Sibling abuse: Understanding developmental consequences through object relations, family systems, and resiliency theories

This phenomenological qualitative study explored childhood and adolescent  sibling   abuse  among adult survivors. The original intent was to explore informant’s perceptions of the effects of  sibling   abuse  on their adult relationships. However, the study revealed significant findings beyond adult informant’s relatedness. Although some claim  sibling   abuse  occurs more frequently than parent-child or spousal  abuse , data tracking its incidence is unavailable. Therefore, it remains overlooked as normative  sibling  rivalry. Based on informants’ descriptions of their  abuse , I distinguished  sibling   abuse  as a distinct phenomenon with devastating childhood consequences and repercussions in self-concept and relatedness which extend into adulthood. In addition, this study provides rich description of the phenomenon of  sibling   abuse . Because no theoretically driven research about  sibling  relationships and object relations, family systems, and emerging theories of risk and resilience exist, this study incorporated  sibling   abuse  into a developmental understanding of personality using these theoretical lenses.

Methods included recruitment of through flyers posted in colleges, graduate schools, local Y’s, and churches in addition to an advertisement in a professional social work newsletter. This yielded a sample of 19 self-identified survivors of  sibling   abuse , 15 female and four male. All subjects were over age 21 and once screened for a history of childhood or adolescent  sibling   abuse , participated in in-person in-depth interviews. I constructed an original interview guide informed by sensitizing concepts from the work of Weihe (1997).

Findings indicated  sibling   abuse  put children at grave risk for physical and psychological injury. Additionally, the abusive  sibling  relationship affected perception of self and others into adulthood. Informants expressed problems establishing relationships both as children and as adults. Parent-child  abuse  was present many cases and modeled detrimental methods of communication. Informants expressed resilience through establishing relationships outside the home as children and through successful career achievement as adults.

Implications for this study include the need for child welfare workers to identify children at risk for  sibling   abuse . Mental health practitioners need heightened awareness of risk factors, symptoms, and devastating repercussions of  sibling   abuse . Limitations of the study include a homogeneous sample. This suggests the need for similar research with more demographically diverse samples.