The Sibling Bond

In this pathbreaking book, the unknown territory of the sibling bond is charted, offering a theory of the ways in which brothers and sisters attach, create each others identities, and affect the course of one anothers lives.The influence of childhood intimacy, parental behavior, family turmoil, birth order, and gender are all explored, and the many portraits of siblings provide a profound understanding of these complex and enduring relationships.Heralding the fifteenth anniversary of a classic by two eminent psychologists, this edition offers a new introduction and a comprehensive summary of the up-to-date literature on this perennially fascinating subject. }Fifteen years ago, when The Sibling Bond was first published, the word sibling was almost synonymous with the word rivalry. But Stephen Bank and Michael Kahn changed all that with this pathbreaking book, which provides a rare glimpse into the inner lives of siblings and explores their unique and enduring relationships. Updated with a new introduction by the authors, this anniversary edition shows the sibling relationship as a distinctive emotional, passionate, painful, and solacing power that shapes who we are and who we become.The relationships among brothers and sisters are infinitely varieda sibling can be ones worst enemy or closest companion. Though their love or hate, envy or compassion, and closeness or rivalry are formed in childhood, these bonds last throughout life, creating character and affecting behavior in numerous situations. Strangely, this profound attachmentsecond only to the parent-child bondwas rarely studied or understood until recently, perhaps because the feelings siblings have about each other are usually both intense and secret.Bank and Kahn chart this unknown territory, offering a theory of the ways in which siblings attach, create each others identities, and affect the course of each others lives. Illustrated with poignant portraits of brothers and sisters in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, this book provides a profound understanding of these complex and enduring relationships, examining the influence of childhood intimacy, parental behavior, family turmoil, birth order, and gender.Based on more than twenty years of research and clinical evidence, The Sibling Bond fifteenth anniversary edition brings fresh insight to important clinical and theoretical issues, including attachment theory, the development of the self, and the emergence of sexual identity. While Bank and Kahn demonstrate the implications of their findings for both individual and family therapy, they also give readers a vivid opportunity to recognize and reflect on their own sibling relationships. }

Table of Contents:
Introduction to the Fifteenth Anniversary Edition; Unraveling the Sibling Bond; Attachment and Separation in Early Childhood; Childhood and Adolescence: The Struggle for Separate Identities; Patterns of Identification and Sibling Relationships; Acts of Sacrifice: Loyalty and Caring; The Sexual Influence of Siblings; Sexuality Between Brothers and Sisters; Siblings in Conflict: Bonds of Aggression and Rivalry; The Embroiled Family: Well and Disturbed Siblings; Siblings as Survivors: Bonds Beyond the Grave; Psychotherapy with Siblings; Epilogue.