This document summarizes research on how the birth of a sibling can elicit jealousy in firstborn children and impact the quality of their future sibling relationship. It discusses how a child's attachment to their mother and ability to regulate emotions may moderate the relationship between sibling birth and jealousy. The study aims to examine if sibling birth causes jealousy in firstborns, if initial jealousy relates to later sibling relationship quality, and if attachment or emotion regulation impact the relationship between birth and jealousy.

1. Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy Essay
Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy EssayThe Birth of a Sibling: Companion or
Competition?Sibling relationships that develop a balance of nurturance and conflict can
provide numerous learning opportunities for young children (Volling, McElwain, & Miller,
2002). For instance, children can learn other’s perspectives, learn different strategies to
resolve conflict, as well as learn to regulate their own emotions. Specifically, younger
siblings who experience a balance of nurturance and conflict in their sibling relationships
have been found to be more socially skilled and have more positive peer relationships
compared with children who lack the sibling experience (Volling et al., 2002).Thus, it is not
the absence of conflict rather how conflict is resolved that benefits the quality of a sibling
relationship. Sibling conflict refers to the “unique interpersonal dyadic dynamics of sibling
interactions, which may be motivated by, but not synonymous with sibling jealousy”
(Volling et. al., 2002). It is well-known that parents cannot attend and respond to both
children's needs at all times; thus, jealousy could very well be a normal, perhaps daily,
experience for young children. Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy EssayOlder
siblings are often thought of as “leaders, managers, and teachers” of their younger siblings
during critical periods of development (e.g., preschool, middle-childhood; Kolak, & Volling,
2011). Moreover, older siblings are the more dominant person in the sibling relationship
and can exert more influence on the sibling relationship throughout childhood. Previous
research has shown that older siblings’ behavior toward their younger siblings is more
stable from preschool through middle childhood than younger siblings’ behavior toward
their older siblings (Kolak, & Volling, 2011). This stability, along with the more dominant
role of older siblings, may explain why older siblings’ jealousy reactions are stronger
predictors of the sibling relationship quality many years later (Kolak, & Volling, 2011).
Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy EssaySibling JealousyJealousy is a complex
social emotion. Complex because it is not simply a single emotional expression, but rather a
patterned response of emotional affect, behavior, and cognitive appraisal (Volling, Yu,
Gonzalez, Kennedy, Rosenberg, & Oh, 2014). Intense debates have occurred among scholars
in regards to the distinction between jealousy and envy; whether jealousy is a simple,
complex, or blended emotion; and whether it is caused by threats to self-esteem or threats
to a valued relationship (White and Mullen, 1989). Although different perspective exist, it is
pivotal to understand that jealousy cannot be defined nor understood without reference to
a social context (Volling, McElwain, & Miller, 2002).Specifically, jealousy occurs in the
context of a social triangle (White and Mullen, 1989). There are three dyadic relationships

2. within the triangle in addition to the triadic relationship system: (a) the relationship
between the jealous individual and the beloved, (b) the relationship between the beloved
and the rival, and (c) the relationship between the jealous individual and the rival (White &
Mullen, 1989). In order to elicit jealousy, the relationship between the jealous person and
the beloved must be a valued close relationship (e.g., mother-child). Furthermore, jealousy
is elicited by the real or perceived loss of this relationship to a rival. It is not simply the loss
of love that elicits jealousy; it is the loss of attention from the beloved to a rival (White &
Mullen, 1989). Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy EssayHupka (1984) has
shown that individuals in jealousy eliciting situations can feel a range of emotions including
fear, anger, or even relief, depending on the individual's focus of attention with respect to
the social triangle. For example, if individuals focus on the loss of the relationship, sadness
may be reported; whereas, if individuals focus on the betrayal of their beloved, anger may
be reported; and lastly, if individuals focus on being left alone, anxiety or fear may be
reported (Hupka, 1984). Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy EssayBirth of a
Sibling Elicits Sibling JealousyThe birth of a sibling can be a stressful life event for young
children; consequently, firstborn children are likely to experience jealousy at the arrival of
