CONTEMPORANEOUS AND LONGITUDINAL ASSOCIATIONS OF SIBLING CONFLICT WITH FAMILY RELATIONSHIP ASSESSMENTS AND FAMILY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SIBLING PROBLEMS

The first purpose of this study was to examine contemporaneous and longitudinal associations of maternal and paternal measures of family functioning with observational and self-report assessments of sibling conflict. The second purpose was to determine whether the ways in which families attempt to solve siblings' problems are associated with contemporaneous and longitudinal assessment of sibling conflict. The results indicate that paternal equality of treatment and family harmony during family discussions about sibling problems, as well as parents' perceptions of family cohesiveness, are associated with lower sibling conflict levels.