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Just over half of UK households have at least one child, and just under a quarter having three or more children, including step- or half-siblings. Siblings can provide a huge amount of support for each other as they grow up ranging from playmates to emotional support to protection from bullies. But this relationship is equally important in later life. For example, when widowed sisters decide to live together again; or siblings come back together when their parents die. But siblings can also become jealous of each other and may develop lifelong resentments.

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, researchers are inviting the public to help collect evidence on the role siblings play in people’s lives. Researchers from The Open University and London South Bank University are gathering evidence to better explain our relationships with brothers, sisters or people who are ‘just like a brother or sister.’ The resulting research will help to shed light on sibling relationships that often last throughout our lives and so help the work of family therapists, social workers and many more.

Participation in the research is simple. People of all ages are asked to anonymously complete a postcard with the gender and age of themselves and any siblings, plus any notes about these relationships. Postcards will be available in 20 locations around the UK during the ESRC Festival of Social Science from 7th to 16th March. People can also complete the card online at www.lsbu.ac.uk/families/brothersandsisters/

The researchers from The Open University and London South Bank University will electronically archive all submissions and make them available for social science research. “We hope the postcards will provide us with some raw material to better understand sibling relationships,” says Professor Ros Edwards of London South Bank University. “Such insights are invaluable for the work of family therapists, social workers, health visitors and many more.”

People’s relationships with brothers and sisters can be one of the longest lasting relationships of their lives. Yet after childhood, we know little about how these relationships develop in adulthood. “The postcards will hopefully uncover some neglected issues and provide supportive evidence in the development of good quality research,” comments Dr Bill Bytheway of The Open University.

The researchers are part of the 'Timescapes' study which explores the ways in which personal and family relationships unfold over time and over the life course, and how those relationships shape who we are. The focus is on relationships with significant others: parents, grandparents, siblings, children, partners, friends and lovers.
The ESRC Festival of Social Science is run by the Economic and Social Research Council to celebrate some of the country’s leading social science research, giving an exciting opportunity to show everyone what the UK’s social scientists are doing and demonstrating how their work makes a difference to all our lives.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Dr Bill Bytheway on Tel: 01908 654239; e-mail: W.R.Bytheway@open.ac.uk

Professor Ros Edwards on Tel: 07742 122123; e-mail: edwardra@lsbu.ac.uk

ESRC Press Office:
Kelly Barnett on Tel: 01793 413032; e-mail: kelly.barnett@esrc.ac.uk

Danielle Moore on Tel: 01793 4133122; e-mail: danielle.moore@esrc.ac.uk

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

1. The 'Timescapes' study is the first major Qualitative Longitudinal Study to be funded in the UK. The five year programme, which commenced in February 2007, is based on seven empirical projects that span the life course. The researchers carrying out the above initiative are from two projects: one on young lives (siblings and friends) and one on older lives (the oldest generation). www.timescapes.leeds.ac.uk/

2. Methodology. The Timescapes study uses a method of ‘walking alongside' people to document the processes of growing up, forming and transforming relationships, bearing and rearing children, living in families and growing older. The study will explore how these processes impact on people's life chances and well being and what this means for intergenerational support and the long term resourcing of families.

3. The Festival of Social Science week is run by the Economic and Social Research Council which runs from the 7th to the 16th March 2008, alongside National Science and Engineering Week. It celebrates some of the very best British social science research, as well as highlighting the ways in which social science makes a difference to everyday lives. Press releases detailing some of the varied events are available at www.esrcfestival.ac.uk

4. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It supports independent, high quality research relevant to business, the public sector and voluntary organisations. The ESRC’s planned total expenditure in 2007 - 08 is £181 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and research policy institutes. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.


5. ESRC Society Today offers free access to a broad range of social science research and presents it in a way that makes it easy to navigate and saves users valuable time. As well as bringing together all ESRC-funded research and key online resources such as the Social Science Information Gateway and the UK Data Archive, non-ESRC resources are included, for example the Office for National Statistics. The portal provides access to early findings and research summaries, as well as full texts and original datasets through integrated search facilities. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk

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