Title:
Anxiety and perceived quality of relationships in siblings of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and Down syndrome
Author:
Corey Anne Maas
Thesis Advisor:
Carolyn M. Barry
Committee Member:
Beth A. Kotchick
Committee Member:
Brian Freedman
Committee Member:
James Buckley
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2010
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
reformatted digital
Abstract:
Increasingly, scholars have investigated the effect of having a child with developmental disabilities on the rest of the family. Research has been mixed as to whether this situation has a positive or negative effect on the typically-developing siblings within this family type. In the case of families with a child who has autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), some studies have found higher levels of anxiety and depression in siblings and parents of children with ASDs as compared to family members of typically-developing children, whereas others have found better overall adjustment and caretaking abilities. The purpose of this study was to examine typically-developing adolescents' perceived sibling relationship quality with their developmentally-disabled sibling, specifically children diagnosed with ASDs and Down syndrome (DS). Participants consisted of 67 eleven through seventeen year-old adolescents (M=13.12, SD=1.75), recruited through a child development research institution and through an e-mail distribution letter sent to online support groups that were part of this institution. Participants completed an online survey consisting of three questionnaires to assess demographics, perceived sibling relationship quality, and self-reported anxiety. Results provided preliminary evidence that siblings of children with DS have a greater overall sibling relationship quality than do siblings of children with an ASD. Further, results indicated that reporting more negative interchanges within the sibling relationship was related to higher levels of anxiety. There was no evidence for a difference in anxiety levels between siblings of children with DS or an ASD. This finding may, however, be related to the small sample size and the wide spectrum of disability encompassed by ASDs, as well as the limitations of self-report as a sole measure of anxiety. The findings of the current study suggests that therapeutic intervention to address the sibling relationship quality within children diagnosed with ASDs and their typically-developing siblings would be beneficial in order to increase social support within the relationship as well as decrease the amount of negative interchanges within the sibling relationship. Results also suggested that decreasing the amount of negative interchanges within the sibling relationship may decrease the level of anxiety reported by the typically-developing sibling.
Subject:
Children with disabilities--Brothers and sisters
Subject:
Developmental disabilities--Patients--Brothers and sisters
Subject:
Autistic children--Brothers and sisters
Subject:
Down syndrome--Patients--Brothers and sisters
Subject:
Network of Relationships Inventory
Subject:
Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children
Degree:
Master of Science
Level:
Master
Discipline:
Clinical Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
This work is made available to the Loyola Notre Dame Library basic constituency.
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Identifier:
MaasCA-10
