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Prevalent but Overlooked: Current Literature, Policy, and Service Responses to Sibling Abuse

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Young People Using Family Violence

Abstract

When people think of family violence, they often think of domestic violence between adults or child maltreatment. However, sibling abuse is often overlooked and normalized despite being the most common form of family violence and despite evidence of its associations with various detrimental emotional and behavioral outcomes. This chapter describes the current state of the literature on sibling abuse with an emphasis on definitions, prevalence estimates, the association of sibling abuse with adverse outcomes, and current interventions available to address this pervasive phenomenon. We discuss suggestions for future research to highlight the gaps and limitations in the current literature including the need to address definitional and methodological issues, understand the various dynamics of abusive sibling relationships, and build on current intervention research. Finally, we provide suggestions for policy, intervention, and service response in light of the gaps and limitations present in our body of knowledge on sibling abuse.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Michelle Patrice Desir & Canan Karatekin

  2. Child Abuse Pediatrics, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA

    Michelle Patrice Desir

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  1. Michelle Patrice Desir
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  2. Canan Karatekin
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Correspondence to Michelle Patrice Desir .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Kate Fitz-Gibbon

  2. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Heather Douglas

  3. Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    JaneMaree Maher

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Desir, M.P., Karatekin, C. (2021). Prevalent but Overlooked: Current Literature, Policy, and Service Responses to Sibling Abuse. In: Fitz-Gibbon, K., Douglas, H., Maher, J. (eds) Young People Using Family Violence. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1331-9_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1331-9_2

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