Relationships with Siblings as a Way of Coping with Stress in the Early Adult Hood and the Level of Self-Esteem

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the psychological image of sibling relationships in adulthood, as well as to answer the question of whether and how sibling relationships in early adulthood are associated with the strategies for coping with stress and the level of self-esteem. The study included 62 persons in early adulthood (average age 30.2 years). The following tools were used: the Adult Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (ASRQ) by Stocker, Lanthier and Furman (1995) in the adaptation of Walęcka-Matyja (2014), the Multidimensional Coping Inventory to Assess the Ways in Which People Respond to Stress (COPE) by Carver, Scheier and Weintraub in the adaptation of Juczyński and Ogińska-Bulik (2009) and the Self-Esteem Scale (SES) by Rosenberg (1965) in the adaptation of Łaguna, Lachowicz-Tabaczek, Dzwonkowska (2007). The results of the study demonstrated the existence of correlations (especially numerous in the group of sisters), diverse in the direction and strength, between the adult sibling relationship dimensions and the strategies of coping with stress. The hypothesis that there is a positive correlation between the level of self-esteem and similarity and closeness in the group of sisters was proved to be true. A negative correlation between the level of self-esteem and a relationship characterized by domination was noted in the group of brothers.