Sibling aggression is common but can sometimes constitute bullying. A study found that almost a third of 3600 children reported being victims of sibling aggression in the past year, ranging from theft and psychological abuse to physical assault. While society often dismisses sibling rivalry as normal, researchers argue it can meet the definition of bullying as intentional, repeated acts of aggression where one sibling has power over the other. The article profiles one woman who believes her older brother bullied her and her siblings through wrestling matches where he would pin them to the floor, giving him a momentary sense of control during a chaotic time when their mother left due to depression.

1. RP British Accent Pronunciation
News article: Bully in the next bedroom - are we in
denial about sibling aggression? Part 1
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2. Siblings routinely pick on one
another, but when does bickering
become bullying - and what can
parents do about it?

3. Sibling relationships can be difficult,
and never more so than in childhood.

4. But society often regards the scrapping
and squabbling, the play fighting and
not-so-playful fighting as a normal part
of growing up.

5. "The public brushes off aggression
between siblings as just rivalry," says
Corinna Tucker of the University of
New Hampshire.

6. Tucker is the lead author of a new
study on the issue for the journal
Pediatrics.

7. Almost a third of the 3,600 children
questioned said they had been the
victim of some sort of sibling
aggression in the past 12 months.

8. They included a range of acts from
theft and psychological abuse to
physical assault, either mild or severe.

9. In comparison, research suggests that
up to a quarter of children are victims
of schoolyard aggression every year.

10. Corinna Tucker uses the term "sibling
aggression" in her study, but
psychologists are increasingly reaching
for a familiar label for the bad stuff
that goes on between brothers and
sisters - bullying.

11. This is defined by experts as
intentional acts of aggression,
repeated over a period of time, where
an individual or group is in a position
of power over someone.

12. So sibling relationships would seem
the perfect breeding ground for
bullying, since children live together
for a long period of time and there is
usually an intellectual and physical
power imbalance.

13. Although there might not be an
outright malevolence, there is often
reason for jealousy.

14. "A sibling relationship is emotionally
intense - it's one of those relationships
where you can love them and you can
hate them at the same time," says
Tucker.

15. “And siblings are natural competitors
for family resources and parents'
attention."

16. Laura - who grew up in a house she
shared with four siblings and a foster
brother - did not consider it bullying at
the time, but now thinks the term
captures what went on in their house
in Ohio.

17. "My older brother - I would say he
beat up on all of us," she says, her
voice breaking.
Although he never hurt them badly, he
liked to wrestle his sisters, pinning
them to the floor.

18. "He was bigger and stronger than us -
he could put us in very powerless
situations. It was really scary."

19. For her brother, she believes, the
activity gave him a momentary sense
of control at a chaotic time for the
family.
Her mother, who had depression, had
left home.

20. Thanks for watching
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