Sibling bullying is "often dismissed, seen as something normal or harmless. Some parents even think it's beneficial, as good training for dealing with conflict and aggression in other relationships," Corinna Jenkins Tucker, associate professor of family studies at the University of New Hampshire, explains. However, in a recently published research authored by Tucker, she says that sibling bullying may have the same mental effects to children as peer bullying.
According to the new study, bullying among siblings may cause mental distress which often results in anger, anxiety, and depression to the child being bullied. These conclusions were based on The National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence, wherein 3,599 children 17 and under were interviewed over the phone about sibling bullying.
So far, there were four levels of sibling aggression that were categorized in the study. First is mild physical injury, wherein the victim is being hit without causing an injury. Second is severe physical injury, wherein the victim is hit with an object causing injury. Next is property aggression involving forcible theft and breaking of property on purpose. Fourth is psychological aggression, which involves calling names and making the victim feel excluded and inferior.
Tucker emphasized in a press release that even though a child has only undergone one instance of sibling bullying, he or she may manifest more mental distress than those who did not experience sibling aggression at all.
The study also found out that children aged one month to 9 years old experience greater mental distress than adolescents (age 10 to 17).
The associate professor also highlighted how parents and caregivers play important roles in protecting their children from aggression and bullying.
Supporting these findings, John V. Caffaro, a clinical psychologist who wrote "Sibling Abuse Trauma," tells The New York Times that sibling bullying happens four to five times more often than spousal or parental child abuse.
"Our society tends to minimize child-on-child violence in general," he explains. "We have these ideas that if you're hurt by a child it's less injurious than if you're hurt by an adult, but the data doesn't support that."
He also noted that parents and caregivers could increase hatred among siblings by having favoritism or highlighting each child's differences.
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