Brothers and sisters who fight while growing up lay the groundwork for battering their dates by the time they get to college, a new study from the University of Florida suggests. The study found that sibling violence is a predictor of dating violence and is compounded by the experience of growing up in families where parent-to-child violence or parent-to-parent violence exists, said Virginia Noland, a UF professor.
"The findings suggest that sibling violence - the most common and least understood form of family conflict - is not harmless and may be an important influence later in violence between intimate partners," she said.
"The results are significant because so many of us have siblings," Noland said. "And today, with all the divorces and remarriages in our society, there are also stepsiblings, so even an only child can end up being a sibling via a second marriage."
The survey found that dating violence was more common among partners who had punched, shoved or otherwise abused their siblings than those who had not.
Noland examined conflict behaviors occurring between the ages of 10 and 14, when sibling violence peaks.
"After the older sibling reaches 14, they tend to gravitate to their peer group and spend less and less time with their brothers and sisters," said Noland, whose research appears in a supplement to the American Journal of Health Behavior.
Noland said that siblings learn violence as a form of manipulation and control as they compete with each other for family resources. They carry on these bullying behaviors to dating, the next peer relationship in which they have an emotional investment.
"By that time, they've practiced these behaviors, they've perfected them and now they can use them quite well," she said.
The survey looked at both the respondents' experiences as a victim and perpetrator of violence. More than 78 percent reported being pushed or shoved by a sibling, while 77 percent said they had pushed or shoved a sibling. Fifty-five percent said their sibling punched or hit them with something that could hurt, while half said they had done this to their sibling. A quarter reported being slammed against a wall, and 27 percent said they had done the same to a sibling.
Overall, 9 - 10 percent of men and 8 percent of women - said a sibling had used a knife or gun against them, while nearly 6 percent overall - 5 percent of men and 6 percent of women - reported using a knife or gun against a sibling.
The highest level of sibling violence was found between two brothers and the least between two sisters.
"Females admitted to perpetrating dating violence more often than did males but reported using milder forms, like slapping or hitting, instead of choking and punching," she said. "One limitation of the study is we don't know if this was in response to a sexual advance or some other type of behavior." The study also found that siblings closer in age experienced greater levels of violence than those spaced farther apart, probably because they spend more time together at home and school and are more likely to travel in the same social circles.
No differences were found based on race or whether children had grown up in broken homes.
Doniece Sandoval, director of communications for the San Francisco-based Family Violence Prevention Fund, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending violence against women and children, called research such as Noland's work on sibling violence critical. "Studies have found that school-age children who witness or experience violence exhibit a range of problem behaviors, including depression, anxiety and violence towards peers," she said. "When they grow up, these children are also more likely to become batterers as adults. When violence occurs between siblings and parents don't intervene or tell their children that the behavior is inappropriate, children come away with the message that violence is an acceptable behavior."
Noland said that unlike other forms of family violence, sibling squabbles are often considered harmless, but it can have long-term consequences. "People who have suffered very contentious sibling relationships often have problems with self-esteem and relationships later on," she said.
"It doesn't take an injury to create a problem," Noland said. "A brother who tells a sister day in and day out that she's fat and ugly can do a lot of damage."
