title: Fostering parents' emotion regulation through a sibling-focused experimental intervention.
abstract: In this study, we assessed whether an intervention designed to improve children's sibling relationships, the More Fun with Sisters and Brothers program (MFWSB), may also help parents manage their emotions more effectively. Families with at least 2 children between the ages of 4 and 8 years were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 50) or wait-list control (n = 34) group. Parents completed pre- and posttest questionnaires on sibling warmth and agonism, their emotion regulation during sibling conflict, and their global emotion regulation styles. Program participation had a direct effect on 3 of the 4 emotion regulation outcomes for mothers. Mothers in the intervention versus control group reported lower levels of dysregulation and suppression and higher levels of reappraisal at posttest, controlling for pretest regulation scores. Additionally, path models examining posttest responses showed that participation in MFWSB led to lower levels of maternal and paternal negative reactivity in the sibling context via lower levels of sibling agonism, controlling for pretest levels of negative reactivity. Alternate path models, with parents' emotion regulation as mechanisms linking MFWSB and sibling relationship quality, were tested but not supported. Results highlight the value of a sibling-focused intervention for promoting parents' abilities to regulate their emotions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human and Community Development, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
authors.forename: Niyantri
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ravindran
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Engle
authors.affiliation: Department of Human and Community Development, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: McElwain
authors.affiliation: Department of Human and Community Development, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
authors.forename: Laurie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kramer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012801:Sibling Relations; D016896:Treatment Outcome