RESEARCH_FILE
Alexander C. Jensen
Brigham Young University
Known for:Research on sibling influence, differential treatment, and social comparison from adolescence through later life
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“Her parents like his brother's wife more”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“Their favoritism is their pattern. It has never been a measurement of who I am.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Name one specific moment when you felt the comparison land (a comment, a gesture, a decision), write it down in one sentence without interpretation, and notice whether you can hold that fact without it being a verdict about you.
Key findings
- 2013
With Whiteman, Fingerman, and Birditt, Jensen showed young adults continue to perceive differential parental treatment well into their twenties and thirties — the sense that 'life isn't fair' between siblings doesn't end with childhood. "Life Still Isn't Fair": Parental Differential Treatment of Young Adult Siblings ↗
- 2022
With Apsley, Thackeray, and Shoaf, Jensen surveyed 491 adults and produced the first study of sibling social comparison in mid- to later life, finding it linked to both more depressive symptoms/conflict and, in the same data, greater sibling closeness. Sibling Social Comparison in Mid- to Later Life: Links with Well-Being and Relationship Quality ↗
- 2025
With Jorgensen-Wells, Jensen meta-analyzed nearly 19,500 participants across dozens of studies and confirmed parental favoritism is real and patterned — parents on average favor daughters, more conscientious children, and, on measures of autonomy and control, older siblings. Parents Favor Daughters: A Meta-Analysis of Gender and Other Predictors of Parental Differential Treatment ↗