Abstract
Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBD) are the most common mental health disorders in the school-aged child population. Although harsh parenting is a key risk factor in the shaping of DBD, studies neglect the presence of siblings and differential parenting. This study aims to compare: (1) parenting style and sibling relationship in sibling dyads of clinical families, composed of a DBD child and a non-clinical sibling, with control families composed of two non-clinical siblings; (2) parenting style, sibling relationship, and emotional and behavioral problems in DBD child, non-clinical sibling, and non-clinical child of control group. Sixty-one families (composed of mother and sibling dyads), divided into clinical (n = 27) and control (n = 34) groups, completed the APQ, SRI, and CBCL questionnaires. Results indicated differential parenting in clinical families, compared to control group families, with higher negative parenting toward the DBD child than the sibling; no difference emerged in sibling relationship within sibling dyads (clinical vs. control). Finally, externalizing and internalizing problems were higher in DBD children and their siblings, compared to control, indicating DBD sibling psychopathology vulnerability. Findings suggest inclusion of siblings in the clinical assessment and rehabilitative intervention of DBD children, given that the promotion of positive parenting could improve mental health in the offspring.
Highlights
Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs) including Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder (CD), are a challenging mental health issue and represent the most common mental health reason for referral for school-aged youths [1,2,3]
DBDs, according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, are a cluster of disorders defined by the presence of a persistent pattern of negative, defiant, aggressive, rule-breaking or disruptive behaviors, such as a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior that violates the basic rights of others or violates major age-appropriate societal rules or norms [4]
The Chi-square test was performed using the distribution of Dysregulation Profile (DP) among DBD, siblings of DBD (S-DBD) and control families (CONTR) groups
Summary
Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs) including Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder (CD), are a challenging mental health issue and represent the most common mental health reason for referral for school-aged youths [1,2,3]. DBDs, according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, are a cluster of disorders defined by the presence of a persistent pattern of negative, defiant, aggressive, rule-breaking or disruptive behaviors, such as a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior that violates the basic rights of others or violates major age-appropriate societal rules or norms [4] These characteristics often emerge early in development and persist into adolescence and adulthood, leading to widespread difficulties, causing clinically significant impairment in the youth’s social, academic, familial, or personal functioning [4,5,6,7]. In the text the term child/children will be used to refer to offspring whether these are children or adolescents
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