Fase de resolución.

Between typically developing siblings, the tasks of companionship, emotional support, delegated care giving and the provision of aid and direct services to each other are likely to be present in early and middle adulthood, as they are within childhood, yet they take on a different form. Companionship and emotional support is often less intense at this life stage as, although siblings may still act as confidants and friends to each other, they are commonly concerned with adult roles of partner, worker and parent. Contact between siblings is now voluntary and research suggests that there is often a reduction in sibling visiting in the adult years, but a pattern of keeping in touch exists (Goetting 1986).

In general terms, sibling support roles may be divided into instrumental or direct support (for example, financial, transport, shopping) and expressive (compassionate, sharing, listening). Siblings can be a significant source of support in times of need, especially for psychological and social activities (Van Volkom 2006); many typically developing adult siblings provide some form of support to at least one sibling over a 12 month period, and many provide and receive support on a monthly basis (Eriksen and Gerstel 2002). With regard to typically developing sibling relationships, young adults have demonstrated three key dimensions of warmth, conflict and rivalry in their relationships. Perceptions of rivalry and conflict have been shown to be minimally related to expressions of warmth, which suggests that adult siblings are able to experience both positive and negative emotions towards each other.

Gender has been raised as a factor that can influence sibling roles. Sisters are seen to provide more care to siblings than brothers overall, and are more inclined to engage with tasks such as cleaning, child care, laundry, emotional support and

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family rituals. Family income and perceived levels of closeness in the sibling relationship have been linked, demonstrating higher levels of emotional closeness among those who were more prosperous (Eriksen and Gerstel 2002). Marital and parental status is also associated with sibling roles and relationships, as those individuals who are single, widowed and childless generally receive higher levels of sibling support (Goetting 1986; Connidis 1994; Eriksen and Gerstel 2002; Van Volkom 2006). Other possible influences upon sibling roles and relationships are proximity and ethnicity. Siblings are more likely to act as confidants, companions, providers of emotional and instrumental support when living close by (Connidis 1994, Campbell et al 1999). With regard to the influence of ethnicity upon sibling roles and relationship, there appears to be some difference of opinion. Erikson and Gestel (2002) noted few differences between black and white siblings when considering care provision between brothers and sisters; however Van Volkom (2006) stated that compared to non-Hispanic whites, African Americans and Hispanics were more likely to have siblings live with them or within close proximity, and cited siblings as an emergency contact.

Birth position, adjacency, family size and relative ordinal position between siblings have additionally been shown to influence the recollection of childhood and current adult sibling relationship in typically developing families. Brothers and sisters in adjacent positions have been described as more likely to form close relationships in childhood (Riggio 2006) although other research (Stocker et al 1997) has shown that siblings who are close in age may experience more rivalry along with those in larger families where there is more competition for parental attention (Stocker et al 1997; Riggio 2006). Generally however, reports of positive or negative childhood relationships may not necessarily predict adult sibling relationships and there is a need to understand the complexities of sibling relationships over the duration of the life cycle and within the context of family and life events, although a positive correlation has been demonstrated between feelings of warmth and the amount of

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sibling contact. Geographical proximity has not been linked with the characteristics of the sibling relationship but in reference to psychological functioning, siblings who scored higher levels of mental health reported lower levels of sibling conflict (Stocker at al 1997).

The most significant task that siblings have to manage, and which commonly occurs in middle adulthood, is the support of elderly parents and the eventual dissolution of the parental home (Van Volkon 2006). At this point in life, the sibling bond may be re-established when siblings unite to deal with the critical responsibilities generated by older parents. Brothers and sisters at this transitional stage may see themselves as perpetuators of the family name and traditions; however, if a parent was the binding factor that kept the family together, adult siblings may drift apart after parental death. This raises the question of parental influence upon sibling relationships which is said to be complex, and supports the view that the roles and relationships of typically developing siblings change over time (Eriksen and Gerstel 2002; Voorpostel and Blieszner 2008).

In the final stage of the life cycle, sibling support in the form of companionship and emotional support, aid and direct services may continue as at previous levels during adulthood, but can be influenced by health and transport issues (Van Volkom (2006). The specific tasks for typically developing siblings in old age are said to include shared reminiscence and perceptual validation, which are possible due to shared life events and family history. Within the sibling relationship at this stage, life events may be validated and family values and integrity upheld. Revisiting the sibling relationship in old age provides an opportunity to deal with unresolved rivalries and establish a more constructive relationship (Van Volkom 2006). As in the stages of childhood and adolescence, the nature of the sibling relationship in later life, and the roles adopted within and between siblings could depend on family structure, values, history and circumstance. As brothers and sisters continue to age, it is likely that they will provide previous levels of support to their best of their

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ability and where older siblings rely upon each other significantly, there can be a huge impact when one sibling dies; this death signifies the end of a relationship that has been lifelong and holds unique shared memories and experience. Sibling death can lead to reorganisation of roles within the family and increase susceptibility to physical and mental ill health, a greater sense of isolation and for some, a risk of suicide (Van Volkom 2006).

Studies that have given retrospective consideration of change in the sibling relationship over the duration of the life course have demonstrated three patterns of closeness: increased closeness (the most commonly occurring pattern), no change (the second most commonly occurring pattern) and decreased closeness (the least common pattern). Gold (1996) found that the no change and negative change groups were comprised mainly of men and the positive change groups mainly of women; this indicates the possible influence of gender upon sibling relationships, as supported by Goetting (1986), Connidis (1994), Eriksen and Gerstel (2002) and Van Volkom (2006), who all found the sister/sister relationship to be closer than that of mixed sibling dyads or brother only relationships. The significance of marital status was again found to influence sibling roles as the unmarried and childless siblings were found to receive more support than those who were married (Van Volkom 2006)