Most previous research on childrens adjustment following the divorce of their parents has focused on the consequences of parents actions and communication choices. Relatively little is known about the impact that sibling relationships have on post-divorce adjustment. The current study was designed to explore the relationship between sibling social support (emotional, instrumental, and informational support) and adjustment. Data was collected from 34 participants using the Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT). Participants identified key turning points in their adjustment process and used those points as an interview guide to talk about support from and communication with their siblings. Numerical questionnaire data was also collected at three turning points. Findings revealed 12 categories of turning points, of which Move, Change in family composition, Change in contact with non-residential parent, Intrapsychic change, and Change in parent relationship status were the most frequently reported. Five trajectories of adjustment were also found, namely Steady, Interrupted, Stagnating, Turbulent, and Declining. From the interview data, examples of social support and communication topics were assessed. Social support was evident in the forms of emotional, instrumental, informational, and perceived support as were more implicit categories like time together and common cause. Conversation topics included parent relationships, the effect of the divorce on other family members, making sense of the divorce, and opinions. From the support and communication data, 7 sibling types were proposed. Siblings who gave equal support to each other fell into the categories of Separates, Pals, Allies, and Opponents. Relationships where one sibling offered more support than the other were categorized as Parent, Protector, and Encourager. Statistically, no relationship was found between sibling support and adjustment, although relationships between parent support and adjustment were found. Explanations and implications are proposed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MONTANA/oai:etd.lib.umt.edu:etd-06182009-095000 |
| Date | 16 July 2009 |
| Creators | Jacobs, Kimberly Ann |
| Contributors | Christina Yoshimura, Paul Silverman, Alan Sillars |
| Publisher | The University of Montana |
| Source Sets | University of Montana Missoula |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-06182009-095000/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Montana or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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