Sibling behavior with a newborn: parents' expectations and observations.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate parents' expectations and perceptions of their firstborn child's behavior before and after the birth of a second child.


METHODS
Couples expecting their second child completed questionnaires before and after the second child's birth.


METHODS
Two large private hospitals offering primary care in urban settings.


METHODS
Seventy married couples who were expecting their second child and had one child age 6 or younger at home.


METHODS
The Older Child Expectations, Older Child Observations, and Sibling Behavior inventories.


METHODS
Independent t-tests were used to measure mean changes over time.


RESULTS
For the items related to the newborn on the Older Child Expectations and Observations inventories, 16 of 23 items differed significantly over time for one or both parents. Parents expected their firstborn child's behavior to be more negative than they actually observed it to be. For the items dealing with developmentally appropriate behaviors, only 7 of 45 items differed significantly over time.


CONCLUSIONS
Parents expected more negative behaviors in their firstborn child than they actually observed after the birth of their second child. Parents observed similar levels of developmentally appropriate behaviors in their firstborn child both before and after the birth of the second child.
Gullicks
J N
JN
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames 50011-1030.
Crase
S J
SJ
D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012380:Role; D012801:Sibling Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires