Preadolescent boys' perceptions of their sibling relationships.
Date
2009-03-06T08:37:49Z
Authors
Blackburn, Marie
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Abstract
Notwithstanding relationships with parents and primary caregivers the relationship a
person has with a sibling is likely to be his first important autonomous relationship with
another person. Siblings have the same parents and families, and they often share homes
and life experiences. Relationships with siblings are frequently a person’s longest lasting
relationship. However, these relationships are often complex and diverse in nature and
there is no cohesive theoretical explanation for the role that these relationships play in a
person’s life. Therefore this study explored how a group of preadolescent boys perceive
and explain their sibling relationships. The data for this exploratory qualitative study was
obtained by interviewing the group of boys, and investigated how these boys make sense
of their relationships. Four main themes emerged: the role of hierarchy within their
relationships, the impact having a brother or a sister has on their relationships, how the
boys understand conflict and competition, and finally how they comprehend closeness
and separateness within their sibling relationships. The findings highlight the complexity
of these relationships and also provide interesting insight into how the boys make sense
of this complexity. Most of the boys said they preferred having siblings even if they
reported having difficult relationships with their siblings. On the whole the boys felt that
these relationships are very important for them, in spite of them reporting that their
siblings are often challenging and problematic. The findings suggest that in this small
sample, sibling relationships are central for boys in their negotiation of social interactions
with people who are not their parents and/or adults.
Description
Keywords
Sibling relationships, Preadolescent