'Barter', 'deals', 'bribes' and 'threats': Exploring Sibling Interactions

Citation

McIntosh I & Punch S (2009) 'Barter', 'deals', 'bribes' and 'threats': Exploring Sibling Interactions. Childhood, 16 (1), pp. 49-65. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568208101690

Abstract
This paper investigates forms of strategic interaction between siblings during childhood. We argue that these interactions, characterised by notions of reciprocity, equivalence and constructions of fairness, are worked out in relation to responsibility, power, knowledge and sibling status. Birth order and age are not experienced as fixed hierarchies as they can be subverted, contested, resisted and negotiated. To explore these issues, in-depth individual and group interviews were conducted with a sample of 90 children between the ages of 5 and 17, drawn from 30 families of mixed socio-economic backgrounds in central Scotland with three siblings within this age range.

Keywords
siblings; interactions; children; birth order; strategic interaction; families; Brothers and sisters; Sibling rivalry; Birth order; Interpersonal realtions

Journal
Childhood: Volume 16, Issue 1

• Sibling Interactions McIntosh and Punch 2009.pdf