The wellbeing of siblings of children with disabilities
Introduction
A number of reviews have reported elevated rates of emotional and behavioural difficulties among siblings of children with disabilities and/or long-term health conditions (Blakemore et al., 2009, Burton and Parks, 1994, Cox et al., 2003, Giallo et al., 2009, Guite et al., 2004, Rossiter and Sharpe, 2001, Vermaes et al., 2012). However, the magnitude of effects are typically small and there is a high degree of inconsistency across studies with some studies also reporting positive outcomes for siblings such as increased self-control (Mandleco, Olsen, Dyches, & Marshall, 2003), tolerance and understanding (Mulroy, Robertson, Aiberti, Leonard, & Bower, 2008). The variation in outcomes across studies is likely to be due to a combination of methodological differences in research design (e.g., the use of parent or sibling report), differences in the characteristics of the child with disability (e.g., age, type of impairment associated with disability) and of their siblings (e.g., age).
This literature is limited on at least three important counts. First, it is primarily based on the use of relatively small convenience samples that are unlikely to be representative of the wider population of interest. To date, only one population-based study has reported on the mental health of siblings of children with disabilities. In the Ontario Child Health Study siblings (aged 4–16 years) of children with developmental disabilities were reported to be no more likely to have a psychiatric problem than their peers (Cadman, Boyle, & Offord, 1988). Second, there is an almost exclusive reliance on cross-sectional designs from which it is not possible to infer causality.
Third, studies that have investigated between-group differences in the wellbeing of siblings have frequently failed to either measure at all or appropriately control for the effect of potentially confounding variables, such as the elevated rates of socio-economic disadvantage experiences by families supporting a child with disabilities (Emerson and Hatton, 2007, Emerson and Hatton, 2010, Parish and Cloud, 2006, Parish et al., 2008). The importance of taking account of these potentially confounding relationships is illustrated by the results of a number of studies that have re-examined the relationship between child disability and maternal well-being. Studies from the UK, Sweden and Australia have reported that the elevated levels of distress reported by mothers of children with disabilities may be attributable to their poorer socio-economic circumstances rather than the effects of parenting a child with disabilities (Emerson and Llewellyn, 2008, Emerson et al., 2010, Olsson and Hwang, 2008).
The aims of the present study were: (1) to estimate the extent of differences in wellbeing between siblings of children with disabilities or long-term health conditions and siblings of ‘typically developing’ children in a nationally representative cohort of Australian children; (2) to determine whether any between-group differences in wellbeing may be potentially attributable to between-group differences in exposure to socio-economic disadvantage.
Section snippets
Study design and sample
Data were drawn from waves 1 to 4 of Growing up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). The design and field methods are described extensively in a series reports and technical papers (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2011, Daraganova and Sipthorp, 2011, Mission and Sipthorpe, 2007, Sipthorp and Misson, 2009, Soloff et al., 2005, Soloff et al., 2006), key points of which are briefly summarised below.
LSAC is comprised of two cohorts both recruited in 2004; a
Sample characteristics
The demographic characteristics of the analytic sample at age 4/5 are presented in Table 1. As can be seen, study children living with siblings with long-term health conditions or disabilities differed significantly from their peers with regard to a wide range of demographic characteristics including: household composition (whether the child's biological father was present in the household, single parent household, number of people living in the household); parental ethnicity and cultural
Discussion
The results of our analyses are broadly consistent with the existing literature in indicating that, in unadjusted comparisons, the siblings of children with long-term health conditions or disabilities: (1) had lower wellbeing than their peers on some, but not all, indicators of wellbeing; and (2) that where differences did exist the effect sizes were small. Our results add to the existing literature in: (1) indicating that adjusting for between-group differences in exposure to low SEP and
Acknowledgements
This paper uses unit record data from Growing Up in Australia, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. The study is conducted in partnership between the Department of Social Services (DSS), the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The findings and views reported in this paper are those of the authors and should not be attributed to DSS, AIFS or the ABS.
