Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the spiritual influence of Christianity on sibling relationships. This was done by distributing surveys to 104 Christian siblings and 27 Non-Christian siblings which asked questions in regards to five major components of a sibling relationship, the components being compatibility, competition, conflict, honesty, and sacrifice. Results indicate that. Overall, Christian sibling relationships do not significantly differ from Non-Christian sibling relationships. Out of the five components of a sibling relationship, conflict was the only area in which there was a significant difference. The implications of this study question current methods of study and their efficiency in determining the influence of spirituality on sibling relationships.
Introduction
Relationships are an important aspect of all areas of life. They shape who we are. As such, it comes as no surprise that a great deal of research has focused on the factors that influence relationships. The study of relationships is important, not only for the purpose of better understanding the interactions persons have with one another, but it also opens doors to a deeper understanding of human nature. Siblings have long been known to share powerful and far reaching bonds with one another. As such, sibling relationships are vital to a better understanding of relationships as a whole.
Personally, the study of sibling relationships has been an opportunity for us, the authors, to examine the factors, which are currently seen as contributors to relationships and propose additional factors which may also influence relationships. In particular, we believe that there is a spiritual component which is a large contributor to relationships. This study is not only an opportunity to find evidence which supports our claim, but also a chance for us to consider the current methods used when studying relationships and whether or not those methods are an effective way of uncovering all the contributors to relationships as a whole.
The purpose of our study was to find evidence which supported our claim that there is a spiritual component to relationships. More specifically, we proposed that there would be a significant difference between the sibling relationships of Christian and Non-Christian individuals.
In our study we gathered information from siblings using a survey which asked questions pertaining to their relationship with their sibling. We then compared the survey results we received from Christian siblings with those from Non-Christian siblings and observed the similarities and differences in their relationships to one another.
To better understand the bonds which siblings share, it is important to examine the components of a sibling relationship and, hence, the factors which determined the kinds of questions that were asked on our survey. Below is a list of the major components of a sibling relationship and a brief description of each and its significance to our study:
Closeness - In Mixed Feelings, Francine Klagsburn describes different levels of closeness (p. 285). In our study we measured closeness by asking the more general question of ÒHow well do you get along with your sibling?Ó This does not directly address the issue of closeness, but is a simple way of gauging how close one sibling feels towards another by looking at how well they get along. However, we do recognize that to consider the responses to this question as measure of closeness would be misleading. Therefore, we address this component of a sibling relationship as compatibility of siblings and not their level of closeness.
Competition - Klagsbrun also describes two forms of competition between siblings. In one form the siblings are competing for the love and attention of their parents and in the other form the siblings are competing with one another for power and prestige (p. 12-13). In our study we did not separate competition into the two forms but rather looked at the concept as a whole, asking the more basic question of: Do you and your sibling compete with one another?
Conflict - Victor Cicirelli defines conflict as a disagreement in desires or ideas of two individuals. The disagreement is accompanied by emotion and an expectation of opposing each other (p. 151). Our study asked the question: How often do you and your sibling fight? We did this with the intent of targeting the degree of conflict, rather than simply asking whether or not conflict exists.
Honesty - Although we were unable to find research, which deemed honesty an important component of a sibling relationship, we felt that it was important in our study of Christian relationships. We defined honesty as a character of trustworthiness and integrity. In our study we asked the question: How important do you think honesty is in your relationship with your sibling?
Sacrifice - There has been a great deal of research done on the physical and mental strain that the death of a sibling can cause, but we were unable to find research which looked at the likelihood of one sibling giving their life for another (Bank & Kahn, 1997). We included it in our study because it is an important aspect of sibling relationships when comparing Christian siblings to Non-Christian siblings. In the Bible Jesus said, ÒGreater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.Ó (John 15:13, NIV) The giving of oneÕs life for another is a powerful concept in Christianity and is therefore equally important in our study. The two questions we asked were: Would you give your life for your sibling? Would your sibling give their life for you?
