Empathy and perceptions of their brother or sister among adolescent siblings of individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough clinicians have hypothesized that siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), may exhibit more empathy and understanding of others, no studies have yet examined empathy among siblings of individuals with ASD. AimsThe current study examined self- reported empathy and feelings about adolescents' brothers or sisters with and without ASD. Methods and ProceduresAdolescent siblings (age 12–18) of individuals with (n=26) or without ASD (n=48) completed an online survey with measures of empathy and their feelings about their brother or sister, as well as an open ended task asking them for three "magic wishes." Outcomes and ResultsSiblings of individuals with ASD (ASD- Sibs) reported significantly more perspective-taking than did siblings of typically-developing individuals (TD-Sibs). Perspective-taking was significantly related to feelings of positive affect toward the brother/sister for both groups. ASD-Sibs also were significantly more likely to report wishes related to their family, while TD-Sibs reported more wishes for themselves. Conclusions and ImplicationsFindings suggest that potentially higher levels of perspective-taking ability among ASD-Sibs may contribute to better understanding of and therefore more positive affect toward their brother or sister with ASD. More research is needed to understand patterns of empathy among ASD-Sibs.