The study of sibling relationships beyond childhood has been steadily receiving more attention from researchers in recent decades. Relationships between men and women, parents and their children, and grandparents and their grandchildren have been the main focus of researchers in the past. However, it has been argued for decades that the types of relationships that exist between siblings, especially adult siblings, have relatively limited information available (Myers & Bryant, 2008a; Pulakos, 1989; Spitze & Trent, 2006). It is important to study all stages of life when dealing with relationships between siblings because that type of relationship evolves from childhood to elder years (Cicirelli, 2009; Newman, 1994; Panish & Stricker, 2001; Riggio, 2000, 2001; Spitze & Trent, 2006; Van Volkom, 2006). The study of sibling relationships is extremely important because when linking sibling relationships in childhood to sibling relationships in adulthood, conclusions can be drawn about the impact that siblings have on one another's lives (Milevsky, 2004; Shortt & Gottman, 1997). No two sibling relationships are identical. Most are very healthy (Martin, Anderson, & Rocca, 2005), but some result in violence (Myers & Goodboy, 2010), conflict (Newman, 1994; Sherman, Lansford, & Volling, 2006), hostility (Milevsky, Smoot, Leh, & Ruppe, 2005) and verbal aggression (Myers & Bryant, 2008b). Since the sibling relationship is "forced," unlike a friendship which is voluntary, there are many dynamics involved (Martin et al., 2005; Newman, 1994). The rivalry experienced in childhood may continue into adulthood (Myers & Goodboy, 2010). This rivalry may partly be due to the effect of parental favoritism. For example, Rauer and Volling (2007) reported that when parental affection differed among siblings, the impact on the siblings was negative, both in terms of the self and in later romantic relationships. Earlier work by Boll, Ferring, and Filipp (2003) found that when favoritism was displayed, the quality of the relationship between siblings deteriorated. However, once siblings age, they generally have a positive relationship (Martin et al., 2005) and rely on each other for both instrumental and emotional support (Van Volkom, 2006).
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