Following in your sibling’s steps: Sibling influence and young adults’ marital attitudes

Keywords

differentiation, expectation of marriage, marital centrality, modeling, siblings, young adulthood

Abstract

This study explored the role of sibling modeling and differentiation in young adults’ beliefs about marriage and expectation of marriage in reference to their perception of their closest aged sibling’s marital centrality. Siblings play an important role in socialization, yet their role in young adulthood, and in relation to attitudes about marriage, has received limited attention. Marriage is an important aspect of development for young adults; therefore, this study specifically examined the role of sibling modeling and differentiation in young adults’ formation of expectation of marriage and marital centrality. Data came from 1,258 unmarried young adults (age 18–29 years) from across the U.S. (M = 25.02; SD = 2.60; 47% female). Models for marital centrality were tested using hierarchical ordinary least squares regression, and models for the expectation of marriage were examined using binary logistic regression. Findings revealed that siblings’ beliefs and expectations to marry were more closely related in conditions of high modeling. For those with only one sibling, greater differentiation was linked to less similarity between siblings’ marital centrality. Siblings therefore may play an important role in young adults’ expectation of marriage and beliefs about marital centrality.

Original Publication Citation

Cassinat, J. R., & Jensen, A. C. (2020). Following in your sibling’s steps: Sibling influence and young adults’ marital attitudes. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 37(3), 885–905.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2019-10-22

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6954

Publisher

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS