INTERPARENTAL CONFLICT AND SIBLING RELATIONSHIP QUALITY IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD

Sibling relationships are among the earliest lifelong relationships and have been found to be protective against family dysfunction and positive adjustment outcomes. Yet research on sibling relationships remains limited. The current study aims to expand understanding of sibling relationship quality in emerging adulthood through the application of Emotional Security Theory (EST). EST provides a framework for understanding how adult sibling relationships may be impacted by childhood experiences of destructive interparental conflict. A sample of 1222 undergraduates with siblings completed an online survey. Participants retrospectively reported on interparental conflict and emotional security in childhood, and reported on their current emotion regulation, emotional self-efficacy, and sibling relationship quality. Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that interparental conflict was positively associated with emotional insecurity, which in turn predicted greater emotion dysregulation and lower emotional self-efficacy. Emotion dysregulation was directly associated with higher sibling conflict and perceived parent favoritism of the sibling, while emotional self-efficacy was associated with greater sibling warmth. A significant indirect association emerged linking interparental conflict to sibling warmth through emotional insecurity, dysregulation, and emotional self-efficacy. Findings support the potential influence of interparental conflict on the development of sibling relationship quality through emotional security.