Many families attend parenting programmes wanting assistance for their children’s behaviour problems and also for managing sibling relationships but there has been little research in this area. The aim of this research project was to assess the effects of the Triple P Level Four Positive Parenting Programme on the quality of the sibling relationships and parent-child relationships with four families drawn from a large city in New Zealand. Direct observation, semi informal parent interviews, questionnaires, child interviews, and anecdotal dated and timed notes were used to assess if there were changes in the quality of target child/sibling and the parent-child-sibling relationship and interactions. The Triple P Programme appeared to be an effective intervention for three of the four families according to final parent interviews. However, analysis of the direct observations indicated inconsistent and varied effects between and within measures.

Body dissatisfaction has become so common that most girls and women will experience it at some point in their lives. Teasing and pressure from family members have been shown to be potent influences in the development of body dissatisfaction. However, most research conducted so far focuses on teasing and pressure from mothers, and neglects siblings altogether. I examined how appearance related teasing and pressure from siblings predicted body dissatisfaction and whether sibling intimacy mediated these relationships. Using survey data from 139 female adolescents, I found that appearance related teasing and pressure from siblings significantly predicted higher levels of body dissatisfaction. I also found significant indirect effects such that sibling teasing and pressure were associated with sibling intimacy, which was associated with body dissatisfaction, although there was no evidence of full mediation. Results indicate that siblings play an important role in the development of body dissatisfaction, and in consequence, eating disorders.

Abstract The quality of life of probationers remains low when reestablishing life in society. Research has been conducted on how siblings can provide support to juveniles, yet minimal research supported how adult sibling relationships have affected probationers' quality of life. The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of the effect sibling relationships may have on probationers' quality of life. Attachment theory was used as a theoretical framework to support the factors relating to sibling relationship types. This research study used a qualitative interview design in order to explore probationers' perspective of their sibling relationship type and quality of life. The sample (N = 6) came from Transcendence Foundation, a facility providing support to probationers in the South Central Region of Minnesota. A thematic analysis was used to interpret the perceptions probationers have of their relationship with their sibling and how it affects their quality of life. Based on the results from past research studies and this research study, siblings with supportive, warm, and positive relationships reduce the negative aspects and feelings of probationers. The results of this study could potentially help probationers increase their quality of life through the development of interventions involving sibling support. A higher quality of life can create positive social change for probationers reentering into society by increasing their feelings of self-worth and reducing recidivism.

Abstract As members of a family, siblings act important roles for their family prosperity in both literary works as well as the real world. Conventionally, sibling cordial love and harmonious interactions are extremely respected and advocated by society. This kind of sibling motif was also frequently seen in plays, fairly tales and folk tales. Moreover, prohibited not only by society but also by the one in the literary works, the theme of the sibling incest becomes a caution for those having too intimate sibling interactions. Similarly, adopting sibling motif as the structure of his two tragedies, The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil, John Webster applies different sibling interactions from those traditional ones. Both of The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil end with the tragic ends--their families become devastated and all brothers and sisters are dead. Applying completely different sibling interactions within his two tragedies, John Webster who abandons all the depictions of harmonious sibling interactions may have his own motivation of presenting this kind of sibling conflict and rivalry. For this reason, the main concern of this thesis is to investigate Webster's motivation of adapting the sibling motif in his two tragedies, The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil and to comprehend his intention of writing this kind of sibling motif. The first chapter introduces a brief introduction of some critics' comments on Webster's plays, the social contexts of Webster's time and the Renaissance plays, fairy tales and folklore applying the sibling as its motif. The second chapter sketches how the family order was reinforced in the house manuals in the sixteenth century, how John Webster altered the historical events to present the sibling conflict and rivalry instead of the revenge plays. What John Webster presents is the complex sibling relationships, which are based on the marriage, the patriarchal figure and family members, property and the class system. The sibling relationship in The Duchess of Malfi obviously establishes the physical concern more than the psychological concern. The third chapter also points out how Webster elaborates the self-concerned brothers utilize his sister to confirm their social status without care as those in The Duchess of Malfi. After comprehending the sibling relationship based on the physical concern due to the social milieu, we may conclude that Webster¡¦s motivation to arrange the sibling motif not only manifest the evilness of human nature but also satirize the reinforcement of the patriarchal family and family order of Webster¡¦s time. On the whole, the morbid society Webster lived resulted in his depiction on the sibling conflict and rivalry in his two tragedies.

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No description available.

Thesis advisor: Paul Gray / As siblings tend to have the longest lasting and most transformative relationship within family systems, more attention must be given to individuals with siblings with disabilities. Given that young adulthood is a time spent planning for the future, this research investigates the impact of the experience of having a sibling with a disability on the development of future aspirations for young adults. Semi-structured interviews and a qualitative analysis examine the various aspects of the sibling relationship and family systems which affect the future planning of young adults with special needs siblings. The purpose is to understand what personality and identity traits develop from the experience of having a sibling with a disability, and how these characteristics subsequently relate to decisions such as career choice, geographical location, beginning a family, and role accountability towards future caregiving for their special needs sibling. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Sociology.

