Relationship of number of siblings, family type and index of
self-esteem in UNL students
Abigail
Cheesman | University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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Introduction
Interactions of families including how many siblings one has as well as the type of family one is a part of can have a large effect on many outcomes later on in life. Self-esteem is another aspect of a person that can both be affected by family relationships and can have an impact on many different parts of one’s life. The relationship between these three variables and the impact that they can have on how serious one would rate a current relationship is an extremely interesting research question. Another very interesting research question is how these factors could possibly effect how many times one had moved as a child. These relationships are what this studies delves into.
Research has shown a relationship between sibling relationships and romantic relationships later on in life. According to one study, sibling relationship has a unique influence on romantic relationship experiences (Doughty, Lam, Stanik, & McHale, 2015). This could show that having more or less of these sibling relationships could have a bigger impact on romantic relationships. If one has more sibling relationships, their influence could have a greater effect on relationships than those individuals with less sibling relationships.
Empirical studies have also shown that for those who had married parents had higher levels of relationship adjustment and dedication when compared to those with divorced parents and never married parents (Rhoades, Stanley, Markman & Ragan, 2012). This shows a great possibility that family type could have an effect on how serious one would rate their most current relationships. If one has married parents and therefore have higher levels of relationship adjustment as well as relationship dedication, this could translate into more serious ratings of relationships.
Additionally, an interaction between self-esteem, need for approval and relationship satisfaction has been found such that the relationship between self-esteem and relationship satisfaction was positive and significant for those with a high need for approval but it was negative and not significant for those with a low need for approval (Cramer, 2003). This could indicate that self-esteem could have an influence on romantic relationships as well.
Empirical studies have also been done on the relationship between a family’s migration and family type. One study found that respondents that came from two-parent families moved significantly less times than children from other family types (Astone & Mclanahan, 1994). Research has also found that children who move more often have more losses of social capital which can result in negative effects for the child. This study also found that having two involved parents can help protect them from these social losses (Hagan, MacMillan, & Wheaton, 1996). Therefore, these two studies show evidence that could lend itself to the argument that both family type and self-esteem have an effect on how often one moves as a child.
The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship of the number of times moved as a child and one’s rating of how serious their most current relationship was across the number of siblings, whether one grew up in a two parent family type, and individual’s self-esteem (low, medium or high). It was hypothesized that those in two parent families, higher number of siblings, and higher ratings on the Index of self-esteem would rate the seriousness of their relationship higher. It was also hypothesized that those in two parent families, higher number of siblings, and higher ratings on the Index of self-esteem would have moved less as a child. This study wants to better understand the relationship between family relationships and self-esteem and how that can affect romantic relationships later on. It also wants to understand these variables in relationship to how many times the participants moved as a child.