The association between sibling ambivalence and well-being in older adulthood: The role of sibling gender composition

Family scholarship has documented negative associations between ambivalence and well-being in the context of parent-adult child relationships. As sibling ties remain salient throughout later life, ambivalence experienced in sibling relationships might also be related to older adult well-being. The p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of social and personal relationships 2024-11
Main Authors: Lee, Jeenkyoung, Gilligan, Megan, Neppl, Tricia K., Stocker, Clare M., Conger, Katherine J.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Family scholarship has documented negative associations between ambivalence and well-being in the context of parent-adult child relationships. As sibling ties remain salient throughout later life, ambivalence experienced in sibling relationships might also be related to older adult well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between sibling ambivalence and both psychological and physical well-being of older adults, as well as differences in these links by sibling gender composition. Data came from 702 older adults (392 women) who were 64.58 years old on average ( SD = 4.51). Structural equation modeling using FIML revealed that participants who felt more ambivalence toward their siblings reported poorer psychological well-being. However, a multiple group analysis showed that this association was only significant for brother-brother pairs. Findings suggest the need to further investigate the implication of sibling ambivalence for psychological well-being in later life, especially for brothers.
ISSN:0265-4075
1460-3608
DOI:10.1177/02654075241302505