While sisters of breast cancer patients are at increased risk for developing breast cancer due to their family cancer history and age, little research with first-degree relatives of cancer patients has focused solely on sisters. To address this issue, the current study examined sisters screening and health behaviors and the predictors of these behaviors. In accordance with the Parallel Processing Theory, the current study assessed the relationship of cognitive and emotional factors to screening and health-promoting behaviors among sisters of breast cancer patients. In addition, this study expanded upon the Parallel Processing Theory by also examining the relationship of interpersonal factors to screening and health-promoting behaviors. One-hundred-twenty sisters of breast cancer patients from 89 different families completed questionnaires assessing perceived risk of breast cancer, perceived response efficacy of mammography, diet, and exercise, breast cancer worry, trait anxiety, involvement in sister's cancer care, satisfaction with the sister relationship, mammography screenings, physical activity, and amount of fruits and vegetables consumed. Findings indicated that cognitive, emotional, and relational factors were significantly related to mammography screenings, but not to diet or exercise. Specifically, response efficacy for mammography screening was positively related to mammography screening; while trait anxiety and involvement in sister's care were negatively related to mammography screening. Additional analyses indicated that breast cancer worry had a curvilinear relationship with mammography screenings, such that no relationship was seen for women with lower breast cancer worry; for women with higher levels of worry, the greater their worry, the less likely they were to obtain mammography screenings. Breast cancer worry was also found to interact with involvement in care, such that among women less involved in their sister's care, greater breast cancer worry was associated with having fewer mammography screenings. However, for women more involved in their sister's care, greater breast cancer worry was associated with having more mammography screenings. Future research should further assess whether a teachable moment exists related to the family member's cancer diagnosis and treatment during which to encourage the FDR to engage in screening health-promoting behaviors.

The purpose of this study was to explore the significant differences on elementary school students¡¦ attitude toward gender and their sex role identity among different background. Four hundred eighty participants from 7 different elementary schools were selected by stratified random sampling for completing ¡§Gender Attitude Scale¡¨ and ¡§Sex Role Identity Scale¡¨. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, analysis of variance, correlation, and multiple stepwise regression analysis were conducted on the quantitative data. The major findings were as follows: 1. Girls had significantly higher score on femininity than their boy counterparts. 2. Girls had significantly higher means on gender attitude scale than these boys. 3. The 6th grade students had significantly higher means on gender attitude scale than the 5th grade students. 4. Children with different birth order and parental marital conditions had similar mean scores on gender attitude and sex role identity. 5. Children come from families with girl only had significantly higher means on the femininity and gender attitude than these boy family children. 6. Children come from authoritative and permissive father practices families had significantly higher scores on sex role identity than these children come from uninvolved father practice families. 7. Children come from authoritative mother practice had significantly higher scores on gender attitude than these children come from uninvolved mother practice families. 8. Children with good peer relationships had significantly higher scores on gender attitude and sex role identity than other group counterparts. 9. There was significant positive correlation between students¡¦ gender attitude and sex role identity. 10. The three highest significantly predictors for elementary school children¡¦s attitudes toward gender and sex role identity were good peer relationship, gender, and grades. The conclusions of this study were to provide several suggestions for family educators, school educators, education administrators, and academic institute for future research.

Coming out as a sexual minority can be a challenging process (D’amico, Julien, Tremblay, & Chartrand, 2015) and having supportive allies and advocates within the family makes that process less strenuous (Luke & Goodrich, 2015). The sibling relationship has been shown to play a significant supportive role in the lives of LGB people while coming out as sexual minorities (Haxhe, Cerezo, Bergfeld, & Walloch, 2017). Scholars have found that when a second child within the family system comes out as LGB, it gives the parents a chance to improve aspects of their parenting compared to the first child who came out to them. However, there is still little known about LGB sibling’s shared experience with both being sexual minorities. Chapter 2 in this dissertation is a systemic review on the topic of multiple LGB sibling families. Results indicating that these families exist but are not properly represented in literature. With LGB individuals having an increased risks of negative mental health outcomes (Russell & Fish, 2016), Chapter three explores the lived experiences of LGB individuals with LGB siblings. The purpose of the present study is twofold: 1) to examine if coming out to an LGB sibling increases the chances of an ally/advocate within the family and 2) helps lower negative mental health outcomes. Results from this qualitive study include significant differences of lived experiences based on order the siblings came out with family dynamic changes to improve family cohesion. Participants also reported viewing their siblings as allies which played a role in helping with negative mental health symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Finally, this study utilized feminist family theory and found a less likely chance in power projection once both siblings were out. Clinical implications and future research directions will be discussed at length.