The influence of interparental conflict on sibling relationship quality in intact and separated families
Summary
Background: The central aim of this paper is to explore whether interparental conflict has an effect on sibling
relationship quality in intact and separated families. The demand for this research comes from conflicting and
dated literature regarding the effects of interparental conflict and family structure on sibling relationship
quality, while separation within families has seen an increasing trend ov e r the latest years. Methods: The data
used for this study comes from cross-sequential research about relationships, parental separation and problem
solving skills of adolescents and families. The research exists of six waves from 2006 to 2016. Only the first
wave, which includes the concept of sibling relationship, is used. Results: The current study shows that there is no
effect of family structure on sibling relationship quality. Another result is a small, negative correlation between
interparental conflict and sibling relationship quality. At last, an interaction effect between interparental conflict
and family structure on the sibling relationship quality is found. This interaction effect shows that interparental
conflict has a negative effect on the sibling relationship in intact families and no effect on sibling relationship in
separated families. Conclusion: The positive effect of interparental conflict on the sibling relationship in
separated families indicates that siblings in separated families comfort and support each other more when
confronted with interparental conflict. The negative correlation indicates that increases in interparental
conflict can be related to decreases in sibling relationship quality.