The Relationship Between Sibling Maltreatment and College Students' Sense of Well-Being

Empirical research on sibling abuse has been overwhelmingly absent from the professional literature. This exploratory study used a survey instrument to investigate the question of whether the experience of sibling abuse influences the sense of well-being in college students. A linear multiple regression analysis indicated that experience with sibling abuse, either as a survivor or as a perpetrator, does have an impact on perception of well-being. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed. ********** Throughout history, abuse within the family has been considered a private matter that should remain within the confines of the home. During the 1970s, the feminist movement helped break down the walls of privacy that were protecting family violence and brought awareness of the issue into the mainstream of public consciousness in the United States (Ammerman & Hersen, 1991). Since that time, there have been tremendous advances in the study of family violence; for example, childhood abuse is now recognized by professionals as a significant and widespread problem with consequences that last into adulthood (Adler & Schutz, 1995; Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1990; Wiehe, 1990). Despite these advances, research related to intrafamilial violence that has been conducted by social science researchers during the past 3 decades has largely ignored the experience of sibling maltreatment (Ammerman & Hersen, 1991; Kiselica & Morrill-Richards, 2007; Phillips-Green, 2002). The few studies conducted during the past 30 years have yielded data indicating that sibling abuse is endemic and can result in devastating consequences long into adulthood (Garey, 1999; M. P. Goodwin & Roscoe, 1990; Kiselica & Morrill-Richards, 2007; Straus & Gelles, 1990; Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980; Wiehe, 1998, 2000). Data regarding homicide in the United States indicate that siblings perpetrated 6.1% of all murders committed by family members in 2002 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2004). Extensive national survey data reveal that serious violence between siblings is frighteningly common and more prevalent than serious child abuse by parents: 53% of children ages 3 to 17 years have committed acts of severe violence (e.g., punching, kicking, stabbing, or attacking with objects) against a brother or a sister, whereas only 2.3% of parents have engaged in severe violence toward their children (Swam & Gelles, 1990). Sibling Relationships Sibling relationships may comprise biological siblings (sharing the same biological parents), half siblings (sharing one biological parent), step-siblings (related through marriage of parents), adoptive siblings, foster siblings (related through a shared home), or fictive siblings (may not be biologically related, but arc considered siblings). The sibling relationship itself consists of "all interactions, verbal and nonverbal, of two or more individuals who are members of the same sibling subsystem and who have parents in common" (Caffaro & Conn-Caffaro, 1998, p. 75). Compared with any other emotional connection between people, the relationship siblings have with each other is unique and is one of the most powerful forces in social development (Rowe & Gulley, 1992; Snyder, Bank, & Burraston, 2005). Snyder et al. found a strong relationship between sibling interactions and sense of well-being. Johnston and Freeman (1989) discovered that, over time, sibling relationships that are positive have a beneficial effect on siblings and those that are negative have an adverse impact on siblings. When siblings are positive toward each other, a supportive environment exists in which healthy development is likely to occur. Negative sibling relationships, by comparison, are characterized by fear, shame, and hopelessness. A sibling relationship in which abusive interaction exists can lead to devastating and long-lasting consequences, such as the normalization of coercive and aggressive interpersonal behavior (Phillips-Green, 2002; Snyder et al. …