J Fam Viol (2006) 21:407–416 DOI 10.1007/s10896-006-9036-0 ORIGINAL ARTICLE The Discourse of Sibling Violence Heather Hensman Kettrey · Beth C. Emery Published online: 31 August 2006 C  Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006 Abstract The present study sought to identify the dis- courses that exist with regard to physical violence among sib- lings. The sample consisted of 200 college students (60.5% female, 39.5% male) who completed a revised version of the Conflict Tactics Scales and a self-labeling measure of sibling violence. Findings indicated that while the vast majority of the sample had experienced sibling violence, they utilized terminology in a manner that failed to recognize their expe- riences as a form of violence. When the data were classified according to gender and level of violence within the sibling relationship, quantitative analysis indicated a difference in terminology. In an attempt to interpret these results from the theoretical perspective of discourse as an aspect of so- cial constructivism it was postulated that the study identified both a dominant discourse that renders physical violence among siblings invisible and several subordinate discourses by which individuals reflect their varying characteristics. It was suggested that future research utilize qualitative analysis to clarify and expand upon this interpretation. Keywords Discourse . Sibling . Physical violence Research regarding the sibling relationship has suggested that sibling violence is highly prevalent. For example, in their groundbreaking national study on family violence, Straus, This article is based on a master’s thesis conducted by Heather Hensman Kettrey. H. H. Kettrey · B. C. Emery () Department of Human Sciences, Middle Tennessee State University, Box 86 Murfreesboro, TN, 37132 e-mail: bemery@mtsu.edu Gelles, and Steinmetz (1980) found that 75.5% of Ameri- can children between the ages of three and 17 who had a sibling at home carried out at least one violent act toward a sibling in the year leading up to the study. In addition, 48.4% of these children engaged in severe violence (i.e., based on the Conflict Tactics Scales) within the specific year in ques- tion (Straus et al., 1980). When compared to the number of spouses who engaged in these behaviors toward each other (15.6% were violent and 6.1% were severely violent) and the number of parents who engaged in these behaviors to- ward their children (63.5% were violent and 14.2% were severely violent), the sibling relationship was found to be the most violent within the family context (Straus et al., 1980). Straus et al. (1980) noted that at the time of their survey there were no previous studies that could serve as baselines for comparisons of prevalence rates of sibling violence. Sub- sequent and more recent research continues to support the high prevalence of sibling violence. For example, Greenleaf (1990) found that all responding college students reported that violence had occurred at some point in the history of their sibling relationships. In addition, other studies have reported the following results regarding the prevalence of sibling violence: 29.9% of middle school children had expe- rienced frequent bullying by their siblings (Duncan, 1999) while 47.8% of college students (Hardy, 2001) and 66% of male and 64% of female high school juniors and seniors had been victims of physical aggression by a sibling (Goodwin & Roscoe, 1990). Effects of Sibling Violence Research not only suggests that sibling violence is highly prevalent, but also identifies several immediate and Springer