Blended Families: Recipe for Sibling Rivalry?

May 16, 2008 — -- Beyond navigating typical sibling rivalry that exists in any family, some parents with adopted and biological children must also consider the challenges that come with so-called blended families.

Much of the tension, however, results not from the children's behavior but that of their parents, several adoption experts told ABCNEWS.com.

"If you have parents who say, 'Look, this is how our family came to be,' the kids will accept it," said Allan Josephson, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. "Parents really set the tone [for the kids]."

Actress Angelina Jolie is perhaps one of the most notably recent figureheads of a blended family. Having first adopted son Maddox from Cambodia in 2002, Jolie has since added to her entourage, adopting daughter Zahara from Ethiopia in 2005, giving birth to daughter Shiloh in 2006 and then last year adopting son Pax from Vietnam.

And four wasn't enough: Jolie is expecting twins this August with boyfriend Brad Pitt.

After she gives birth this summer, Jolie will have six children — three biological kids and three whom she has adopted.

Adoption experts told ABCNEWS.com that the relationships these children will have with one another — and whether there will be resentment or jealously — may not have much to do with the children at all, and could hinge almost entirely on the way their parents act toward them.

"The main thing that leads to success is the commitment of parents that these children are theirs, no matter how they were conceived," said Josephson, who is also the CEO of the Bingham Clinic that specializes in child psychiatry. "And if they're adopted at infancy these types of blended families can almost have no differences when compared with biological families."

"[Adoption] is just a fact that [the children] are informed of," said Josephson, adding that it's important for adopted and biological kids to have the same legal last name, rights and privileges as one another so parents do not appear biased toward one child over another.