title: The adjustment of non-disabled siblings of children with autism.
abstract: This study compared the psychosocial and emotional adjustment of siblings of children with autism and siblings of non-disabled children. In addition, differences between self and parent reports, as well as various demographic characteristics were examined. Fifty-one siblings of children with autism and 35 siblings of non-disabled children, between the ages of 7 and 17, along with one parent of each sibling, participated. Results indicated that the presence of a child with autism appears to enhance the psychosocial and emotional development of non-disabled siblings when demographic risk factors are limited. However, the presence of a child with autism appears to have an increasingly unfavorable impact on the non-disabled sibling as demographic risk factors increase.
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH 45229-3039, and Curry Programs in Clinical and School Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 22904-4261, USA. Ryan.Macks@cchmc.org
authors.forename: Ryan J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Macks
authors.forename: Ronald E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Reeve
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012649:Self Concept; D012801:Sibling Relations; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors