Parents & Families

Sibling aggression and abuse can be devastating, often leading to long-lasting impacts that extend far beyond childhood. These include:

• Breakdown of Trust and Safety: Sibling aggression and abuse shatter a sense of trust and safety within a family unit.
• Disruption of Family Dynamics: The presence of sibling aggression and abuse can create an environment of constant tension, fear, and conflict.
• Parental Strain and Guilt: Parents and caregivers may feel torn between their children, unsure of how to protect one child without alienating another. The guilt and helplessness parents experience can further damage other family relationships.
• Long-Term Impacts: The impacts of sibling aggression and abuse can persist into adulthood, affecting immediate family members and future generations. Survivors may struggle with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and relationship difficulties, making it challenging for them to form healthy relationships later in life.
• Sibling Estrangement: Sibling aggression and abuse can lead to long-term or permanent estrangement between siblings. This estrangement can extend to parents as well, especially if the harmed sibling feels their parents failed to protect them. Family gatherings, holidays, and other significant life events can become sources of stress and conflict for all.
• Cyclical Violence: If sibling abuse isn’t stopped, it can perpetuate a cycle of violence within families. Children who experience sibling aggression or abuse are at higher risk of engaging in aggressive behaviors in other relationships, including with peers, romantic partners, and their children.

What Can Parents and Caregivers Do?

Research shows that parents play a key role in preventing sibling aggression and abuse and promoting positive sibling relationships. Parents and caregivers can help by becoming familiar with the differences between sibling rivalry, conflict, aggression, and abuse, and by learning strategies to encourage constructive conflict.  Learn More