Title of Research Project
Social competence and parental differential treatment across sibling dyads
Major
Psychology
Research Abstract
Parental differential treatment (PDT), which varies as a function of genetic relatedness between siblings, has been linked to children’s self-worth. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between mother’s reports of differential treatment in play and children’s self-reports of social competence across dyad types. Participants were 54 monozygotic (MZ) twins, 86 dizygotic (DZ) twins, 68 full siblings (FS), and 43 same-aged adoptees (VT) and their mothers. Analyses revealed a significant trend for PDT on children’s social competence, F (1, 234) = 2.93, p = .088, while siblings’ social competence means reflected genetic and age effects.
Faculty Mentor/Advisor
Dr. Shirley McGuire
Social competence and parental differential treatment across sibling dyads
Parental differential treatment (PDT), which varies as a function of genetic relatedness between siblings, has been linked to children’s self-worth. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between mother’s reports of differential treatment in play and children’s self-reports of social competence across dyad types. Participants were 54 monozygotic (MZ) twins, 86 dizygotic (DZ) twins, 68 full siblings (FS), and 43 same-aged adoptees (VT) and their mothers. Analyses revealed a significant trend for PDT on children’s social competence, F (1, 234) = 2.93, p = .088, while siblings’ social competence means reflected genetic and age effects.