There are many factors which influence the personality and character traits of an individual and hence shape the components of their relationships with others. Research has shown that genetics and the environment influence sibling relationships to a certain degree (Daniels, 1986; Ward and Lewko, 1988; Manke and Plomin, 1997; Deckard et al., 1997). In Loehlin et al. (1985), biological and adoptive sibling personalities were observed and it was found that genetics and the environment did contribute to the sibling relationships, but the study also found that, although genetics and the environment were contributors, they were not solely responsible for the personality traits observed. It was left to question what else might be a contributor. It is that question which we have attempted to answer through our study, that there is a spiritual influence on sibling relationships.
McCrae (1999) discusses the widespread use of the Five Factor Model of personality traits when psychologists study the influence of religion. He argues that there may be another factor, Spiritual Transcendence, in which important aspects of spirituality can be measured. It is this additional factor which we believe exists and therefore plays an important role in sibling relationships. Our study is not an attempt to show empirical evidence which will undoubtedly prove that there is a spiritual domain to relationships, but rather it is the first step of many in opening the door to a wider and deeper understanding of the factors which influence relationships and recognizing that our current methods of research may not be the most effective tools to accomplish this task.
Materials and Methods
In creating the survey, we used a sample questionnaire from the book, Mixed Feelings by Francine Klagsbrun as a guide. We used a few of the actual questions in the making of our survey, but most of the questions that we submitted for the final survey were our own. The survey was composed of questions which asked the individual about the components of their sibling relationship.
Here is a sample of the survey:
¥ What is your religion?
¥ How well do you and your sibling get along?
¥ Do you and your sibling compete with one another?
¥ How often do you and your sibling fight?
¥ How important do you think honesty is in your relationship with your sibling?
¥ Would you give your life for your sibling?
¥ Would our sibling give their life for you?
We distributed the actual survey via a third party host on the internet. It is called SnapSurvey.com and it allows its users to create a survey and then hosts it online. When the survey has been created, it then sends the URL to the user where the user can then distribute the address out for people to visit.
SnapSurvey then holds the results on their website until the survey owner retrieves the results. To do this, SnapSurvey e-mails the results to the owner of the survey. When SnapSurvey sent us the URL for our survey, we distributed it to three listservs: the InterVarsity listserv, the Honors Program listserv, and the Stoddard-Elliot listserv, all at Miami University.
There were 151 submissions and after taking out any duplicates * or partially answered surveys, the data was sorted according to the intervieweeÕs view on Christianity. Out of these submissions 104 were Christian responses and 27 were Non-Christian responses.
In order to simplify the answers into data that could be calculated, we categorized each answer into the group that best fit that answer. For example, the answers to the question which asked, ÒDo you compete with your sibling,Ó were categorized into one of three predetermined responses: yes, somewhat, and no.
* All responses were in the form of sentences or paragraphs, therefore a submission was a duplicate if the entire survey submission matched word-for-word with another submission.
Results
In the analysis of our data, careful comparisons were done for Christian siblings and Non-Christian siblings in regards to the five components used in our study.
Compatibility
In comparing how well one sibling gets along with the other, it was found that there was no significant difference between the answers given by Christian siblings and those given by Non-Christian siblings (p = 0.1919). Out of the 104 Christian responses, 26 were randomly chosen and compared with 26 Non-Christian responses. There was no apparent pattern to the answers given by Christian versus Non-Christian siblings (Figure 1).
Competition
In comparing the responses to the question of whether or not one sibling competes with another, it was found that there was a significant difference between the answers given by Christian siblings and those given by Non-Christian siblings (p = 0.0310). When looking at the sample of 26 Christian siblings versus Non-Christian siblings, more than twice as many Non-Christian siblings than Christian siblings claimed that they do compete with one another and more Christian siblings than Non-Christian siblings claimed that they do not compete with their sibling (Figure 2).
Conflict
In comparing the responses to the question of how often one sibling fights with another, it was found that there was not a significant difference between the answers given by Christian siblings and those given by Non-Christian siblings (p = 0.7445). When looking at the sample of 26 Christian siblings versus Non-Christian siblings less than half as many Christian siblings than Non-Christian siblings answered that they fight with their sibling very often and more Christian siblings answered that they never fight with their sibling than Non-Christian siblings (Figure 3).
