Family Structure and Differential Child Abuse: the Role of Siblings

Öz

The relationship between child abuse and sibling configuration, including the number of siblings, the number of years between siblings, birth order, and the age-sex distribution of the siblings, was explored in the context of competing models of child outcomes. Equal probability sampling was used to extract archival child protection histories for 108 multi-child families, at least one of whose children was the reported victim of physical or sexual abuse. Random-effects Cox proportional hazards regression was applied to the resulting observations on 332 children in separate models for physical and sexual abuse. The results suggest that children are safer when they live with numerous, older, or widely spaced siblings, controlling for adult composition and prior victimization. Because perpetrators seek privacy, siblings may deter abuse through routine surveillance. Numerous, older, or widely spaced siblings might increase surveillance.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Family size, sibling constellation, differential treatment, resource dilution, confluence model

Kaynakça

1. Abbey, C., & Dallos, R. (2004) The experience of the impact of divorce on sibling relationships: A qualitative study. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 9(2), 241- 259.
2. Adams, B.N. (1972) Birth order: A critical review. Sociometry, 35(3), 411-439.
3. Alwin, D.F. (1991) Family of origin and cohort differences in verbal ability. AmericanSociological Review, 56(5), 625-638.
4. Bank, L., Burraston, B., & Snyder, J. (2004) Sibling conflict and ineffective parenting as predictors of adolescent boys' antisocial behaviour and peer difficulties: additive and interactional effects. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 14, 99-125.
5. Bank, L., Patterson, G.R., & Reid, J.B. (1996) Negative sibling interaction patternsas predictors of later adjustment problems in adolescent and younger adult males. In G. Brody (Ed.), Sibling relationships: Their causes and consequences (pp.197-229).
6. Norwood, New Jersey, United States: Ablex.Belmont, L., Stein, Z.A., & Witteró, J.T. (1976) Birth order, family size and school failure. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 18, 421-430.
7. Berger, L.M. (2005) Income, family characteristics, and physical violence toward children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 107-133.
8. Blackwell, B.S., & Reed, M.D. (2003) Power-control as a between- and within- family model: Reconsidering the unit of analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32(5), 385- 399.

