Factors Affecting Sibling Relationships among Elderly Women in Melbourne:

The purpose here is to investigate the factors that affect sibling relationships among elderly women. The data were obtained from a survey of women aged 65 to 79 in one of the cities within the Melbourne Metropolitan Area, Australia in 2005 and 2006. The multilevel analyses revealed the following five findings. (1) Women from foreign countries met each of their siblings more often than women from Australia, and women from non-English speaking foreign countries had more frequent contact with each sibling through phone, letters, and email. (2) The closer women lived to their siblings, the more frequently they met them, had more frequent contact with them via phone, letters and email, and could expect more emotional support from them. (3) Women tended to meet their sisters more often than their brothers, had more frequent contact with their sisters through phone, letters and email, and could more often expect emotional support from their sisters than their brothers. (4) The presence or absence of a spouse or children had no effect on their relationships with siblings. (5) Age, educational attainment, the level of physical fitness among women, whether they were driving a car or not, and the number of siblings influenced their sibling relationships as well. Overall, a woman's country of origin has an effect on sibling relationships, even after residing in a country for an extended period.