their infant sibling (Volling et. al., 2014). Past research indicates that young children are
sensitive to the loss of attention to another. First, toddler and preschool children were
aware of the interactions occurring between their mother and their sibling and often times,
would try to disrupt the ongoing interaction (Dunn, 1988). Second, studies that addressed
childhood jealousy have demonstrated that children as young as 1 year of age were
sensitive to maternal attention directed toward an infant-size doll, a newborn infant or an
unfamiliar peer (Volling et. al., 2002). So, it is not surprising that young children are aware
of the loss of attention when a parent turns his or her attention from them and interacts
with their infant sibling and this awareness elicits jealousy (Volling et. al., 2002).Jealousy
can differ for individuals depending on their cognitive appraisal of the jealousy eliciting
situation when they believe their relationship with their beloved is threatened by the rival
(Kolak & Volling, 2011). For instance, a child may appraise the infant sibling as a threat to
their own mother-child relationship, feel anxious, and interfere in the mother–infant
interaction, or a child may appraise their mother as inaccessible, feel sadness, and withdraw
from the mother-infant interaction. Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy
EssayThe firstborn’s jealousy toward their infant sibling can impact their sibling
relationship quality later in development. Children’s initial reactions three weeks after their
sibling’s birth predicted their behavior with their mother and sibling at 14 months
(Kendrick & Dunn, 1982). For instance, children who were demanding and difficult shortly
after their sibling’s birth protested the mother–sibling interaction more compared to
children who positively approached their infant sibling (Kendrick & Dunn, 1982). Moreover,
children who were initially withdrawn were more likely to develop poor sibling
relationships over time (Kendrick & Dunn, 1982). Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on
Jealousy EssayAttachment as a Potential ModeratorThe Strange Situation (SS) is “a
videotaped laboratory based procedure that consists of seven three-minute episodes
including two parent–child separations and reunions” (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall,
1978). Individual differences in infants’ attachment relationships can be classified as secure

3. or insecure. Attachment classifications are based on the child’s ability to balance proximity
and exploration and to obtain comfort when distressed from their mother (Ainsworth et. al.,
1978). Not only do physical separations from mothers in the SS activate attachment
behaviors, but so too does the child’s appraisal of their mother’s accessibility when caring
for their infant sibling.Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy EssayThe birth of a
sibling may create disruptions in the relationship between the mother and her firstborn
child that can lead to instability in their attachment relationship (Touris, Kromelow, &
Harding, 1995). Bowlby (1969) acknowledged that for most young children, “the mere sight
of mother holding another baby in her arms is enough to elicit strong attachment behavior”.
So, it is understandable that many of the behaviors associated with jealousy (e.g., clinging,
touching, proximity seeking, and distress) are also attachment behaviors (Volling et. al.,
2014). From an attachment perspective, children who have a secure attachment to their
mother should explore freely, even when their mother is interacting with their infant
sibling. They may monitor their mother’s whereabouts or the mother-infant interactions,
but they should not disrupt the interaction. Whereas, insecurely attached children will cry
and protest in response to their mother’s interactions with their infant sibling. They will
stay in close proximity to their mother and may even physically interfere with the mother-
infant interactions (Volling et. al., 2014). If witnessing the mother–infant interaction
adequately engages attachment behaviors, then individual differences in children’s jealousy
may reflect their internal working models of their attachment relationship with their
mothers.Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy EssayThe quality of sibling
interaction has been related to the mother-child attachment relationship. Children who
were insecurely attached to their mothers at 12 months of age were more aggressive in
their conflicts with their younger sibling when they were 6-years-old (Volling et. al., 2014).
On the other hand, Teti and Ablard (1989) found that more secure preschoolers were
significantly more likely to react to their younger sibling’s distress than less securely
attached preschoolers. Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy EssayEmotion
Regulation as a Potential ModeratorEarly attachment relationships play a primary role in
the development of young children’s emotion regulation development (Volling, 2001).
