Sibling Relationships

As children grow, developing an identity is an essential part of life. Knowing who you are and finding a place for yourself in the world is a complicated process. However, when all said and done, your choices and who you are can be traced back to sibling relationships. Every choice made in life leads you to the person you become. With a sibling, those choices are heavily influenced by the relationship you develop. According to Brim, siblings act as role models. This often occurs as the younger sibling imitates the older sibling (Ansbacher, 1956) and grow fond of their actions and in some way ‘idolize’ them, creating a ‘want’ to follow in their footsteps. This leads to the development of a personality that would be significantly different without …show more content…
Hartshorne stated that although previously proven faulty, in 2009 a new study brought to light evidence proving that birth order does affect your personality. This is due to the fact that the presence of another sibling alters the parenting of each child. The first born child often feels the other is favored in the family because they receive less attention than when they were an only child. This can lead to an unhealthy relationship between the siblings and parents. On the other hand, if the parents are able to nurture and give attention as equally as possible, the sibling relationship may be strengthened, as they both feel loved and supported, reducing the jealousy that might otherwise have developed. This may differ substantially between families, dependent upon factors such as the living situation and number of siblings in the family. Regardless of the situation, the simple presence of a sibling does have an effect on the development of …show more content…
Families can go through tragic and traumatizing events and support is critical in order to emerge from the situation with the hope of continuing with a positive outlook. In families where divorce has occurred, the sibling relationship was more positive and stronger than before (Kunz, 19-47). This occurred because when in a bad situation, a positive and supportive sibling relationship can help guide you through. By having someone to talk to and help get you through a bad situation, the chance of depression and other issues is greatly reduced. In situations like parental divorce, a peer can be a good alternative if there is not a sibling. However, having a sibling that understands exactly how you feel, and is going through the same things as you, is much more effective than a peer trying to understand to help guide you through. Relationships with a child and parent can be very complicated due to many reasons such as substance abuse, absence, and differing opinions. When the parental relationship with the children is poor, the children may feel as if they need to be there for each other. A feeling of comfort is obtained by having another person undergoing the same challenge and this relationship is often much more reliable due to the understanding between the