Honesty
In comparing the responses to the question of how important honesty is in oneÕs relationship with their sibling, it was found that there was not a significant difference between the answers given by Christian siblings and those given by Non-Christian siblings (p = 0.2900). When looking at the sample of 26 Christian siblings versus Non-Christian siblings, more Christian siblings than Non-Christian siblings answered that honesty was important in their relationship with their sibling, but more Christian siblings than Non-Christian siblings also answered that honesty was unimportant (Figure 4).
Sacrifice
The responses to two questions were compared in regards to sibling sacrifice. In comparing the responses to the first question of whether or not the sibling filling out the survey would give their life for their sibling, it was found that there was not a significant difference between the answers given by Christian siblings and those given by Non-Christian siblings (p = 0.0643). However, the difference was great enough to be considered somewhat significant and worth further study. When looking at the sample of 26 Christian siblings versus Non-Christian siblings, more Christian siblings than Non-Christian siblings claimed that they would give their life for their sibling and fewer Christian siblings than Non-Christian siblings claimed that they would not give their life for their sibling (Figure 5.).
In comparing the responses to the second question of whether or not the sibling of the person who filled out the survey would give their life for their sibling, it was found that there was also no significant difference between the answers given by Christian siblings and those given by Non-Christian siblings (p = 0.0861). However, the difference was also great enough to be considered somewhat significant and worth further study. When looking at the sample of 26 Christian siblings versus Non-Christian siblings, the same pattern was observed as that for the answers to the question above (Figure 6).
Conclusion
The overall results of our study did not directly support our hypothesis that there would be a significant difference between the sibling relationships of Christians and the sibling relationships of Non-Christians. They did however leave room to propose that there may be much better methods of determining the full range of factors which contribute to sibling relationships and relationships as a whole. Because our results did not support our hypothesis it opens the question of why they did not.
Taylor et al. (1999) stated that there have been many inconsistent findings in the studies done on the relation of religion to personality. The authors argue that this may be the result of divergent definitions and measures of religion being used in the studies. McCrae (1999), states that if unique principles are needed to explain religious experience, it must be treated as a separate topic in the study of personality psychology. On the other hand, if religion is just another set of beliefs and behaviors, it can be optional in the study of personality psychology.
This is a very important point because it questions the very methods by which scientists look at religion and how it shapes our personalities and, hence, our relationships with one another. More specifically, it raises the question of whether Christianity and its spiritual influence can be fairly determined using current methods of study. We, the authors, argue that it cannot be fairly determined. We believe that the definition of science today cannot include spirituality for spirituality cannot be defined in concrete methods or supported directly by empirical evidence.
In Christianity, the Holy Spirit defies the boundaries of science and, hence, the boundaries of psychology. That is why it is impossible to show, using current methods of study, the fullness of the relationships Christians have with one another in comparison to those shared by Non-Christians and yet no method can be made until the boundaries of science are removed and a greater understanding of the creation of life and the controls which run our world is found.
Our study was not affective at showing the influence of the Holy Spirit on Christian relationships. As such, there are many things which could be done in the future that would make this study more affective. A larger sampling size would give better results as well as a more detailed analysis of the religious backgrounds of the participants in the study. The questions in the study could be less generalized and more specific in content. The questions could have also been asked to both siblings in each of the families rather than to just one of the siblings. In that way the results could be compared to see if the responses are mutual in regards to the relationship. All in all, we do not think that this method of study was an effective way of determining the influence of the Holy Spirit on Christian relationships.
Alternative methods of study may be possible. A study could be done on a large population of Christian and Non-Christian individuals. Very in-depth case studies could be done on each sibling couple where lifestyles were studied as well as personalities and relationships within the family. The religious beliefs and practices (or lack of) of the siblings could also be observed. However, a study of this kind would be extremely time consuming and very difficult to do.
In conclusion, we recognize that the current methods of study are not useful in the study of Christianity and itÕs influence on relationships, but we fail to see many options for future study because the very factor (spirituality) which is trying to be proven is the very factor which cannot be proven in the light of current scientific understanding. Only when we broaden our understanding of the world and the forces which control it, will we be able to understand influences of spirituality in relationships today.
References
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Cicirelli, V. G. (1995). Sibling Relationships Across the Life Span. New York, NY: Plenum Publishing Corporation.
Daniels, D. (1986). Differential experiences of siblings in the same family as predictors of adolescent sibling personality differences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(2): 339-346.
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