ABSTRACT
Helping children to establish prosocial relationships with their siblings early in life so they can enjoy the potential benefits of these relationships over the life course is the overarching objective of the program of research described in this chapter. Attaining this goal requires increasing knowledge of the factors associated with variations in sibling relationship quality. Traditionally, researchers have sought this knowledge through “passive” longitudinal studies (e.g., Dunn & Kendrick, 1982). As is described later, this research tradition has produced rich descriptive information on the interpersonal processes that characterize sibling relationships across early development. However, passive longitudinal studies, by definition, take a long time to conduct. And, as researchers wait for research findings to emerge, they delay both theory building and the design of needed intervention tools.
