The effect of attachment security on the infant sibling relationship following the birth of the second child.

This review examines studies on the impact of parenting on the development of children's sibling relationships. The studies link several parenting factors to sibling relationship development. The main findings are that differential parenting, marital discord and the expression of emotion through anger or depression can have an adverse impact on siblings. However, most of the research is primarily correlational and the causal factors involved in the nature of sibling interactions are both nuanced and complex. Researchers have used two main theoretical models, social learning theory and attachment to explain their findings. However, generalisability is weakened by a lack of diversity in the samples with white middle class participants predominant. More recent studies have examined bi-directional processes, the role of the wider system and the influence of a developmental psychopathology framework in understanding the nature of parental influence