title: The role of maternal factors in sibling relationship quality: a multilevel study of multiple dyads per family.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although many children grow up with more than one sibling, we do not yet know if sibling dyads within families show similarities to one another on sibling affection and hostility. In the present study the hypotheses were tested that (a) there will be significant between family variation in change in sibling affection and hostility and (b) this between family variation will be explained by maternal affective climate, operationalized as positive and negative ambient parenting, differential parenting and maternal malaise.
  
  
  METHODS
  A general population sample of families with single and multiple sibling dyads were visited twice, 2 years apart. Up to 2 children in a family acted as informants; 253 relationships were rated in 118 families. A cross-classified, multilevel model was fit to separate between-family and within-family variance in sibling relationships while simultaneously controlling for informant and partner influences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-seven percent of the variance in change in sibling affection and 32% of the variance in change in sibling hostility was between family variance. The measured maternal affective climate including, maternal malaise and maternal ambient and differential hostility and affection explained between family differences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sibling relationship quality clusters in families and is partly explained by maternal affective climate.
authors.affiliation: Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. jenny.jenkins@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rasbash
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leckie
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gass
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D001007:Anxiety; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016487:Parenting; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012801:Sibling Relations; D012931:Social Environment