Examples Of Sisterhood: Sibling Rivalry

Sisterhood:
Sibling Rivalry as a Predictor of Adult Relationships Between Sisters
Relationships between brothers and sisters are the oldest and often last throughout the lifespan (Whiteman). Worldwide, these under researched relationships play an important role in the lives of families and each other (McHale, Soli, & Whiteman, 2011). Much of the research performed on sibling relationships, specifically sibling rivalry, focuses on the early developmental stages. There is a gap in research between behavior and relationships in early developmental stages and sibling relationships in later developmental stages, more specifically what impact if any, does sibling rivalry have on the adult relationships between sisters.
This research takes into consideration, the complexity of female to female sibling relationships and seeks to correlate sibling rivalry during adolescence to a stronger, less conflicted relationship during adulthood and later adulthood. Relationships between sisters are complex and can be impacted by many elements. First, siblings share a natural similarity yet are inherently different and individual. Individual differences exist through attributes such as birth order, gender, personality, socio-economic status of parents during early life stages and later, socio-economic status of self during adult years

As suggested by Whiteman, this study is meant to provide insight into and possibly a better understanding of how conflict and relationships change (2011) and to show that rivalry or conflict can be an indicator of the nature of the relationship in later developmental periods. Finally, this research will tell the story of sisterhood through the shared experiences and connectedness of sisters across