Our Research
At SAARA, we publish a series of informational "SAARA Bulletins," create printable handouts and tip sheets, and contribute to scholarly research on sibling dynamics. We also have a blog, "The Science of Siblings," on Psychology Today, where we regularly post about sibling rivalry and conflict, sibling aggression and abuse, and promoting positive sibling relationships.
All Publications
January 1, 2024
SAARA Bulletin #6. Sibling abuse can be just as harmful as parental child maltreatment, leaving injuries and mental distress, yet there are no consistent statutory policies for responding to it.
November 30, 2023
Encyclopedia entry about sibling abuse and bullying in Family Violence and Abuse: An Encyclopedia of Trends, Issues, and Solutions.
October 26, 2023
SAARA Bulletin #5. This bulletin reviews variation in sibling aggression rates and perceptions across race and ethnicity, gender, social class, ability, and sexual identity to help make researchers and practitioners aware of potential sources of difference in how sibling aggression is experienced.
October 24, 2023
SAARA Bulletin #4. During conflict and play, aggressive behaviors like biting, pushing, making threats, or using intimidation, are common and often considered normal between siblings. This bulletin provides guidance on identifying when sibling behavior has crossed the line.
July 19, 2023
We examine how patterns of sibling victimization (Persist, New Onset, Desist, and None) are associated with mental health in childhood and adolescence. Preventing and stopping sibling victimization could reduce physical injuries and mental health despair in childhood and adolescence.
May 6, 2023
SAARA Bulletin #3. The goal of this bulletin is to provide guidance for parents and professionals on preventing and responding to sibling aggression and abuse and improving sibling relationships.
April 22, 2023
SAARA Bulletin #2. When children are young, parents can play an important role in managing sibling conflict while helping their children gain social and cognitive abilities. By using the mediation technique explained in this bulletin, parents help children become better able to resolve conflicts with their brothers and sisters.
April 8, 2023
SAARA Bulletin #1. Unfortunately, aggression, and even abuse, among siblings are often minimized and confused with rivalry. Knowing the difference is important. While sibling rivalry can be a constructive and healthy part of growing up, sibling aggression and abuse are harmful and require intervention.
March 1, 2023
Research consistently shows that sibling aggression and abuse are far from harmless and can have lifelong repercussions.
January 28, 2023
We compared the frequency of fearfulness for sibling versus peer victimization experiences (severe and minor physical, property, and psychological) in childhood and adolescence.
September 9, 2021
Clinical work and parent education programs should address the occurrence of exposure to parent assault on a sibling (EPAS) and the adverse association between EPAS and mental health to reduce its potential negative impact.
June 22, 2020
Identification of family and friend social support as protective factors may help clinicians and intervention work in reducing the detrimental effects of sibling victimization on well-being.
January 13, 2020
Encyclopedia entry about sibling victimization in the Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Development.
September 5, 2019
We explore whether there are common family characteristics (family climate, interparental conflict, parenting) in the prediction of sibling and peer victimization. Knowledge of shared familial elements of sibling and peer victimization could benefit family violence and antibullying programs to promote positive interactions and lessen and stop aggression in both sibling and peer relationships.
August 26, 2019
This study examined how emerging adults' perpetration of aggression toward a sibling closest in age was longitudinally associated with their sibling relationship quality. Perpetration of sibling aggression was predictive 4 years later of less sibling warmth, involvement, and emotional help.
November 21, 2018
We document four patterns of sibling victimization (Persist, New, Desist, and None) across two time points and their association with peer victimization at time two and whether these linkages are apparent in early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence.
January 8, 2018
Sibling victimization was related to more mental health problems and delinquency over and above the effect of child abuse and neglect.
October 1, 2017
Sibling conflict and aggression is often a pervasive part of family life that parents want help managing and can have negative effects on children’s well-being. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate current research regarding programs to reduce sibling conflict and aggression and promote positive sibling relationships.
July 28, 2017
Controlling for other forms of maltreatment and individual and family characteristics, children with a physical disability and parent-perceived children who are thinner than average and children who are overweight experienced more sibling victimization.
December 12, 2016
To understand the role of family adversity in the onset and desistance of sibling victimization, we examined school-age children’s sibling victimization patterns using 2 waves of longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample. An increase in family adversity was associated with initiation of sibling victimization, and termination was related to a decline in family adversity.
