Brief report: family-based group intervention for young siblings of children with chronic illness and developmental disability.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of a family-based group intervention for young siblings of children with chronic illness and developmental disability (CI/DD).


METHODS
Forty-three healthy siblings (ages 4-7 years) of children with CI/DD and their parents participated in an intervention designed to address sibling challenges that cut across types of diagnostic conditions. The intervention consisted of six sessions of collateral and integrated sibling-parent groups. Measures of sibling knowledge, sibling sense of connectedness with other children in similar family circumstances, and sibling global functioning were collected before and after intervention. A subsample of 17 families completed a 3-month follow-up.


RESULTS
Siblings' knowledge of the child's disorder and sibling connectedness increased significantly from pre- to posttreatment for both boys and girls, regardless of the nature of the brother or sister's condition. Sibling perceptions of self-competence increased from pre- to posttreatment, whereas parent reports of sibling behavioral functioning remained within the normal range. Improvements in sibling knowledge and connectedness maintained at follow-up. Parent satisfaction with the program was high.


CONCLUSIONS
Results support more controlled evaluations of family-based intervention to improve young sibling adaptation to CI/DD.
Lobato
Debra J
DJ
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rhode Island Hospital, Coro West 2, 1 Hoppin Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA. debra_lobato@brown.edu
Kao
Barbara T
BT
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002658:Developmental Disabilities; D005196:Family Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*; D012917:Social Adjustment