Below is a listing of recent media articles and blog posts published by SAARA researchers or about SAARA's work. We post regularly on our Psychology Today blog, The Science of Siblings. Our experts on sibling aggression and abuse are available for media and speaking requests, please contact us.
When to Be Concerned About Sibling Sexual Behavior
Psychology Today, February 2024
Parents and professionals often overreact or underreact to apparent sibling sexual behavior. In this post, we discuss how to identify harmful sexual behaviors between siblings to protect child safety.
A Sibling Abuse Resource for Support, Advocacy, and Change
What Would Dr. Meyers Do? Podcast, Episode 65, January 2024
SAARA's Dr. Corinna Jenkins Tucker and Dr. Tanya Rouleau Whitworth were interviewed by Dr. Amy Meyers about the difference between sibling aggression and abuse, the invisibility of sibling abuse, and SAARA's mission to create change.
3 Ways to Foster a Positive Sibling Relationship
Psychology Today, December 2023
Parents play a significant role in reducing rivalry and creating harmony between their children. In this post, we describe three strategies parents and caregivers can use to foster a positive sibling relationship.
The Long-Term Impact of Sibling Aggression on Adults
Psychology Today, November 2023
Siblings play an important and enduring role in many people’s lives, even into adulthood. Brothers and sisters can be valuable sources of support and companionship, but what about those whose sibling relationships are more fraught? Being hurt or mistreated by a sibling in childhood can have long-term consequences on well-being and the quality of adult relationships.
When Does Sibling Fighting Become Harmful?
Psychology Today, September 2023
Currently, society’s notions of typical sibling behaviors include a vague and wide range of behaviors, leaving parents and practitioners often confused about whether behaviors between brothers and sisters have gone too far. As a result, harmful sibling behaviors, even abuse, often go unrecognized and are commonly dismissed as sibling rivalry.
Featured Spotlight: Dr. Corinna Tucker
Bulling Research Network (BRNET) Newsletter, July 2023
SAARA's Director, Dr. Corinna Jenkins Tucker, was featured in the July BRNET newsletter, discussing her work on sibling aggression and her vision for SAARA.
Sibling Conflict Is an Opportunity for Children to Grow
Psychology Today, July 2023
Parents’ and caregivers’ responses to sibling fighting matter. In fact, parents’ choice of response can decrease how often their children fight and teach them how to get along better. By helping or coaching their children to a mutually acceptable resolution, parents not only enhance children’s interpersonal and thinking skills and well-being but also create a more peaceful household.
Bullying by Peers and Siblings
Psychology Today, June 2023
Significant efforts have been invested in the prevention of peer bullying. And with good reason: Peer bullying in childhood and adolescence is associated with worse mental health, including depression, low self-esteem, and suicidal ideation. Peer relationships are pivotal in children’s and adolescents’ daily lives. That includes sibling relationships as well. But when it comes to peer bullying, siblings are often overlooked.
The Importance of Siblings
Psychology Today, May 2023
The sibling relationship is one of the longest-lasting relationships in a person’s life. Over 80% of U.S. children grow up with a sibling, but the importance of this relationship often goes unnoticed. Three distinct characteristics make this relationship crucial to personal well-being: everyday contact, emotional intensity, and the involuntary nature of the relationship.
Sibling aggression and abuse go beyond rivalry – bullying within a family can have lifelong repercussions
The Conversation, March 2023
Sometimes the nature of siblings’ interactions go too far. Parents and mental health and medical professionals should take sibling aggression as seriously as they do peer bullying. Stopping and preventing sibling aggression and abuse can improve children’s safety and well-being.
UNH to Establish New Sibling Aggression and Abuse Initiative
UNH Today, October 2022
According to national surveys, one-third of children have been physically assaulted by a brother or a sister in the past year. To help reduce its prevalence and impact, the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire is establishing a new Sibling Aggression and Abuse Research and Advocacy Initiative (SAARA) that will work to change the perception that sibling aggression and abuse is not serious as well as provide guidance on how to prevent its occurrence.
