title: Sibling psychological adjustment to type 1 diabetes mellitus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic condition whose management affects the whole family, and siblings of children with chronic conditions have been shown to be at higher risk of emotional and behavioural problems. The aims of this study were to investigate sibling adjustment to T1DM using a cross-sectional questionnaire survey design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-one families (48% of those eligible) were recruited from a children's diabetes clinic. From each family, one parent and one sibling of the child with T1DM participated. Parents completed questionnaires measuring sibling adjustment and measures of major life events, social support and parenting stress. Demographic and disease information was obtained from medical records. Siblings completed questionnaires assessing cognitive appraisals and coping strategies. A semi-structured interview was also administered to siblings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Siblings were found to be better adjusted than normative data (p < 0.01). Factors associated with poorer sibling adjustment were higher sibling age at diagnosis, higher levels of parenting stress, more difficult sibling temperament, poorer adjustment of the child with T1DM, higher levels of parental distress and more negative sibling perceptions of diabetes and its impact on the family. Results suggest that sibling perceptions of diabetes and parental distress are important predictors of sibling adjustment to T1DM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings from this study emphasize the relationships between the adjustment of the sibling and that of the child with T1DM and their parents. Many parents worry about how the siblings may cope with the diabetes, but the results of this study are generally reassuring.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Doctoral Course in Clinical Psychology, Isis Education Centre, Warneford Hospital, Headington, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richer
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Edge
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012801:Sibling Relations; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires