Parent-Adolescent Communication, Siblings and Adolescent Coping Strategies

Relationships between adolescents and their siblings may be associated with birth order and gender. Additionally, the spillover hypothesis suggests that emotions and behaviors in one family subsystem can affect others. Accordingly, the quality of parent-child relationship might "spill over" into the sibling dynamic, thereby influencing adolescent development. This study examines whether birth order and sibling gender dyads are significantly associated with the adolescents' use of active, distraction, and problem-focused coping strategies. Additionally, it tests whether gender dyads moderate this association. Data came from a large-scale longitudinal dataset of adolescent participants in the Northeast region of the United States, N = 1428 (M_age = 12.75, SD = 0.71, at Time 1). Direct and moderating effects are tested using regression-based structural equation analyses. Results suggest that birth order was significantly associated with the adolescents' use of coping strategies when the adolescent was older and within a mixed-gender dyad. Additionally, significant interactions are found for same and mixed-gender dyads when the adolescent was older. Findings provide foundational support from which to explore the role of birth order and sibling gender dyads in adolescent development. Furthermore, it provides a basis for mental health practitioners and counselors working with adolescents to leverage the sibling relationship in promoting healthy coping strategies.