Abstract:  In recent years, the Chinese central government has relaxed the enforcement of population control and allowed families to have two children. As a result, a large number of family have had or will have two children. The distinct differences between families with one child and families with two children are the arrival of the new family member relationship—sibling relationship. The literature the forms, causes and consequences of sibling relationships has been accumulating. The forms included sibling warmth, sibling conflicts and sibling relationships combined warmth with conflicts. The factors that influenced sibling relationships included sibling factors themselves (e.g., structural characteristics, temperament) and parents factors (parent-child relations, differential treatment, and marital relationship). Sibling relationships might influence children’s development through the mechanism of attachment, social learning, and social comparison. In addition, an integrative model of sibling relationships is developed. Last, it emphasized that future studies should improve the theoretical frameworks, value the cultural role, and emphasize the research on prevention and intervention.

Key words: sibling relationships, sibling cooperation, sibling conflicts, factors, mechanism