Big brothers: impact on little brothers' self-concepts and behaviors

Adolescence, Winter, 1996 by Sean Turner, Avraham Scherman

In an attempt to alleviate some of the negative effects of divorce on children, the United Way has formed the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America. In this program, children from single-parent households are matched with an adult volunteer of the same sex. Following an extensive screening process, an approved adult volunteer is matched with a same-sex child. A Big Brother or Big Sister is expected to continue regular contact (typically 3-5 hours per week for at least one year). Through this process, the adult provides the child with friendship, understanding, feedback, and concern for the child's well-being. Theoretically, if a child receives this type of attention from a caring volunteer, the adverse affects of living in a single-parent household is expected to diminish.

Although there are several possible effects of divorce on children, the focus of this study was restricted to two questions: (1) Does having a Big Brother improve the self-concept of the Little Brother? (2) Do the mothers of matched Little Brothers report a higher level of behavioral functioning in their children than do mothers whose children have yet to be matched with a Big Brother?

METHOD

Participants

Data were collected from 45 boys and their mothers. All the boys were involved in one of two Big Brother/Big Sister agencies in the state of Oklahoma. The experimental group (n = 23) consisted of boys aged 9-15 who had been matched with a Big Brother for at least six months. The control group (n = 22) consisted of boys aged 7-13 who were unmatched but had been on the waiting list to be matched for no longer than one year.

Instruments

Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale: This is a self-report measure that is completed by the child. The instrument consists of 80 "yes-no" items that form six clusters (Behavior; Intellectual and School Status; Physical Appearance and Attributes; Anxiety; Popularity; and Happiness and Satisfaction). The Piers-Harris has been found to be a highly reliable instrument with test-retest reliability coefficients ranging from .42 to .96 and internal consistency estimates for the total score range from .88 to .93 (Piers, 1984). The reliability scores compare well with other instruments used to measure personality traits in children and adolescents (Piers, 1984). A number of empirical studies have demonstrated the content, criterion-related, and construct validity of this instrument.

Child Behavior Checklist, Parent-Version (CBCL): This is a self-report questionnaire in which the parent rates his or her child's behavior. It consists of 113 Likert-scale questions (0 = Not True; 1 = Somewhat of Sometimes True; 2 = Very True or Often True). The 113 questions comprise the Total Problem Scales. There are eight scales within the Problem Scales (Withdrawn; Somatic Complaints; Anxious/Depressed; Social Problems; Thought Problems; Attention Problems; Delinquent Behavior; and Aggressive Behavior). The CBCL appears to be a highly reliable instrument. The Cronbach's alpha for the Problems Scales is .96 and the test-retest reliability for the Problem Scales is .89 (Achenbach, 1991). A number of empirical studies have demonstrated the content, criterion-related, and construct validity of the CBCL (Achenbach, 1991).