Emotional-Behavioral Disorders in Healthy Siblings of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Mariarosaria Caliendo,Rosa Marotta,Marco Carotenuto,Francesco Cerroni,Michele Roccella,Luigi Vetri,Francesco Precenzano,Daniela Russo,Valentina Lanzara

doi:10.3390/medicina56100491

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Siblings of disabled children are more at risk of developing mental illnesses. More than 50 international studies show that about 8% of children and adolescents suffer from a mental disorder, which is almost always a source of difficulties both at the interpersonal level (in the family and with peers) and at school. Healthy siblings of children with disabilities are one of the groups most at risk for consequences in psychological health and well-being. As some authors suggest, siblings build their idea of “being people”, in terms of character and personality, by continuously and daily confronting themselves with the theme of disability and a family context subjected to continuous stress. The following contribution aims to compare emotional–behavioral disorders in healthy siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder, in healthy siblings of children with Down’s syndrome and in healthy siblings of children with typical development. Materials and Methods: The results involve 153 children from the region of Campania and their caregivers through the administration of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results: From the data, it emerged that siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder and siblings of children with Down’s syndrome have a greater emotional fragility, especially among male subjects. Conclusions: Our results require us to reflect on the clinical and policy measures needed to ensure the well-being of siblings of disabled children, mainly through appropriate sibling coping training.

Highlights

Having a disabled person within the household leads to profound changes
The total number of subjects participating in the study was 159, of which 58 were siblings of subjects diagnosed with autism, 58 had siblings diagnosed with Down’s syndrome and 58 had siblings with typical development
The family context is fundamental to the harmonious development of the subject, some siblings are placed in overprotective families with the disabled child who tend to exclude the other child; on the contrary, in other contexts, the healthy child is subjected to excessive demands on performance and to the burden of responsibility of the disabled sibling

Summary

Introduction

Having a disabled person within the household leads to profound changes. Since the family functions as a system and as an emotional unit, it is not possible to consider the components as single units. International studies showed that about 8% of children and adolescents suffer from a mental disorder, which is almost always a source of difficulty both at the interpersonal level (in the family and with peers) and at school [2]. Siblings of disabled children are more at risk of developing mental illnesses. More than 50 international studies show that about 8% of children and adolescents suffer from a mental disorder, which is almost always a source of difficulties both at the interpersonal level (in the family and with peers) and at school. Siblings build their idea of “being people”, in terms of character and personality, by continuously and daily confronting themselves with the theme of disability and a family context subjected to continuous stress.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion