Siblings Groups - Essay Example

'the bonds among brothers and sisters are unique - the longest lasting relationships most people have. The sibling relationship lasts longer than the relationship of parent and child and often longer than that of husband and wife (Barbell, 1995, 1).' Regardless of the lack of literature and research that has been previously collected regarding the importance of the relationship between siblings, far too many children are separated from their siblings when child welfare agencies have to intervene.

This essay will review the current literature concerning the out-of-home placement of siblings including the impact of separation of siblings and research regarding this sensitive issue. Additionally, a further discussion concerning when it may not be in the child's best interest to co-locate siblings will be presented. Lastly, how the findings of this research impact current social work practices will be discussed. In the last few decades there has been much more attention paid to the importance of the sibling relationship. . siblings may become stronger, perhaps even stronger than those between parents and children.

Children in these families learn to depend on each other tocope with their common life experiences. If intervention intended to help the children results in their separation from each other, they suffer additional loss and grief (Barbell, 1995, 1). This essay will review the current literature concerning the out-of-home placement of siblings including the impact of separation of siblings and research regarding this sensitive issue. Additionally, a further discussion concerning when it may not be in the child's best interest to co-locate siblings will be presented.

Lastly, how the findings of this research impact current social work practices will be discussed. Available Literature In the last few decades there has been much more attention paid to the importance of the sibling relationship. As stated previously, prior much emphasis was placed on examining the parent/child relationship but the importance of the sibling relationship tended to be overlooked. Often siblings from dysfunctional families can be a tremendous amount of strength and support for one another.

This is especially true when they have through their shared past relied heavily on each other for love, comfort and support. Shlonsky et al. in 2005 reported that siblings have the ability to help each other to repair the damage and repair the affects of long term parental neglect and abuse. However, they also noted that the relationships can be damaging as well. This varied response to the sibling relationship and its impact on the formative lives of children discloses more visibly the need for further research into the relationships and a thorough understanding by the social