Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Child Abuse & Neglect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/chiabuneg Sibling relationship pattern in the context of abuse and neglect: Results from a sample of adult siblings Susanne Witte a, *, Jörg M. Fegert b , Sabine Walper a,c a German Youth Institute, Germany b Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University, Hospital Ulm, Germany c Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Child maltreatment Sibling relationship Childhood Abuse Neglect ABSTRACT Background: Siblings take care of each other and provide comfort and support. However, the sibling relationship is often also characterized by conflict and rivalry. Accordingly, the sibling relationship can be described by four patterns: harmonious, hostile, distanced, and emotional- intense. The sibling relationship pattern (SRP) depends on the sibling constellation, but also to a large extent on the family environment. Surprisingly little research has focused on the effects of child maltreatment on the SRP. Objective: This paper investigates the impact of maltreatment on the SRP during childhood. Participants and Setting: 4568 adults provided information about their adverse experiences and SRP while growing up. Methods: Multinomial logistic regression analyses were calculated to identify unique predictors for different SRP. Results: The number of different types of maltreatment predicted a hostile SRP. A low number was associated with a harmonious SRP. Considering the specific influence of types of maltreat- ment, emotional abuse was predictive for the hostile and the emotional-intense SRP compared to the distanced and the harmonious SRP. Emotional neglect was predictive for either a distanced or a hostile SRP compared to a harmonious or emotional-intense SRP. Conclusions: Child maltreatment influences the SRP in childhood. It increases the likelihood of a hostile and less harmonious SRP. However, for some types of maltreatment, especially in the absence of emotional abuse or emotional neglect, exceptions occur. Further research needs to untangle dynamics between siblings throughout childhood. For practice, the findings warrant the need for specific interventions to improve the sibling relationship in cases of child maltreatment. 1. Introduction While growing up about 12.7% children worldwide experience sexual abuse, 22.6% physical abuse, 36.3% emotional abuse, 16.3% physical neglect, and 18.4% emotional neglect (Stoltenborgh, Bakermans-Kranenburg, Alink, & van Ijzendoorn, 2015). Pre- valence rates differ between countries and methods used for data collection. However, even the lowest prevalence rates point towards a tremendous social problem (Stoltenborgh et al., 2015; Witt, Brown, Plener, Brähler, & Fegert, 2017). Children and adolescents who have been abused or neglected often suffer from severe immediate, short-term, and long-term consequences (Gilbert et al., 2009). Consequences of childhood maltreatment range from physical injuries to long-lasting neurobiological changes, from mental health https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104528 Received 17 December 2019; Received in revised form 16 April 2020; Accepted 4 May 2020 ⁎ Corresponding author at: German Youth Institute, Nockherstr. 3, 81541, Munich, Germany. E-mail address: witte@dji.de (S. Witte). Child Abuse & Neglect 106 (2020) 104528 0145-2134/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T