1. Objectifs

Intentions :
This thesis by articles is composed of 3 articles. The aim of the thesis «was to investigate the degree to which trust is an important consideration within the sibling relationship. […] The purpose of the first study was to develop and assess a self-report measure of sibling trust that addressed the limitations of previous measures of interpersonal trust. In addition, it examined the effect of sibling trust on relational well-being in the form of relationship satisfaction. Stemming from these findings, the second study examined the effect of sibling trust on indices of individual well-being, namely early adolescents’ own perceptions of their general self-worth, social competence, and academic competence. […] In the third study, sibling trust was evaluated as protective from internalizing problems among early adolescents in Montréal. In particular, this study tested the extent to which sibling trust moderated the stabilities of depressed affect and the intolerance of uncertainty across a two-month period during the school year.» (p. 10)

Questions/Hypothèses :
For the first study, it was«hypothesized that there would be a three-factor structure (i.e., reliability trust, emotional trust, trust honesty) with [the] self-report items. Second, since greater trust is associated with positive sibling relationship features […], [the authors] predicted that each subscale would differentially and positively predict sibling relationship satisfaction. Third, in line with previous findings on gender differences in trust […], [they] predicted that the effects of trust on sibling relationship satisfaction would be stronger for girls than boys, possibly due to the greater importance that girls place on relationships than boys.» (p.20) For the second study, the authors «predicted that self-perceptions, including academic competence, social competence, and general self-worth would be positively predicted by sibling trust. [They] also predicted that the association between sibling trust and self-worth would be higher for girls than boys, especially considering that girls score higher on measures of interpersonal trust and value intimate relationships […].» (p. 41) The authors also «expected the association between sibling trust and self-worth would be stronger for youth from Barranquilla than Montréal.» (p. 41) For the third study, the authors «hypothesized that both bases of trust (i.e., reliability, honesty) would attenuate the stability for depressed affect and the intolerance of uncertainty, such that they would weaken said associations. Second, given the mixed findings on gender differences, [they] hypothesized that the moderating role of sibling trust would be stronger for girls than boys.» (p. 63) «[T]he third hypothesis predicted that the moderating effect of sibling trust would be stronger for younger early adolescent siblings than older siblings.» (p. 63)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
In the first study, «[p]articipants included a sample of 191 early adolescents who were between 10 and 13 years of age with at least one sibling. […] These participants were recruited from two English-speaking schools in Montréal, Canada.» (p. 11) In the second study, «235 5th and 6th grade early adolescents between 10 and 13 years old and who had at least one sibling were included. They were recruited from three English-speaking schools in Montréal, Canada (n = 121) and two Spanish-speaking schools in Barranquilla, Colombia, a city on the northern coast of the Caribbean (n = 114).» (p. 11) In the third study, «the sample of participants came from the data collection for Study 1. However, the sample was limited to keep sibling age gap constant, resulting in a final sample of 169 early adolescents between the ages of 10 and 13 years, with at least one sibling whose age was not greater or less than 4 years different from the participant.» (p. 11)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

For the first study, «[f]indings demonstrated that trust is comprised of domains including reliability trust and trust honesty, which did not vary as a function of participant gender or birth order. Further, the domains of trust significantly and positively predicted relational satisfaction between siblings. Multigroup comparisons of birth order noted that the effects for trust honesty on satisfaction were stronger for older siblings than younger siblings.» (p. 15) For the second study, «[r]esults indicated that sibling trust positively predicted general self-worth, academic competence, and social competence. Moreover, sibling trust had a stronger effect on social competence for boys than girls, while there were no gender associations with academic competence and general self-worth. Additionally, there was a lack of cultural differences between Canadian and Colombian early adolescents, suggesting a degree of universality associated with the concept of sibling trust.» (p. 35) In the third study, «[t]here were three main findings to note. First, the concurrent association between sibling’s reliability trust and trust honesty was strong and positive. Second, both intolerance of uncertainty and depressed affect were stable across the two time points. Third, the univariate effects of sibling reliability trust and trust honesty did not predict concurrent or longitudinal depressed affect; however, both types of trust differentially moderated the stability of depressed affect. Specifically, high levels of reliability trust attenuated the stability of depressed affect, whereas high levels of trust honesty appeared to strengthen it.» (p. 57)