This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by CONNIDIS, I. A. Articles by CAMPBELL, L. D. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Closeness, Confiding, and Contact Among Siblings in Middle and Late Adulthood

University of Western Ontario

LORI D. CAMPBELL

University of Guelph

The authors examine the impact of gender, marital status, and parent status on emotional closeness, confiding, and contact among siblings in middle and later life. Using data from a multistage quota sample that includes 528 respondents aged 55 and older who have one or more siblings, characteristics of both the respondent and the sibling or sibling network are studied. Separate analyses are conducted for the entire sibling network and for the sibling of greatest closeness, confiding, and contact. Women and respondents with sisters, the single (never married), and the childless tend to have more active sibling ties than their counterparts. Several control variables (number of siblings, geographic proximity, age, and education) are also significant. Emotional closeness to siblings is an important factor related to confiding and contact. Findings are discussed in the context of socially proscribed familial obligation and emotional attachment as bases for involvement with siblings.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Voorpostel, T. van der Lippe, P. A. Dykstra, and H. Flap Similar or Different? The Importance of Similarities and Differences for Support Between Siblings Journal of Family Issues, August 1, 2007; 28(8): 1026 - 1053. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. ERIKSEN and N. GERSTEL A Labor of Love or Labor Itself: Care Work among Adult Brothers and Sisters Journal of Family Issues, October 1, 2002; 23(7): 836 - 856. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. D. CAMPBELL, I. A. CONNIDIS, and L. DAVIES Sibling Ties in Later Life: A Social Network Analysis Journal of Family Issues, January 1, 1999; 20(1): 114 - 148. [Abstract] [PDF]

				I. A. Connidis, C. J. Rosenthal, and J. A. Mcmullin The Impact of Family Composition on Providing Help to Older Parents: A Study of Employed Adults Research on Aging, December 1, 1996; 18(4): 402 - 429. [Abstract]