A Study of the Wellbeing of Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Sibling Efficacy, Positive and Negative Affect, and Coping Strategies (original) (raw)
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Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 2006
Background Siblings of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) express more problem behaviours and experience more difficulties in their relationships than do children in families where all children are developing typically. We know little about what contributes to these difficulties. Method Mothers of a child with ASD completed the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991) with respect to a nondisabled sibling. Siblings responded to a questionnaire tapping their knowledge about their brother or sister's disorder. They reported on problems they had experienced with their brother or sister with ASD and on the coping strategies they had used in response to these events. Problems were classified into 1 of 5 problem types. Results Aggressive behaviour was the most commonly reported interaction problem and anger was the usual response. Siblings did not generally choose blaming (either self or other) as a coping strategy when facing difficulties with their brother or sister with ASD. Neither coping strategies nor knowledge of ASD were associated with adjustment. Forty percent of nondisabled siblings had scores on the Child Behavior Checklist that placed them in the borderline or clinical range. Conclusions The current study indicated that siblings of children with ASD are at increased risk of developing internalising behaviour problems. The contributing factors to this outcome are unknown at this point. It is important for research to focus on dynamic variables in the search for these contributors, as they are open to change.
Perceived competence and behavioral adjustment of siblings of children with autism
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1993
Compared 19 siblings of severely autistic children with 20 siblings of children with Down syndrome and 20 siblings of developmentally normal children. Results reveal that siblings of autistic children have more internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than siblings of developmentally normal children; however, the three groups did not differ significantly on measures of perceived self-competence or parents' report of social competence. Examination of demographic variables indicate that age of sibling and parents' marital satisfaction were associated with siblings' psychological functioning. Implications for future research are discussed.
Siblings of children with autism are at a greater risk of experiencing behavioral and social problems. Previous researches had focused on environmental variables such as family history of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), behavior problems in the child with an ASD, parental mental health problems, stressful life events and "broader autism phenotype" (BAP), while variables like parenting style and family function that are shown to influence children's behavioral and psychosocial adjustment are overlooked. The aim of the present study was to reveal how parenting style and family function as well as BAP effect psychological adjustment of siblings of children with autism. Method: The Participants included 65 parents who had one child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and one typically developing child. Of the children with ASDs, 40 were boys and 25 were girls; and they were diagnosed with ASDs by a psychiatrist based on DSM-IV-TR criteria and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). The Persian versions of the six scales were used to collect data from the families. Pearson's correlation test and regression analysis were used to determine which variables were related to the psychological adjustment of sibling of children with ASDs and which variables predicted it better. Results: Significant relationships were found between Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) total difficulties, prosocial behaviors and ASDs symptoms severity, parenting styles and some aspects of family function. In addition, siblings who had more BAP characteristics had more behavior problems and less prosocial behavior. Behavioral problems increased and prosocial behavior decreased with permissive parenting style. Besides, both of authoritarian and authoritative parenting styles led to a decrease in behavioral problems and an increase in prosocial behaviors. Our findings revealed that some aspects of family function (affective responsiveness, roles, problem solving and behavior control) were significantly correlated with behavioral problems and prosocial behaviors in typically developing (TD) siblings of children with ASDs. Conclusion: Siblings of children with ASDs, due to genetic liability, are at a greater risk of psychological maladjustment. Furthermore, environmental factors like parenting styles and family function also have a significant effect on psychological maladjustment.
Siblings of children with autism: Predictors of adjustment
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2013
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues.
The Malaysian Journal of Psychiatry, 2020
Objective: To compare the psychological well-being of siblings of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children versus their parents’ and the general population; and social well-being of these siblings versus their parents’ perspective and the general population. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving siblings aged 11-17 years and parents of ASD children attending paediatric clinics of two hospitals, was conducted in 2017-2018. Controls were secondary school students living with healthy siblings, matched based on gender, ethnicity and geographical location. Study group pairs and controls filled the Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale (DASS-21) and Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Study group children also answered four open-ended questions. Results: We recruited 34 study group pairs and 34 controls. Majority of the participating parents in the study group were mothers (79.4%). Most children were Chinese (58.8%) females (67.6%). There was no significant difference of dep...
The Psychosocial Effects of Having a Sibling with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Exceptionality Education International, 2020
Siblings play an important role in one another’s overall development; thus, the sibling relationship is an important subsystem within the family unit. However, in families where one child has an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, the dynamics between siblings may be different than in families with typically developing children due to the associated deficits in communication. Therefore, this mixed-method study examined the perceptions of six typically developing children regarding their relationship with a sibling with autism. Parents were heterosexual couples, and families were white and mostly middle class. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires regarding the sibling relationship were administered to the typically developing child. Identification of major themes followed by focused coding was conducted to capture the essence of what was said and to categorize the most frequent themes. Overall, typically developing children highlighted both positive and negative features of ...