9. Blake, J. (1989) Family size and achievement. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
10. Blau, P., & Duncan, O.D. (1967) The American occupational structure. New York: Wiley.
11. Brody, G., & Stoneman, Z. (1994) Sibling relationships and their association with parental differential treatment. In E.M. Hetherington, D. Reiss, & R. Plomin (Eds.),Separate social worlds of siblings: The impact of nonshared environment on development (pp. 129-142). Hillsdale, New Jersey, United States: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
12. Brody, G.H., Stoneman, Z., & Burke, M. (1987) Child temperaments, maternaldifferential behavior, and sibling relationships. Developmental Psychology, 23, 354 362.
13. Brody, G.H., Stoneman, Z., & McCoy, J.K. (1994) Contributions of familyrelationships and child temperaments to longitudinal variations in sibling relationshipquality and sibling relationship styles. Journal of Family Psychology, 8(3), 274-286.
14. Chew, K.S.Y., & McCleary, R. (1994) A life course theory of suicide risk. Suicide &Life- Threatening Behavior, 24(3), 234-244.
15. Cicirelli, V.G. (1978) The relationship of sibling structure to intellectual abilities andachievements. Review of Educational Research, 55, 353-386.
16. Cicirelli, V.G. (1982) Sibling influence throughout the lifespan. In M.E. Lamb & B.Sutton-Smith (Eds.), Sibling relationships: Their nature and significance across thelifespan (pp. 267-284). Hillsdale, New Jersey, United States: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
17. Cicirelli, V.G. (1994) Sibling relationships in cross-cultural perspective. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56(1), 7-20.
18. Cleves, M.A., Gould, W.W., & Gutierrez, R.G. (2004) An introduction to survival analysis using Stata (revised edition). College Station, Texas, United States: Stata Press.
19. Cohen, L.E., & Felson, M. (1979) Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44(4), 588-608.
20. Cohen, S.E., & Beckwith, L. (1977) Caregiving behaviors and early cognitive development as related to ordinal position in preterm infants. Child Development, 48, 152-157.
21. Conley, D. (2000) Sibship sex composition: Effects on educational attainment. Social Science Research, 29, 441-457.
22. Cornoldi, C., & Fattori, L. (1976) Age spacing in firstborns and symbiotic dependence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 431-434.
23. Corsaro, W.A. (2005) The sociology of childhood (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California, United States: Pine Forge Press, Sage Publications.
24. Cox, D.R. (1972) Regression models and life tables (with discussion). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, B, 34, 187-220.
25. Daniels, D., & Plomin, R. (1985) Differential experience of siblings in the same family. Developmental Psychology, 21(5), 747-760.
26. Dawson, D.A. (1991) Family structure and children's health and well-being: Data from the 1988 National Health Interview Survey on Child Health. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 573-584.
27. Deković, M., & Buist, K.L. (2005) Multiple perspectives within the family: Family relationship patterns. Journal of Family Issues, 26(4), 467-490.
28. Downey, D. B. (1995) When bigger is not better: Family size, parental resources, and children's educational performance. American Sociological Review, 60, 746-761.
29. Downey, D.B. (2001) Number of siblings and intellectual development: The resource dilution explanation. American Psychologist, 56, 497-504.
30. Drake, B. (1996) Unraveling "unsubstantiated." Child Maltreatment, 1, 261-271.
31. Drake, B., Johnson-Reid, M., Way, I., & Chung, S. (2003) Substantiation and recidivism. Child Maltreatment, 8, 248-260.
32. Dunn, J. (1984) Sisters and brothers: The developing child. London, United Kingdom: Fontana.
33. Durkheim, E. (1951) Suicide. A study in sociology (J.A. Spaulding & G. Simpson,Trans., G. Simpson, Ed.). New York, United States: The Free Press. (Original work published 1897)
34. Elliott, M., Browne, K., & Kilcoyne, J. (1995) Child sexual abuse prevention: What offenders tell us. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19(5), 579-594.
35. English, D. J., Marshall, D.B., Brummel, S., & Orme, M. (1999) Characteristics of repeated referrals to child protective services in Washington State. Child Maltreatment, 4(4), 297-307.
36. English, D.J., & Pecora, P.J. (1994) Risk assessment as a practice method in child protective services. Child Welfare, LXXIII(5), 451-473.
37. Eno, M. (1985) Sibling relationships in families of divorce. Journal of Psychotherapy and the Family, 3, 139-156.
38. Ernst, C., & Angst, J. (1983) Birth order: Its influence on personality. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
39. Farrington, D.P. (2005) Childhood origins of antisocial behavior. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 12(3), 177-190.
40. Featherman, D., & Hauser, R. (1978) Opportunity and change. New York, United States: Academic Press.
41. Finkelhor, D. (1999) The science. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23(10), 969-974.
42. Finkelhor, D., & Baron, L. (1986) High risk children. In D. Finkelhor, S. Araji, L. Baron, A. Browne, S.D. Peters, & G.E. Wyatt. A sourcebook on child sexual abuse (pp. 60- 88). Beverly Hills, California, United States: Sage.
43. Freese, J., Powell, B., & Steelman, L.C. (1999) Rebel without a cause or effect: Birthorder and social attitudes. American Sociological Review, 64(2), 207-231.
44. Freisthler, B., Midanik, L.T., & Gruenewald, P.J. (2004) Alcohol outlets and child physical abuse and neglect: applying routine activities theory to the study of child maltreatment. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 65(5), 586-592.
45. Glaser, D. (2002) Emotional abuse and neglect (psychological maltreatment): A conceptual framework. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26, 697-714.
46. Guo, G., & VanWey, L.K. (1999) Sibship size and intellectual development: Is the relationship causal? American Sociological Review, 64(2), 169-187.
47. Hamilton-Giachritsis, C.E., & Browne, K.D. (2005) A retrospective study of risk to siblings in abusing families. Journal of Family Psychology 19(4), 619-624.
48. Hauser, R.M., & Kuo, H.H.D. (1998) Does the gender composition of sibships affect women's educational attainment? Journal of Human Resources, 33, 644-657.
49. Heer, D.M. (1985) Effects of sibling number on child outcome. Annual Review of Sociology, 11, 27-47.
50. Hetherington, E.M. (1989) Coping with family transitions: Winners, losers, and survivors. Child Development, 60, 1-14.
51. Kidwell, J.S. (1981) Number of siblings, sibling spacing, sex and birth order: their effects on perceived parent-adolescent relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 43, 315-332.
52. Kier, C., & Lewis, C. (1998) Pre-school sibling interaction in separated and married families: Are same sex pairs or older sisters more sociable? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39, 191-201.
