Date of Graduation

8-2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Cavell, Timothy A.

Committee Member

Bridges, Ana J.

Second Committee Member

Leen-Feldner, Ellen W.

Keywords

Psychology; Coping; Emotion socialization; Parenting; Peer victimization; Sibling conflicts

Abstract

This study examined the degree to which children's strategies for coping with peer victimization were related to their strategies for coping with sibling victimization. Also examined were the relations among mothers' sibling conflict management strategies, their emotion Socialization beliefs, and children's coping with peer and sibling victimization. Data were obtained from 98 4th grade children and their mothers. Results indicated that children's peer victimization coping strategies were significantly related to their sibling victimization coping strategies. I found that mothers who value and accept children's negative emotions were more likely to coach their children through sibling conflict. Unexpectedly, I found that strategies that involved mothers taking control of sibling conflict were positively related to children's adaptive coping and negatively related to children's maladaptive coping. The relation between taking control over sibling conflict and children's maladaptive coping was stronger for mothers who were less likely to be dismissing of children's emotions. Implications and directions for future investigation are discussed.

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