The Handbook of the Psychology of Sibling Relationships: Advancing Research and Practice, edited by Laurie Kramer, Nina Howe, and Brenda L. Volling, has been published by Springer Nature!
This comprehensive Handbook will change the current mindset about sibling relationships—from a relationship of secondary importance to parent-child relationships—to one that reflects the many ways siblings contribute to individual development and family functioning throughout the life course and across diverse cultural contexts. As it presents the growing body of research on sibling relationships, it offers a new sibling-informed theoretical framework that challenges traditional notions of the sibling bond as one based on hostility, rivalry, and conflict. New directions are offered for research and practice that will address the real needs of families. This Handbook is relevant to all researchers and mental health practitioners.
Check out the 2026 special issue Sibling Relationship Processes Across the Lifespan in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships edited by Sarah Killoren and Nicole Campione-Barr!
Below we provide some articles that have been pivotal in understanding sibling relationship context in the United States.
An introduction to the special issue on sibling relationship processes across the lifespan
Topic trends in sibling research in the journal of social and personal relationships
Sibling and best friend conflict resolution strategies among Mexican-origin youth
The more, the merrier? Young adults’ sibling relationship quality in medium to large families
The protective role of siblings in sexual diverse emerging adult well-being
Forging one’s identity as a twin: Balancing sibling cohesion and deidentification
Raising siblings is stressful: Measuring parental emotion regulation in the sibling context
You need to take turns! Sibling sharing and the emergence of conscience in early childhood
International research is noted as being both important and essential in better contextualizing these relationships.
An introduction to the special issue on sibling relationship processes across the lifespan
Raising siblings is stressful: Measuring parental emotion regulation in the sibling context
Sibling Warmth, Self-Worth, and Empathy among Chinese Adolescents
Associations between sibling relationship quality and daily interactions in early adolescence