Sibling Abuse: a Current Review

Objective:

Although number of scientifi c studies on family violence have increased, sibling abuse, a type of family violence, has remained as a relatively understudied area. It is important to differentiate sibling abuse from sibling confl ict, that might be regarded as developmentally acceptable to a certain extent. . Sibling abuse is defi ned as the scenario where one sibling intentionally harms the other. Taking prevalence of sibling abuse and its devastating effects on victims into consideration, it is of great importance to recognize and prevent sibling abuse. The purpose of this reviewwas to defi ne sibling abuse, examine the prevalance, risk factors and its effects on victims.

Method:

Studies that had been published since 1980 were searchedin various databases (PsycINFO, EbschoHost, Proquest, Pubmed, SplingerLink, Taylor & Francis, Sage, ULAKBIM) by using the keywords “Sibling Abuse”, “Sibling Maltreatment”, “Sibling Sexual Abuse”, “Sibling Incest”.

Results:

Results of the review have indicated that sibling abuse was signifi cantly more common than any other form of intrafamilial violence. Sibling abuse is caused by indvidual, family and environmental multi- risk factors . Moreover, sibling abuse has short term consequences such as injury, physical pain as well as long term detrimental effects like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder.

Discussion:

There have been few empirical studies regarding this issue in the literature so far. With relevant information presented in this review, we believe it shall be possible to develop and implement appropriate intervention programs that might aid in preventing sibling abuse and reducing its negative effects on children and adolescents.