title: Brief report: empathy and psychological adjustment in siblings of children with cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine relationships between empathy, illness concepts, sibling relationship variables, and psychological adjustment among siblings of children with cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 29 siblings and 14 children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelocytic leukemia, or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Data included self- and parent-report questionnaires completed during active treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Siblings did not exhibit increased rates of behavior problems, but did display more social and academic difficulties. Empathy was a significant predictor of externalizing and total problems. Cancer knowledge was not related to adjustment, but was associated with empathy. Birth order of the child with cancer and closeness within the sibling relationship were associated with less positive adjustment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Empathy may play an important role in sibling adjustment following the diagnosis of cancer. Specific sibling relationship and family variables may be helpful in identifying siblings who are at greater need for psychosocial intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, New Jersey 07601, USA. labay@humed.com
authors.forename: Larissa E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Labay
authors.forename: Gary A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Walco
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000523:psychology; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000523:psychology; D012801:Sibling Relations; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires