A systematic review and meta-analysis of the associations between interparental and sibling relationships: Positive or negative?

Abstract

According to family systems theory, a family is regarded as an organized whole and relations within this system are interconnected. However, it is not clear to date whether the interparental and the sibling relationship are associated and, if such an association exists, whether it is positive or negative. Previous findings on the associations between the interparental and sibling relationships are inconsistent and there is as yet no pertinent review or meta-analysis. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis set out (1) to aggregate previous studies investigating the links between the interparental and sibling relationships and (2) to examine potential moderators in this link. Based on 47 studies reporting 234 effect sizes (N = 29,746 from six nations; 6-12 years; 49% boys), meta-analytic results suggest a small positive correlation between interparental and sibling relationship quality (r = .14). Only the percentage of male children in the sample moderated this effect. Sex composition of sibling dyad and source of publication affected whether positive or negative associations were found. The findings support a growing consensus that family relations do not function in isolation, but are mutually interdependent, which should be considered in clinical practice.