Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sibling Support: The Reports of Israeli Adolescents in Residential Care

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Brothers and Sisters

  • 840 Accesses

Abstract

Current literature on family social support of children and youth in out-of-home care usually focuses on contact with parents, especially mothers. However, the few studies that examine the role of siblings in the lives of youth in care show that closeness to siblings is associated with increased well-being. This study examined the self-reports of youth in Israeli residential care settings designed for youth from underprivileged backgrounds on the extent of perceived availability of support from their siblings among other sources of support, and the contribution of sibling support to various positive and negative measures of well-being and functioning. The study was based on a cluster random sample of 864 youth, aged 13–20, who completed a structured questionnaire in their residential care settings. The findings showed that siblings were highly involved in the lives of adolescents in residential care and that they were the third most common source of perceived support among the youth. The findings also showed that greater sibling support was linked with lower levels of emotional symptoms, hyperactive behaviour, conduct problems, peer problems, and overall adjustment difficulties, and with increased levels of prosocial behaviour and life satisfaction. The findings enhance our understanding of the importance of familial figures other than parents to the well-being of children and youth in residential care. The findings also have implications for intervention programmes aimed at strengthening the social support systems of children and youth in out-of-home settings in order to enhance their well-being.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Attar-Schwartz, S., & Fridman-Teutsch, A. (2018). Father support and adjustment difficulties among youth in residential care: The moderating role of peer victimization and gender. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 88(6), 701–712.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berns, R. M. (2012). Child, family, school, community: Socialization and support (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent child attachment and healthy human development. USA: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caya, M. L., & Liem, J. H. (1998). The role of sibling support in high-conflict families. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68, 137–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. C. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95–S120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson-Arad, B., & Klein, A. (2011). Comparative wellbeing of Israeli youngsters in residential care with and without siblings. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 2152–2159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demaray, M. K., & Malecki, C. K. (2002). The relationship between perceived social support and maladjustment for students at risk. Psychology in the Schools, 39, 305–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gass, K., Jenkins, J., & Dunn, J. (2007). Are sibling relationships protective? A longitudinal study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(2), 167–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gee, C. B. & Rhodes, J. E. (2007). A social support and social strain measure for minority adolescent mothers: A confirmatory factor analytic study. Child Care, Health and Development, 34, 87–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilman, R., & Handwerk, M. L. (2001). Changes in life satisfaction as a function of stay in residential care. Residential Treatment for Children and Youth, 18(4), 47–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, R., Ford, T., Richards, H., Gatward, R., & Meltzer, H. (2000). The development and well‐being assessment: Description and initial validation of an integrated assessment of child and adolescent psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41(5), 645–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grupper, E. (2012). The education of immigrant youth in Israel: Applying an original model of residential educational setting—The multicultural youth village. Mifgash for Social Work and Education, 35, 131–152. (In Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, E. S. (1991). Correlates of life satisfaction in children. School Psychology, 6, 103–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, E. S., & Alderman, G. E. (1993). Convergent and discriminant validation of a children’s life satisfaction scale: Its relationship to self- and teacher-reported psychological problems and school functioning. Social Indicators Research, 30(1), 71–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, E. S., Gilman, R., & Laughlin, J. E. (1999). A multimethod investigation of the multidimensionality of children’s well-being reports: Discriminant validity of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Social Indicators Research, 46(1), 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, S., Monn, A. R., Palinkas, L. A., & Leslie, L. K. (2008). Maintaining sibling relationships for children in foster and adoptive placements. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 90–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leichtentritt, J. (2013). It is difficult to be here with my sister but intolerable to be without her: Intact sibling placement in residential care. Children and Youth Services Review, 35, 762–770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansbach-Kleinfeld, I., Apter, A., Farbstein, I., Levine, S. Z., & Poznizovsky, A. (2010). A population-based psychometric validation study of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire–Hebrew version. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 1, 151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDade, M. M. (2012). Sibling social support, parent social support, and internalizing outcomes among adolescents (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Northern Illinois University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miron, D., Sujan, A., & Middleton, M. (2013). Considering the best interests of infants in foster care placed separately from their siblings. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(9), 1385–1392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oosterman, M., Schuengel, C., Slot, N. W., Bullens, R. A. R., & Doreleijers, T. A. V. (2007). Disruptions in foster care: A review and meta-analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 29, 53−76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, B. L. (2006). Understanding social network disruption: The case of youth in foster care. Social Problems, 53, 371–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinchover, S., & Attar-Schwartz, S. (2018). Is someone there for you? Social support of youth in educational residential care from family, peers and staff. The British Journal of Social Work, 48(8), 2195–2214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, R. A., Woolley, M. E., & Bowen, G. L. (2013). Social capital as a portfolio of resources across multiple microsystems: Implications for middle-school students. Family Relations, 62(4), 545–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schiff, M., Nebe, S., & Gilman, R. (2006). Life satisfaction among Israeli youth in residential treatment care. British Journal of Social Work, 36, 1325–1343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shlonsky, A., Bellamy, J., Elkins, J., & Ashare, C. J. (2005). The other kin: Setting the course for research, policy, and practice with siblings in foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(7), 697–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shlonsky, A., Webster, D., & Needell, B. (2003). The ties that bind: A cross-sectional analysis of siblings in foster care. Journal of Social Service Research, 29(3), 27–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Small, R. W., Bellonci, C., Ramsey, S. (2015). Creating and maintaining family partnerships in residential treatment programs. In J. K. Whittaker, J. F. del Valle, & L. Holmes (Eds.), Therapeutic residential care for children and youth: Developing evidence-based international practice (pp. 156–170). London, UK: Jessica Kingsley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, M. (2006). Young people aging out of care: The poverty of theory. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 422–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waid, J. (2014). Sibling foster care, placement stability, and well-being: A theoretical and conceptual framework. Journal of Family Social Work, 17(3), 283–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the many young people, directors, residential care staff, and administrators who generously gave their time to make this study possible. The study was supported and conducted in collaboration with the Israeli Public Forum for Youth Villages and Boarding Schools for Children at Risk and with the Education Ministry’s Administration for Rural Education and Youth Immigration.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz

Authors
  1. Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Ann Buchanan

  2. Helsinki, Finland

    Anna Rotkirch

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Attar-Schwartz, S. (2021). Sibling Support: The Reports of Israeli Adolescents in Residential Care. In: Buchanan, A., Rotkirch, A. (eds) Brothers and Sisters. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55985-4_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55985-4_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-55984-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-55985-4

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation