TITLE

The Psychology Behind Sibling Rivalry

DESCRIPTION

This is a very interesting article that focuses on family life and childhood development.  Specifically the focus is on development of sibling rivalry.  “…according to Jeanine Vivona, a professor of psychology at the College of New Jersey who has studied sibling rivalry, “competition with siblings is just a fact of life. And we, as people with siblings and people with children, can just try to manage it as best we can … psychologically, sibling rivalry serves a developmental purpose: It helps children figure out what is unique and special about themselves, otherwise known as “differentiation.”  The article discusses sibling rivalry from various perspectives including everyday living in a family, some historical notions, research into the development of the issue, and very excellent advice on handling the problems in a family.

This article is excellent and can be used with the text chapters on childhood and adolescent development.

SOURCE

New York Times, January 13, 2021, by Jessica Grose

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/parenting/sibling-rivalry-fights-kids.html?smid=em-share

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/y7oa2f3n

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

•What is sibling rivalry?  

•From a psychological perspective, what is one hypothesized purpose of sibling rivalry?

•Using a historical perspective, how is sibling rivalry viewed now versus back hundreds of years ago?

•If you were addressing a parents’ group, what advice would you give on tackling the problem?