Observations of the role relations and behavior between older children with mental retardation and their younger siblings.

Children with mental retardation and their younger siblings without retardation were observed interacting in three naturally occurring in-home contexts (toy play, television viewing, and snack). Comparison siblings without retardation who were matched on age, sex, race, parental marital status, education, and family income were also observed. Interactions between children with retardation and their siblings were characterized by accentuated role asymmetries that favored the younger siblings, whereas the older siblings were dominant in the comparison group. No differences in affect were found between the sibling groups. The competence of the child with mental retardation reliably predicted sibling role asymmetries, and the observational contexts influenced sibling behavior in both groups. Gender differences in roles and behavior were minimal.