`It's a connection you can't get away from': Brothers, Sisters and Social Capital

Authors: Gillies, Val; Lucey, Helen

Source: Journal of Youth Studies, Volume 9, Number 4, September 2006 , pp. 479-493(15)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Using the theoretical framework of social capital, this paper explores the resources and support children and young people derive from their siblings. A prevailing representation of siblings as passive dependents competing for limited reserves of family social capital is undermined by our empirical study of being and having a brother or sister. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 44 children and young people from 16 sibling sets, we show how brothers and sisters generate significant social resources for each other within and outside their families. In particular, we demonstrate how younger siblings rely on older brothers and sisters to cope with the demands of growing up and becoming adult.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13676260600914549

Publication date: 2006-09-01

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