Understanding the self through siblings: Self-awareness mediates the sibling effect on social understanding

Abstract

This study addresses the role of sibling influence on social understanding in the second year of life, in a sample of families living in New Zealand who identify as Pacific Island (N = 43). We tested toddlers at 20 and 26 months on social understanding tasks, as well as their levels of self-awareness on the Stipek self-concept questionnaire. We hypothesized that the presence of siblings provides a rich resource from which to learn about the mind. There were significant differences in children's social understanding and self-awareness as a function of having older siblings. Further analyses revealed that the relation between older siblings and social understanding was mediated by toddlers' level of self-awareness. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.