Brief report: family-based group intervention for young siblings of children with chronic illness and developmental disability

Brief report: family-based group intervention for young siblings of children with chronic illness and developmental disability

Lobato DJ; Kao BT

Journal of Pediatric Psychology

2005

adolescent; Child; Female; Humans; infant; Male; Adult; Chronic disease; Follow-Up Studies; Siblings; Social Adjustment; Developmental Disabilities; Family Therapy; Analysis of Variance; Practice; Preschool; Adaptation; Psychological; Attitudes; PedPal Lit; Health Knowledge; Intervention; Interventions; sibling bereavement

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a family-based group intervention for young siblings of children with chronic illness and developmental disability (CI/DD). METHODS: Forty-three healthy siblings (ages 4-7 years) of children with CI/DD and their parents participated in an intervention designed to address sibling challenges that cut across types of diagnostic conditions. The intervention consisted of six sessions of collateral and integrated sibling-parent groups. Measures of sibling knowledge, sibling sense of connectedness with other children in similar family circumstances, and sibling global functioning were collected before and after intervention. A subsample of 17 families completed a 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Siblings' knowledge of the child's disorder and sibling connectedness increased significantly from pre- to posttreatment for both boys and girls, regardless of the nature of the brother or sister's condition. Sibling perceptions of self-competence increased from pre- to posttreatment, whereas parent reports of sibling behavioral functioning remained within the normal range. Improvements in sibling knowledge and connectedness maintained at follow-up. Parent satisfaction with the program was high. CONCLUSIONS: Results support more controlled evaluations of family-based intervention to improve young sibling adaptation to CI/DD.

2005-12

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