Abstract
Youth’s experiences with romantic relationships during adolescence and young adulthood have far reaching implications for future relationships, health, and well-being; yet, although scholars have examined potential peer and parent influences, we know little about the role of siblings in youth’s romantic relationships. Accordingly, this study examined the prospective longitudinal links between Mexican-origin older and younger siblings’ romantic relationship experiences and variation by sibling structural and relationship characteristics (i.e., sibling age and gender similarity, younger siblings’ modeling) and cultural values (i.e., younger siblings’ familism values). Data from 246 Mexican-origin families with older (M = 20.65 years; SD = 1.57; 50 % female) and younger (M = 17.72 years; SD = .57; 51 % female) siblings were used to examine the likelihood of younger siblings’ involvement in dating relationships, sexual relations, cohabitation, and engagement/marriage with probit path analyses. Findings revealed older siblings’ reports of involvement in a dating relationship, cohabitation, and engagement/marriage predicted younger siblings’ relationship experiences over a 2-year period. These links were moderated by sibling age spacing, younger siblings’ reports of modeling and familism values. Our findings suggest the significance of social learning dynamics as well as relational and cultural contexts in understanding the links between older and younger siblings’ romantic relationship experiences among Mexican-origin youth.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the families and adolescents who participated in this project and to the following schools and districts that collaborated: Osborn, Mesa, and Gilbert school districts; Willis Junior High School; Sepia and Ingleside Middle Schools; and St. Catherine of Siena, St. Gregory, St. Francis Xavier, St. Mary-Bashan, and St. John Bosco. We thank Ann Crouter, Mark Roosa, Nancy Gonzales, Roger Millsap, Jennifer Kennedy, Devon Hageman, Shawna Thayer, Melissa Delgado, Emily Cansler, Lilly Shanahan, and Katharine Zeiders for their assistance in conducting this investigation. Funding was provided by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD; R01HD39666) and the Cowden Fund to the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University. Portions of this manuscript were presented at the Society for Research in Adolescence Biennial Meeting (March 2014), Austin, Texas.
Author Contributions
LW conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, performed the statistical analysis, interpretation of the data, and drafted the manuscript; SK aided in the conceptualization of the study and the interpretation of the results, and helped draft the manuscript; SW aided in the interpretation of the results and helped draft the manuscript. KU participated in the study’s conception, design, coordination, and provided feedback on the manuscript. SM participated in the study’s conception and provided feedback on the manuscript. AUT participated in the study’s conception and provided feedback on the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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Wheeler, L.A., Killoren, S.E., Whiteman, S.D. et al. Romantic Relationship Experiences from Late Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Role of Older Siblings in Mexican-Origin Families. J Youth Adolescence 45, 900–915 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0392-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0392-z