Children whose mothers are sensitive and consistent to their children’s needs not only
develop secure attachments to their mothers, but are also thought to develop a greater
capacity to share affect, to enjoy social interactions, to maintain organized behavior during
an emotionally arousing event, and to display empathy for others (Volling, 2001). In
contrast, children whose emotional needs are repeatedly rejected by their mothers are
more likely to develop insecure attachments and are also more likely to develop poor
regulatory strategies whereby they minimize attention to their attachment relationship and
minimize their emotional expressiveness (Volling, 2001). These children may become
physiologically aroused in the face of stress, but may also remain expressionless so that
they do not risk further rejection and anger on the part of the mother (Volling, 2001).
Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy EssayORDER A PLAGIARISM- FREE PAPER
NOW"Emotion regulation consists of the extrinsic and intrinsic processes responsible for
monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions, especially their intensive and
temporal features, to accomplish one's goals” (Thompson, 1994). Even though this

4. definition emphasizes both internal and external processes, Campos and colleagues (1994)
revealed that past research that examines emotion regulation focuses on the internal
processes and rarely considers the external factors that may contribute to emotion
regulation. Studies investigating the process of emotion regulation should include “the
social context that elicited the need for regulation in the first place and that specifies the
rules of proper conduct” (Campos, 1994). Specifically because jealousy cannot be fully
understood without reference to the social context, it is pivotal to examine children’s
emotion regulation skills as a potential moderator between the birth of a sibling and
firstborn’s feelings of jealousy. Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy EssayYoung
children have several regulatory strategies that can be utilized in jealousy eliciting
situations. Three possible regulatory strategies that might be used by toddler and preschool
siblings when confronted with jealousy are (a) to interfere with the interaction between
their mother and sibling, (b) to direct anger toward either their mother or sibling, and/or
(c) to focus attention on alternative pleasurable activities (i.e., play; Volling et. al., 2014).
Children who successfully cope to distress in jealousy eliciting situations engage in self-
focused, exploratory play while monitoring the mother-infant interaction rather than
protesting or physically interfering (Volling et. al., 2014).Firstborn children who were
highly dysregulated during jealousy eliciting situations are at an increased risk for
expressing more negative affect. Furthermore, children’s inability to regulate their jealousy
may be suggestive of poor emotion regulation skills, which may, in turn, be detrimental to
sibling relationship quality (Kolak & Voling, 2011). In contrast, firstborn children who are
better regulated (i.e. better able to regulate their jealousy) appear to have the essential
emotion regulation skills for engaging positively with their siblings (Kolak & Voling,
2011).Children’s ability to regulate emotions during jealousy eliciting situations is a critical
component for successful relationships with their sibling (Kolak & Voling, 2011). But, little
is known about children’s ability to regulate emotions during jealousy eliciting situations
and its impact on the quality of the sibling relationship later in development. The only
support is from Kolak and Volling (2011) that found that jealousy and dysregulation is
related to more troubled sibling interactions two years later. Research on Effects of Sibling
Birth on Jealousy EssayThe Current StudyThe current study is a longitudinal design that will
address three aims: (a) to examine if the birth of a sibling elicits jealousy in the firstborn
child, (b) to examine if the firstborn’s jealousy of their infant sibling is related to their
sibling relationship quality five years later, and finally, (c) to examine if the firstborn’s
attachment and emotion regulation moderates the relationship between the birth of a
sibling and jealousy (Figure 1). Prior research on the birth of a sibling has described some
children as clingy, anxious-withdrawn, or oppositional after the birth (Volling et. al., 2014),
so we hypothesized that (a) children who have a secure attachment with their mother
before the birth of their sibling will not experience as much jealousy as insecurely attached
children, and (b) children who demonstrate better emotion regulation skills will not
experience as much jealousy as less emotionally regulated children. Due to individual
differences, different patterns of jealousy and its impact on sibling relationship quality will
emerge five years later. Research on Effects of Sibling Birth on Jealousy
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