Shared Understanding of Parental Differential Treatment in Families

Previous research has revealed that children's perceptions and attributions about parental differential treatment (PDT) moderates the established association between PDT and sibling relationship quality. The present study extended this line of research by examining whether associations between perceptions of parental differential treatment and sibling relationship quality are moderated by levels of concordance between parents' and children's perceptions about differential parental behaviors. Parents' attributions about why they treat their children differentially were also examined. Sixty-six children, aged 14-17 years, their siblings who were 2 to 4 years younger, and their parents were interviewed separately about differential treatment in their families and about the quality of the children's sibling relationships. Results revealed that shared perceptions among family members about why differential treatment occurs in their families were associated with reports of more positive sibling relationship quality. These results highlight the importance of advocating familial communication about differential parental behaviors.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Resources and Family Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Kowal, Amanda Mary

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kramer, Laurie

• Sociology, Individual and Family Studies

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9834704

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/87813