Assessing Functional Impairment in Siblings Living With Children With Disability

Abstract

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Previous research on potential deleterious effects of typically developing children growing up in households with children with disability has produced mixed results. Research methods have been cited as a problem in many studies. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:This is the largest known empirical study comparing functional impairment in siblings living with a child with disability and siblings residing with children who are typically developing. This study also follows the trajectory of functional impairment across 2 measurement periods. abstract OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to empirically test if siblings of children with disability had higher levels of parent-reported behavioral and emotional functional impairment compared with a peer group of siblings residing with only typically developing children. METHODS:This was a retrospective secondary analysis of data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. We included only households with at least 2 children to ensure sibling relationships. Two groups of siblings were formed: 245 siblings resided in households with a child with disability and 6564 siblings resided in households with typically developing children. Parents responded to questions from the Columbia Impairment Scale to identify functional impairment in their children. RESULTS:On the basis of parent reports and after adjusting for sibling demographic characteristics and household background, siblings of children with disability were more likely than siblings residing with typically developing children to have problems with interpersonal relationships, psychopathological functioning, functioning at school, and use of leisure time (P , .05). The percentage of siblings of children with disability classified with significant functional impairment was 16.0% at the first measurement period and 24.2% at the second (P , .001). For siblings of typically developing children there was a smaller percentage increase from 9.5% to 10.3% (P , .001).CONCLUSIONS: Functional impairment is a key indicator for the need of mental health services and, as such, early assessment and interventions to limit increasing severity and short-to long-term consequences need to be addressed. Health care professionals need to consider a family-based health care approach for families raising children with disability. Pediatrics 2013;132:e476-e483 AUTHORS:

Disabled children's functionality and maternal quality of life and psychological status

“…Parents, especially mothers, struggle the most to overcome economic, social and psychological problems. Mothers experience loneliness and physical and social distress in struggling to afford the needs of the disabled child . The present results are consistent with the available literature.…”

Psychological Well-Being of Mothers and Siblings in Families of Girls and Women with Rett Syndrome

“…In population-defined samples less open to typical methodological biases, mothers of children with general developmental disability report increased stress and mental health problems (Emerson et al 2006;Totsika et al 2011a, b) compared to mothers of children without developmental disability. Siblings of children with disabilities may also have higher levels of psychological problems compared with children who have no siblings with disabilities but these differences tend to be small in terms of effect size (Goudie et al 2013;Neely-Barnes and Graff 2011).…”

Family Transitions: The Birth of a Two-Child Family

“…Studies show that siblings of children with disabilities run a greater risk of functional impairment in their own lives including difficulties in the development of interpersonal relationships, poor functioning at school, inadequate use of leisure time, as well as the development of psychopathology. 1 For these families it is particularly important that pediatricians ensure the physical and mental health of the family unit as a whole in addition to the health of each individual child.…”