Silent Witnesses, Protective Bonds: Sibling Memories and Shielding Behaviors in Households Affected by Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Abstract Purpose This exploratory qualitative study examines how adult siblings who identify as Latine make meaning of childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV). The study explores how siblings protect one another, interpret violence, and carry these relational practices into adulthood. The article introduces the sibling shield framework to conceptualize the coordinated protective labor that emerges in violent households. Method Using a qualitative, trauma-informed design, the study drew on 70 interviews with fourteen sibling pairs ( N = 28) who lived together during periods of parental or caregiver IPV. Participants completed an individual–dyad–individual interview sequence. Reflexive thematic analysis, supplemented by narrative analytic elements, was used to examine patterned protective labor, memory construction, silence, and meaning-making across the life course. Results Five themes emerged: (1) the sibling shield, a coordinated and gendered system of protection enacted through movement, monitoring, and silent communication; (2) divergent and fragmentary memories shaped by trauma encoding and vantage point; (3) an unspoken relational pact of silence that maintained emotional stability; (4) moral reframing of parental behavior that preserved attachment and family coherence; and (5) partial therapeutic disclosure in adulthood, reflecting the persistence of early coping strategies. Conclusions Findings highlight siblings as central actors in co-regulating fear, creating safety, and interpreting violence. The sibling shield framework expands understandings of childhood IPV exposure by emphasizing relational systems rather than individual trajectories. Trauma-informed practice and intervention efforts should incorporate sibling dynamics to better support healing and resilience.