Sibling Contagion for Drinking in Adolescence: A Micro Process Framework

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Slomkowski, Cheryl | Conger, Katherine J. | Rende, Richard | Heylen, Elsa | Little, Wendy M. | Shebloski, Barbara | Fox, Patricia | Craine, Jessie L. | Conger, Rand D.

Note: [] Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Cheryl Slomkowski, Ph.D., Transdisciplinary Research Group, Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Blvd., Providence RI 02906 USA; email: [email protected]

Abstract: Siblings represent an important social influence on alcohol use in adolescence. That said, there is a need for studies that examine potential mechanisms by which siblings exert an influence on the likelihood of drinking in adolescence. This paper illustrates a method that utilizes videotaped interaction between sibling dyads along with a micro social coding system that captures rule break behavior between siblings. Sibling interaction was observed in sibling pairs participating in the Iowa Youth and Families Project (IYFP) at baseline; younger sibling use of alcohol was tracked for 3 additional annual assessments. Exposure to older sibling rule break at baseline was associated with later use of alcohol by younger siblings across the 3 annual assessments. Micro social methods hold promise for uncovering processes that underlie sibling contagion for alcohol use in adolescence.

Keywords: adolescents, drinking, siblings, real time data, micro social

DOI: 10.3233/DEV-2009-3206

Journal: International Journal of Developmental Science, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 161-174, 2009