The Role of Sister and Brother Relationship in the Self Identity with the Emphasis on Procedural and Structural Variables

In the process of identity development, the numerous external structures such as family are of effective role as well as the personality traits of persons. The purpose of this research is studying the role of sister and brother relationship in regard with the process of teenagers’ identity development. The research method was correlational and the multiple- variable regression model was utilized in order to determine the amount of importance of procedural and structural variables. The statistical population was 448 high school students selected among the boys and girls in Qom city through the clustered sampling. The data was collected through two instruments of the objective measurement of self identity (EOM-EIS) and indexes of sister and brother relationships (IBR-ISR). The findings of research illustrated that the procedural and some structural variables (including the number of sisters, siblings’ age difference and birth order) is a meaningful predictor in diffuse-avoidant and developed identity of teenagers who have sister, in diffuse-avoidant identity of teenagers who have brother and in the diffuse-avoidant, early developed identity of teenagers who have sister and brother. The result is that one of the family related elements effective on the process of teenagers’ identity development could be attributed to the relationship between sister and brother. Both procedural and structural variables are able to predict some of the foundations of identity in teenage period. Of course, the role of procedural variables is more than that of the structural ones.