Provided by David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.
Surgeon General of the United States of America
Chapter 3: Children and Mental Health
Overview of Risk Factors and Prevention
Peer and Sibling Influences
The influence of maladaptive peers can be very damaging to a child and greatly increases the likelihood of adverse outcomes such as delinquency, particularly if the child comes from a family beset by many stressors (Friday & Hage, 1976; Loeber & Farrington, 1998). One way to reduce antisocial behavior in adolescents is to encourage such youths to interact with better adapted youths under the supervision of a mental health worker (Feldman et al., 1983). Sibling rivalry is a common component of family life and, especially in the presence of other risk factors, may contribute to family stresses (Patterson & Dishion, 1988). Although almost universal, in the presence of other risk factors it may be the origin of aggressive behavior that eventually extends beyond the family (Patterson & Dishion, 1988). In stressed or large families, parents have many demands placed on their time and find it difficult to oversee, or place limits on, their young children’s behavior. When parental attention is in short supply, young siblings squabbling with each other attract available attention. In such situations, parents rarely comment on good or neutral behavior but do pay attention, even if in a highly critical and negative way, when their children start to fight; as a result, the act of fighting may be inadvertently rewarded. Thus, any attention, whether it be praise or physical punishment, increases the likelihood that the behavior is repeated.
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