Sibling rivalry: an under-rated entity of the little minds? A descriptive study

Objectives: To identify the etiological profile and risk factors of children with sibling rivalry and to identify presentation and manifestation of sibling rivalry in a child. Methods: In this descriptive study, 84 children who presented to the paediatric outpatient department (OPD) and child psychiatry OPD over a period of one year with behavioural changes after birth of their siblings were enrolled in the study. Parents were asked to fill the questionnaire during history elicitation. Percentages and median interquartile range were calculated and SPSS 23.0 software was used for analysis. Results: Median age of presentation was 5 years. Male children, children from above poverty line families, children from nuclear families, first born children, nursery and pre-school children were the most affected. Bullying was the commonest symptom of presentation followed by fear of losing parental love. Depression was the least common presentation. Majority of parents were unaware of the entity- sibling rivalry. Conclusions: Sibling rivalry is an under-rated entity in child psychology. It can lead to a wide range of psychological manifestations ranging from anger outbursts to physical insults over the sibling. Hence, the older child should be given better care and attention after the birth of the next order child to prevent mental trauma to the child. Prospective parents should be given better awareness and counselling about this condition for better mental health outcome in the children.