The Transition to Siblinghood: An Understudied Yet Influential Process Pertinent to Social Work Research

Across cultures, the majority of individuals will have a sibling relationship in their lifetime. Of particular importance to parents and children is the transition to siblinghood, which refers to the process wherein a child becomes a sibling. Although many parents are concerned about how their children will adjust during the transition to siblinghood, scant empirical work on this subject exists. Available empirical work on the transition to siblinghood has stemmed from developmental psychology; however, social work researchers have yet to deeply explore this body of work. The transition to siblinghood is a topic that is rife with opportunity for social work researchers, who have the ability to study this transition from culturally sensitive, person-in-environment, and social justice perspectives. This article provides an overview of the elements and importance of the transition to siblinghood, introduces a theoretical framework relevant to social workers, reviews existent empirical work on the transition to siblinghood, and elucidates limitations in the literature that social work researchers are adept to address. The article concludes with four recommendations to researchers who are interested in studying the transition to siblinghood through a social work lens.