and stress decrease over the course of three academic months. Furthermore, parent and peer alienation nor sibling support were not predictive of stress or psychological distress over time. Taken together, we found supportive sibling relationships, whether across multiple siblings or with one sibling, may not have a protective or compensatory effect against stress and psychological distress when accounting for experiences of alienation from parents and peers in emerging adulthood. Thus, the benefits of siblings in emerging adulthood might at best be promotive in the context of alienation. Furthermore, parent and peer alienation were not identified as risk factors in the longitudinal study, while they were consistently associated with stress and psychological distress in the cross-sectional studies. Finally, unexpectedly, stress and psychological distress were found to decrease over a semester suggesting emerging adults might be more resilient to manage the challenges of a semester than often claimed. In conclusion, to answer the overarching question of this thesis, these findings suggest emerging adults might not be able to rely on their sibling relationships to protect them from psychological distress when faced with stressful experiences of parent and peer alienation. Rather, their supportive siblings might only mitigate psychological distress in the absence of any of these harmful experiences.

One of the most notable findings in contemporary behavior genetics is that children growing up in the same family are not very comparable. Findings suggest that in order to understand individual differences between siblings it is necessary to examine not only the shared experiences but also the differences in experiences of children growing up in the same family. In the past decade a group of investigators has begun to examine the contributions of genetics, and both shared and nonshared environment to development. As with many new research endeavors, this has proven to be a difficult task with much controversy and disagreement not only about the most appropriate models and methods of analysis to be used, but also about the interpretation of findings. Written by some of the foremost scholars working in the area on nonshared environment, the papers in this book present their perspectives, concerns, strategies and research findings dealing with the impact of nonshared environment on individual differences in the development of siblings. This volume will have heuristic value in stimulating researchers to think in new ways about the interactions between heredity, shared and nonshared environment and the challenges in identifying their contributions to sibling differences. These papers should raise new questions about how to examine the contributions of genetic and environmental factors to development, with consideration given to the findings of this study of sibling differences and nonshared environment. Further, these papers may encourage a growing trend to integrate genetic and environmental perspectives in studies of development.

"Although professionals have reached a more complete understanding of sibling relationships and disability, there remains an agenda of unexamined questions ... questions that could prove crucial to the well-being of children with developmental disabilities as well as their typical brothers and sisters. The effects of mental retardation, disability, and illness on sibling relationships : research issues and challenges is an authoritative collection of cutting-edge data that serves as a foundation for future research. Emerging from findings presented at a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development conference, this vital resource addresses such important topics as out-of-home placement, pediatric HIV, differential treatment, stress, and coping mechanisms. Issues that are critical to sibling relationships throughout the lifespan are perceptively explored, as well as the impact of the following : mental retardation, complex medical needs, dual diagnosis, physical disabilities, learning disabilities. Chapter after chapter, prominent researchers from a wide range of disciplines illuminate timely research, explore conceptual issues, evaluate methods of study, propose innovative models and perspectives, and reveal promising avenues for further research and intervention." (Tiré de l'endos du livre).