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Sibling relationships have been largely neglected in the psychoanalytic literature. Little has been written about the impact of siblings upon ego development. Where they do occur, references to sibling relationships relegate them to a secondary position in which they are cursorily dismissed as rivals for mother's love or as parent surrogates. However, the full impact of early rivalries and parent surrogates has not been viewed as having major consequences.
Early stimulation by siblings can arouse intense instinctual and libidinal strivings. Taunting, unfavorable comparisons and preferences trigger guilt-ridden, hostile, vengeful, and jealous fantasies and feelings which have long-term effects upon ego development and upon the formation of object relations. Competitive strivings and fears of such strivings influence early instinctual development and defensive structurings which become precursors of ego and superego formation. Supportive, constant relationships with siblings can have a salutary and reparative effect upon defective mother-infant relationships. Instances in which a sibling has served as an antidote to pathological parenting are well known.
Attention to the impact of siblings is crucial in psychoanalytic work, not only for full comprehension of the family's interactive system, but in order to understand the structural development of the individual as well. Ekstein (1963) has indicated that inaccurate analysis can occur when there is failure to recognize and attend to the unique influence of a sibling and that it is erroneous to equate the sibling's influence with that of the parent. In terms of treatment, Lesser (1978) pointed out that failure to attend to feelings and attitudes rooted in sibling relations can cause therapeutic stalemates and failures as well. In addition,