Siblings' Reactions to Parental Divorce

Because previous studies of children and divorce have typically included only one child per family, little is known about how siblings in the same family experience their parents' divorce. Three samples, totalling 49 pairs of white middle-class adolescent and preadolescent first-born and second-born siblings whose parents were separated no more than 24 months, were studied to assess the relation between siblings' divorce adjustment and the relation between siblings' general behavioral adjustment. Siblings' self-reports and custodial mothers' ratings of each sibling were obtained. For both sets of data, siblings' scores were positively related; when differences were found, older siblings were better adjusted than younger siblings. Based on siblings' self-report scores, relative to younger siblings, older siblings had a better understanding of the divorce, fewer problematic beliefs regarding the divorce, a better understanding of conflict resolution, and a more internal locus of control. Relative to boy/boy dyads, girl/girl dyads had a better understanding of both the divorce and conflict resolution. Based on mothers' ratings, older siblings had more positive reactions to the divorce and were less dependent on adults than younger siblings. There was no support for the position that second-born children with older brothers would show enhanced adjustment.