| Youth violence is a significant social problem of this age, with rates of juvenile violent crime rising sharply and frequency of high profile incidents increasing in recent years. Aggressive behavior beginning in early childhood has been associated with a developmental trajectory of increasing coercion and violence, spurring the need for better understanding of childhood aggression and those factors that increase a child's likelihood of embarking along the path of high-risk aggressive behaviors. Previous research has established that family and sibling variables are generally associated with child aggression, but few have sought to examine these variables in relation to each other. The present study examined family and sibling relationship variables that have been consistently related to the development of child aggression, and specific hypotheses regarding these correlates were tested to see if the results found between studies are consistent when examined within a single study. Regression analyses were also performed to determine which factors best predict aggression in younger siblings.;Fifty-seven families with at least two children between the ages of five and fourteen were assessed on a variety of measures, in order to examine the relationship between family factors and child aggression. The primary caretaker, older sibling, younger sibling, and the children's teachers served as informants.;This study found support for the sibling-trainer hypothesis. Regression analyses demonstrated that the interaction between parent coercion and older sibling coercion, as well as younger sibling satisfaction with the sibling relationship, significantly contribute to the prediction of younger sibling aggression. A direct link between coercive parenting and younger child aggression was not found but, the present data supports the assertion that coercive parenting is significantly related to older sibling aggression, and that older sibling aggression serves as the link between parent coerciveness and younger sibling aggression. Further, the data suggest that a warm sibling relationship serves as a buffer between coercive parenting and the development of aggression in the younger sibling. |
