Sibling Bullying in Middle Childhood is Associated with Psychosocial Difficulties in Early Adolescence: The Case of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Gillian McChesney,Jeremy Oldfield,Dieter Wolke,Umar Toseeb

doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04116-8

Abstract

Sibling bullying is associated with various psychosocial difficulties. We investigated this in 231 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 8180 without ASD between middle childhood (age 11 years) and early adolescence (age 14 years). On the whole, self-reported sibling bullying decreased from middle childhood to early adolescence. Despite this, individuals with ASD continued to report more sibling bullying as both perpetrator and victim in early adolescence than those without ASD. We found that self-report sibling bullying in middle childhood was associated with psychosocial difficulties in early adolescence. Moreover, individuals with ASD were more likely to report being bullied by both siblings and peers in middle childhood and this pattern of victimisation was associated with concurrent and longitudinal psychosocial difficulties.

Highlights

In the UK, approximately 85% of children have at least one sibling (Tippett and Wolke 2015)
Our findings show that individuals with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who report being involved in any type of sibling bullying in middle childhood, have higher levels of internalising symptoms in early adolescence compared to those not involved in any sibling bullying
The provision of more resources for children and adolescents with ASD could identify bullying behaviours and teach appropriate responses amongst their peers but could be translated to the home. In this population-based sample of individuals with and without ASD, we found that, on the whole, self-reported levels of sibling bullying involvement decreased between middle childhood and early adolescence

Summary

Introduction

In the UK, approximately 85% of children have at least one sibling (Tippett and Wolke 2015). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2020) 50:1457–1469 three times more likely to have psychotic disorder at age 18 years, compared to those who reported less frequent or no sibling bullying (Dantchev et al 2018). These longitudinal studies indicated that sibling bullying often co-occurs with peer bullying and that the adverse effects on psychosocial difficulties were increased further if the children experienced both (Dantchev and Wolke 2018; Dantchev et al 2018). Many children with ASD experience difficulties in social interactions, such as turn taking in conversation, and deficits in non-verbal communication (American Psychiatric Association 2013). Such difficulties may have implications for their relationships with other children

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