Temperament and the Developing Relationship Between Siblings

Abstract

Developmental changes in the relationship between young siblings were studied by examining the changing contributions of first and second-born children to sibling interactions. The contribution of temperament was examined by analysing the relations between dyadic sibling interactions and both individual and comparative measures of the children's temperament. Observational measures of sibling conflict and play interactions, and mothers' ratings of temperament were collected when the younger children were 2 years old, and again a year later. Dyadic measures of sibling interaction showed little change over time, whereas individual measures of behaviour showed changes in the nature of interactions consistent with developments in the younger child during this time. Dyadic measures of interaction showed no sex differences, and no associations with sibling age difference, whereas the temperament ratings at both times showed associations with these measures. Furthermore, differences in temperament scores (the comparative measure) were strongly associated with conflict. The role of conflict and the changing nature of sibling relationships is discussed.