53. Kotch, J.B., Browne, D.C., Ringwalt, C.L., Stewart, P.W., Ruina, E., Holt, K., et al. (1995) Risk of child abuse or neglect in a cohort of low-income children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19(9), 1115-1130.
54. Lawson, L. (2003) Isolation, gratification, justification: offenders' explanations of child molesting. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 24(6-7), 695-705.
55. Lawson, D.M., & Brossart, D.F. (2004) The association between current intergenerational family relationships and sibling structure. Journal of Counseling and Development, 82(4), 472-482.
56. Lindert, P.H. (1977) Sibling position and achievement. The Journal of Human Resources, 12(2), 198-219.
57. McCartney, K., Robeson, W.W., Jordan, E., & Mouradian, V. (1991) Mothers' language with first- and second-born children: A within-family study. In K. Pillemer &K. McCartney (Eds.), Parent-child relations throughout life (pp. 125-142). Hillsdale, New Jersey, United States: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
58. McLanahan, S.S., & Sandefur, G. (1994) Growing up with a single parent: What hurts, what helps. Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States: Harvard University Press.
59. Mercy, J.A., & Steelman, L.C. (1982) Familial influence on the intellectual attainment of children. American Sociological Review, 47, 532-542.
60. Parr, N. (2005, March-April) Why your siblings cost you grades, income and savings, especially if you're female. Paper presented at the Population Association of America, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
61. Phillips, M (1999) Sibship size and academic achievement: What we now know and what we still need to know. American Sociological Review, 64, 188-192.
62. Powell, B., & Steelman, L.C. (1993) The educational benefits of being spaced out: Sibship density and educational progress. American Sociological Review, 58(3), 367 381.
63. Price, S.J., & McKenry, V. (1988) Divorce. Thousand Oaks, California, United States: Sage
64. Radhakrishna, A., Bou-Saada, I.E., Hunger, W.M., Catellier, D.J., & Kotch, J.B.(2001) Are father surrogates a risk factor for child maltreatment? Focus section I: Fathers and child maltreatment: Findings from the Longitudinal Studies of ChildAbuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Child Maltreatment, 6(4), 281-289.
65. Rende, R., Slomkowski, C., Lloyd-Richardson, E., & Niaura, R. (2005) Sibling effectson substance use in adolescence: social contagion and genetic relatedness. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(4), 611-618.
66. Retherford, R.D., & Sewell, W.H. (1991) Birth order and further tests of the confluence model. American Sociological Review, 56, 141-158.
67. Ross, H.G., & Milgram, J.I. (1982) Important variables in adult sibling relationships: A qualitative study. In M.E. Lamb & B. Sutton-Smith (Eds.), Sibling relationships: Theirnature and significance across the lifespan. Hillsdale, New Jersey, United States: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
68. Sargent, D.J. (1998) A general framework for random effects survival analysis in the Cox proportional hazards setting. Biometrics, 54(4), 1486-1497.
69. Sasse, S. (2005) "Motivation" and routine activities theory. Deviant Behavior, 26, 547- 570.
70. Sherley, A.J. (2005) Contextualizing the sexual assault event: images from police files. Deviant Behavior, 26, 87-108.
71. Sidebotham, P., Heron, J., Golding, J., & The ALSPAC Study Team (2002) Childmaltreatment in the "children of the nineties:" Deprivation, class, and social networks in a UK sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26, 1243-1259.
72. Slomkowski, C., Rende, R., Conger, K.J., Simons, R.L., & Conger, R.D. (2001) Sisters, brothers, and delinquency: evaluating social influence during early and middle adolescence. Child Development, 72, 271-283.
73. Smith, K.R., Mineau, G.P., & Bean, L.L. (2002, May) Adult mortality and the effects of sibship size, birth order, and age of parents at birth. Paper presented at the Population Association of America, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
74. Steelman, L.C. (1985) A tale of two variables: A review of the intellectual consequences of sibship size and birth order. Review of Educational Research, 55, 353- 386.
75. Steelman, L.C., & Mercy, J.A. (1983) Sex differences in the impact of the number of older and younger siblings on IQ performance (in research notes). Social Psychology Quarterly, 46(2), 157-162.
76. Steelman, L.C., & Powell, B. (1989) Acquiring capital for college: The constraints of family configuration. American Sociological Review, 54, 844-855.
77. Steelman, L.C., Powell, B., Werum, R., & Carter, S. (2002) Reconsidering the effects of sibling configuration: Recent advances and challenges. Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 243-269.
78. Sutton-Smith, B. (1982) Birth order and sibling status effects. In: M.E. Lamb & B. Sutton-Smith (Eds.), Sibling relationships: Their nature and significance across the lifespan (pp. 153-165). Hillsdale, New Jersey, United States: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
79. Sutton-Smith, B., & Rosenberg, B.G. (1970) The sibling. New York, United States: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
80. U.S. Census Bureau (1999) 1998 Statistical Abstract of the United States (118thed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, Table 43.
81. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, (1997) Child maltreatment 1995: Reports from the states to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
82. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families (2002) Child maltreatment 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
83. Waldrop, M., & Bell, R. (1964) Relation of preschool dependency behavior to family size and density. Child Development, 35, 1187-1195.
84. Way, I., Chung, S., Jonson-Reid, M., & Drake, B. (2001) Maltreatment perpetrators: A 54-month analysis of recidivism. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25, 1093-1108.
85. White, B. (1975) Critical influences in the origins of competence. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 21, 243-266.
86. Wolfner, G.D., & Gelles, R.J. (1993) A profile of violence toward children: A national study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 17, 197-212.
87. Wu, S.S., Chang-Xing, M., Carter, R.L., Ariet, M., Feaver, E.A., Resnick, M.B., et al. (2004) Risk factors for infant maltreatment: A population-based study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 1253-1264.
88. Zajonc, R.B., & Markus, G.B. (1975) Birth order and intellectual development. Psychological Review, 82, 74-88.
89. Zajonc, R.B., Markus, G.B., & Markus, H. (1979) The birth order puzzle. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1325-1341.
90. Zajonc, R.B., & Sulloway, F.J. (2007) The confluence model: birth order as a within- family or between-family dynamic? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33 (9), 1187-1194.