Why Siblings Matter

Dr Naomi White completed her PhD on the topic of siblings at the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge, UK with funding from the Royal Society of New Zealand Rutherford Foundation and the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust. This work was part of a larger study led by Professor Claire Hughes that has tracked children’s social and cognitive development from toddlerhood to the teenage years. She is currently completing clinical psychology training at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Professor Claire Hughes is Deputy Director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge, UK. She has now launched a new longitudinal study of the transition to parenthood and the role of early parent-infant interactions in mediating relations between prenatal wellbeing and the early development of executive control and self-regulation with collaboration from teams in the USA and in the Netherlands. Her studies are funded by the ESRC and the Wellcome Trust.

• Chapter 1 Sibling Relationships: An Introduction, Chapter 2 Becoming a Sibling: A Time of Crisis?, Chapter 3 Developmental Changes and Individual Differences in Sibling Relationships, Chapter 4 Sibling Relationships in the Family Context, Chapter 5 Siblings as Agents for Social Development, Chapter 6 Siblings, Social Understanding and Success at School, Chapter 7 Sibling Relationships and Psychological Wellbeing, Chapter 8 Sibling Relationships in the Context of Disability or Chronic Illness, Chapter 9 Sibling Relationships in Cultural Context, Chapter 10 Sibling Relationships and Societal Changes: Looking Back and Looking Forward