Abstract
The spouses of adult siblings can have a strong influence-for better or worse-on the adult sibling bond. Qualitative data from a 16-member subset of a qualitative study of 50 adults demonstrate the positive and negative aspects of sibling-in-law/spousal intersections. Thematic analysis of these interviews revealed that these 16 participants mentioned a problematic sibling-in-law relationship. In each case, participants noted that the sibling's spouse had, in some ways, diminished their closeness with their sibling, which is how ''problematic" was operationalized. Sometimes the sibling-in-law preferred interacting with his or her own family or had poor communication behaviors. Other participants reported that the sibling-in-law created tension by preventing contact between the spouse and his or her sibling. In some cases the reduced closeness reflected the participant's perception that the sibling-in-law did not treat the sibling well or that the marriage was unhealthy for the sibling. These communication outcomes illustrate dynamics of adult sibling relationships which have as of yet been understudied by family communication scholars, and they expand our understanding of how adult siblings negotiate closeness throughout their lives.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
48
Issue
2
First Page
130
Last Page
144
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Prentice, Carolyn and Tyler, Jill
(2016)
"That Woman Who Married my Brother: The Problematic Sibling-in-Law's Influence on Adult Sibling Closeness,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 48:
No.
2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol48/iss2/5
Copyright
©2016 Iowa Communication Association