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2023, Disability and Health JournalRisk and resilience factors impacting the mental health and wellbeing of siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions: A mixed methods systematic review
2022, Clinical Psychology ReviewCitation Excerpt :Siblings of individuals with NDCs are at increased risk of stress, anxiety, depression, internalising problems (Goudie et al. Green, 2013; Orsmond & Seltzer, 2007; Sharpe & Rossiter, 2002; Shivers, Jackson, & McGregor, 2019; Vermaes, van Susante, & van Bakel, 2012), overall poorer wellbeing (Giallo, Gavidia-Payne, Minett, & Kapoor, 2012; Marquis, Hayes, & McGrail, 2019), adjustment difficulties (Giallo & Gavidia-Payne, 2006), physical health problems (Hogan, Park & Goldscheider, 2003), lower self-concept and behaviour problems (Emerson & Giallo, 2014; Fisman, Wolf, Ellison, & Freeman, 2000) when compared to population norms and other comparison groups. Their likelihood of poorer outcomes increases as risk factors accumulate (Evans et al.
Negative emotions in siblings of individuals with developmental disabilities: The roles of early maladaptive schemas and system justification
2021, Research in Developmental DisabilitiesCitation Excerpt :On the other hand, most siblings of individuals with DD do not have psychological problems and thrive in the face of adversities related to disability (Green, 2013; Hastings, 2016). For example, although Emerson and Giallo (2014) found that although siblings of children with DD have lower than expected well-being, the differences between siblings of children with DD and siblings of typically developing children were indeed small, and when environmental adversities were considered, the statistical significance of low well-being in the DD group was eliminated. Similarly, Hayden, Hastings, Totsika, and Langley (2019) have shown that while some siblings of individuals with disabilities can be at risk for behavioral and emotional problems, psychological adjustment of siblings is mainly related to social and family contextual factors.
Young Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Intellectual Disabilities
2020, Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Childhood DevelopmentUsing administrative data to examine variables affecting the mental health of siblings of children who have a developmental disability
2020, Research in Developmental DisabilitiesCitation Excerpt :Emerson and Giallo (2014) used data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children and reported that siblings of children who have a DD had lower wellbeing than their peers on some indicators of wellbeing. However, unlike Goudie et al. (2013), Emerson and Giallo (2014) found that where differences in wellbeing existed, the effect sizes were small and adjusting for socioeconomic position eliminated the statistical significance of comparisons in the majority of instances. Using data from the U.K. Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), Hayden et al. (2019) also found that differences between siblings of children with an intellectual disability and siblings of children without an intellectual disability on the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were related mainly to social and family factors.
A population-level study of the mental health of siblings of children who have a developmental disability
2019, SSM - Population HealthCitation Excerpt :There is evidence of complex interactions among social determinants of health, the characteristics of the child with the DD, characteristics of the non-DD sibling, and family factors which can be related to the mental health of siblings of children who have a DD (Marquis et al., 2019). Studies have included different variables, among these are: sex of the non-DD sibling (Walton & Ingersoll, 2015); sex of the child with the DD (Begum & Blacher, 2011; Petalas, Hastings, Nash, Lloyd, & Dowey, 2009); type of DD (Constantino et al., 2006; Fisman, Wolf, Ellison, & Freeman, 2000; Hastings, 2007; Pilowsky, Yirmiya, Gross-Tsur, & Shalev, 2007; Pollard et al., 2013); birth order (Dyke, Mulroy, & Leonard, 2009; Tomeny, Barry, & Bader, 2014); number of children in the family (Mulroy, Robertson, Aiberti, Leonard, & Bower, 2008); family income measures (Emerson & Giallo, 2014; Giallo & Gavidia-Payne, 2006; Mulroy et al., 2008; Neely-Barnes & Graff, 2011; Platt et al., 2014); and neighborhood characteristics (Emerson & Giallo, 2014). However, there is little agreement in the literature on the effects of these variables and there are few studies using population level data to study the range of variables (Marquis et al., 2019).