Mehr als Blutsbande: Geschwister in Trennungsfamilien
Main Article Content
Abstract
More than blood ties: Siblings in separated families
This study examines sibling relationship quality in post-separation families, including biological, step-, and half-siblings in single-parent and stepfamily households. Based on data from the ‘Growing up in Germany’ survey (2023), 1,944 sibling relationships within post-separation families of 742 children aged five to 17 were analyzed. Nearly two-thirds of the sibling relationships were rated as very good, with step-sibling relationships being evaluated significantly more positively than biological and half-sibling relationships – a finding that remains robust in multivariate analyses controlling for various factors. Larger age gaps and shared bedrooms were associated with a lower likelihood of a very good relationship quality, whereas boy-boy sibling dyads, compared to mixed-gender pairs, were more often described as having better relationships. The results provide valuable insights into the dynamics of sibling relationships after parental separation, highlighting their complexity from the children’s own perspective.
Keywords: stepsibling, halfsibling, stepfamily, lone parent, separated families, relationship quality, sibling relationship
Bibliography: Entleitner-Phleps, Christine/Langmeyer, Alexandra N./Witte, Susanne: Mehr als Blutsbande: Geschwister in Trennungsfamilien, Diskurs Kindheits- und Jugendforschung / Discourse. Journal of Childhood and Adolescence Research, 4-2025, pp. 457-473.
Article Details
Literature
Ambert, Anne‑Marie (1986). Being a Stepparent: Live-In and Visiting Stepchildren. Journal of Marriage & Family, 48 (4), 795–804. https://doi.org/10.2307/352572
Andersson, Linus (2020). Oh half-brother, where art thou? The boundaries of full- and halfsibling interaction. Demographic Research, 43 (16), 431–460. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2020.43.16
Baptist, Joyce & Hamon, Raeann R. (2022). Family Systems Theory. In Kari Adamsons, April L. Few-Demo, Christine Proulx & Kevin Roy (Eds.), Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methodologies (S. 209–226). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92002-9
Bernstein, Anne C. (1997). Stepfamilies from Siblings‘ Perspectives. Marriage & Family Review, 26 (1–2), 153–175. https://doi.org/10.1300/J002v26n01_10
Brauns, Hildegard, Scherer, Stefani & Steinmann, Susanne (2003). The CASMIN Educational Classification in International Comparative Research. In Jürgen H. P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik & Christof Wolf (Eds.), Advances in Cross-National Comparison (S. 221–244). Boston: Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9186-7_11
Bowen, Murray (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Jason Aronson. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.1979.tb00020.x
Entleitner-Phleps, Christine, Lux, Ulrike & Walper, Sabine (2020). Doing Family in komplexen Familienformen. Herausforderungen in der Alltagsgestaltung und im Coparenting in Stieffamilien. In Karin Jurczyk (Hrsg.), Doing und Undoing Family. Konzeptionelle und empirische Entwicklungen (S. 214–228). Weinheim/Basel: Beltz Juventa.
Entleitner-Phleps, Christine & Walper, Sabine (2020). Kindliches Wohlbefinden in unterschiedliche Familienformen: ein Fokus auf komplexe Stieffamilien. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 23 (2), 323–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-020-00936-y
Entleitner-Phleps, Christine, Witte, Susanne & Walper, Sabine (2025). Stief- und Halbgeschwister in Stieffamilien. In Meike Watzlawik & Holger von der Lippe (Hrsg.), Geschwisterbeziehungen. Herausforderungen und Ressourcen für die Entwicklung (S. 89–100), Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer. https://doi.org/10.17433/978-3-17-043529-2
Evans, Gary W. & English, Kimberly (2002). The Environment of Poverty: Multiple Stressor Exposure, Psychophysiological Stress, and Socioemotional Adjustment. Child Development, 73 (4), 1238–1248. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00469
Fang, Christian & Zartler, Ulrike (2024). Adolescents‘ experiences with ambiguity in postdivorce stepfamilies. Journal of Marriage and Family, 86 (1), 111–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12942
Furman, Wyndol & Buhrmester, Duane (1985). Children’s Perceptions of the Qualities of Sibling Relationships. Child Development, 56 (2), 448–461. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129733
Ganong, Lawrence & Coleman, Marilyn (2004). Stepfamily Relationships. Development, Dynamics, and Interventions. New York: Springer Science+Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7702-1
Ganong, Lawrence & Coleman, Marilyn (2018). Studying Stepfamilies: Four Eras of Family Scholarship. Family Process, 57 (1), 7–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12307
Ganong, Lawrence, Sanner, Caroline, Landon, Olivia & Coleman, Marilyn (2022). Patterns of Stepsibling Relationship Development. Journal of Family Issues, 43 (10), 2788–2809. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X211033924
Gatins, Deborah, Kinlaw, C. Ryan & Dunlap, Linda L. (2014). Impact of Postdivorce Sibling Structure on Adolescent Adjustment to Divorce. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 55 (3), 239–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2014.898551
Heintz-Martin, Valerie, Entleitner-Phleps, Christine & Langmeyer, Alexandra N. (2015). „Doing (step) family“: Family Life of (Step) Families in Germany. Journal of Family Research, 27 (10), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvddzmht.7
Jensen, Alexander C., Hamwey, Meghan K., Parkinson, Crystal, Dayley, Jenna C. & Whiteman, Shawn D. (2023). The Emerging Adults’ Relationships with Siblings Scale: Development and Validation. Emerging Adulthood. 11 (1), 32–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968221127076
Kasten, Helmut (2003). Geschwister: Vorbilder, Rivalen, Vertraute (5. Auflage). München/Basel: Reinhardt Verlag.
Khan, Roxanne, Brewer, Gayle & Archer, John (2020). Genetic Relatedness, Emotional Closeness and Physical Aggression: A Comparison of Full and Half Sibling Experiences. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 16 (1), 167–185. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v16i1.1620
King, Valerie & Lindstrom, Rachel (2016). Continuity and Change in Stepfather-Stepchild Closeness Between Adolescence and Early Adulthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 78 (3), 730–743. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12281
Kleinschlömer, Pauline & Krapf, Sandra (2023). Parental Separation and Children’s Wellbeing: Does the Quality of Parent-Child Relationships Moderate the Effect? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 40 (12), 4197–4218. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075231201564
Kuger, Susanne, Bernhard, Janine, Herz, Andreas, Linberg, Anja, Recksiedler, Claudia, Simm, Inga, Ulrich, Susanne, Braun, Dominik, Fischer, Andreas, Schacht, Diana & Quellenberg, Holger (2024). AID:A 2023 – Design des Surveys. In Deutsches Jugendinstitut (Hrsg.), AID:A 2023 Blitzlichter. Zentrale Befunde des DJI-Surveys zum Aufwachsen in Deutschland (S. 7–15), Bielefeld: wbv-Verlag. https://doi.org/10.3278/9783763978007
Leeuw, Suzanne de, Hornstra, Maaike & Kalmijn, Matthijs (2025). Relationships Among Adult Full, Half, and Stepsiblings: Does Coresidence Explain the Stepgap? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 87 (1), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.13027
Minuchin, Salvador (1974). Families and family therapy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674041127
Ötztürk, Yasmin (2025). Mütterliches Wohlbefinden in verschiedenen Familienformen. In Deutsches Jugendinstitut (Hrsg.), AID:A 2023 Blitzlichter. Zentrale Befunde des DJIsurveys zum Aufwachsen in Deutschland (S. 28–32). Bielefeld: wbv-Verlag. https://doi.org/10.3278/9783763978007
Pollet, Thomas V. (2007). Genetic Relatedness and Sibling Relationship Characteristics in a Modern Society. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28 (3), 176–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.10.001
Sanner, Carolin, Ganong, Lawrence & Coleman, Marilyn (2020). Shared Children in Stepfamilies: Experiences Living in a Hybrid Family Structure. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 82 (2), 605–621. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12631
Sanner, Carolin, Russell, Luke T., Coleman, Marilyn & Ganong, Lawrence (2018). Half-Sibling and Stepsibling Relationships: A Systematic Integrative Review. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 10 (4), 765–784. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12291
Scharf Miri, Shulman Shmuel & Avigad-Spitz, Limor (2005). Sibling Relationships in Emerging Adulthood and in Adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20 (1), 64–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558404271133
Schmolke, Rebecca (2015). Geschwister in kinderreichen Familien. In Inés Brock (Hrsg.), Bruderheld und Schwesterherz. Geschwister als Ressource (S. 283–299). Gießen: Psychosozial-Verlag. https://doi.org/10.30820/9783837968361-283
Schnor, Christine (2014). The Effect of Union Status at First Childbirth on Union Stability: Evidence from Eastern and Western Germany. European Journal of Population, 30 (2), 129–160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-013-9304-7
Statistisches Bundesamt (2023). 15 % der Alleinerziehenden mit Kindern unter 18 Jahren sind Väter: Anteil 2022 fünf Prozentpunkte höher als zehn Jahre zuvor [Pressemitteilung vom 16. Mai 2023]. Verfügbar unter: https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/Zahl-der-Woche/2023/PD23_20_p002.html [31. August 2025]
Statistisches Bundesamt. (2024). 6,1 % weniger Ehescheidungen im Jahr 2023: Pressemitteilung Nr. 251 [Pressemitteilung vom 27. Juni 2024]. Verfügbar unter: https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2024/06/PD24_251_126.html [31. August 2025].
Steinbach, Anja & Hank, Karsten (2018). Full-, Half-, and Step-Sibling Relations in Young and Middle Adulthood. Journal of Family Issues, 39 (9), 2639–2658. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X18757829
Tanskanen, Antti O., Danielsbacka, Mirkka, Jokela, Markus & Rotkirch, Anna (2017). Sibling Conflicts in Full- and Half-sibling Households in the UK. Journal of Biosocial Science, 49 (1), 31–47. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932016000043
van Dijk, Reanne, van der Valk, Inge E., Buist, Kirsten L., Branje, Susan & Deković, Maja (2022). Longitudinal Associations Between Sibling Relationship Quality and Child Adjustment after Divorce. Journal of Marriage and Family, 84 (2), 393–414. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12808
van Spijker, Frederique, Kalmijn, Matthijs & van Gaalen, Ruben (2022). The long-term Improvement in Father–Child Relationships after Divorce: Descriptive Findings from the Netherlands. Demographic Research, 46(15), 441–452. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2022.46.15
Walper, Sabine, Entleitner-Phleps, Christine & Langmeyer, Alexandra N. (2020). Betreuungsmodelle in Trennungsfamilien: Ein Fokus auf das Wechselmodell. Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung & Sozialisation, 40 (1), 62–80. https://doi.org/10.3262/zse2001062
Witte, Susanne (2018). Geschwister im Kontext von Misshandlung, Missbrauch und Vernachlässigung. Risikokonstellationen, Qualität der Geschwisterbeziehung und aktuelle psychische Belastung. Basel: Beltz.