title: Siblings of people diagnosed with a mental disorder and posttraumatic growth.
abstract: This study examines the potential for posttraumatic growth (PTG) for siblings of persons diagnosed with a mental disorder. Using the posttraumatic growth Inventory we compared siblings (N = 33) with a comparison group of participants who did not experience trauma (N = 30). Our group of participants who had a sibling diagnosed with a mental disorder by a mental health professional (N = 33) reported higher PTG scores with mostly large effect sizes on most of the inventory subscales. Participants who took an active role in care giving experienced less PTG than participants who did not. Having a sibling diagnosed with a mental disorder presents an opportunity to experience PTG. Implications for the therapeutic milieus are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Derner Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY 11530, USA. asanders@adelphi.edu
authors.forename: Avihay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Szymanski
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires