Correlates of current caregiving among siblings of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Abstract

Background As individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) grow older, siblings are likely to become caregivers for their brothers and sisters with IDD. Thus, it is important to identify the correlates of sibling caregiving to facilitate transitions to caregiving roles. Method This study involved the secondary analysis of a national data set of 429 adult siblings of individuals with IDD. Results Current sibling caregiving was positively correlated with sibling relationship quality, sibling advocacy and future planning, maladaptive behaviours of individuals with IDD, and family size. Current sibling caregiving was negatively correlated with parent caregiving abilities and functional abilities of individuals with IDD. Further, among siblings who provided care, the level and nature of sibling caregiving were negatively correlated with parent caregiving abilities. Conclusions The results identify the correlates of current caregiving among siblings of individuals with IDD. More research is needed to understand current sibling caregiving.

Getting from here to there: future planning as reported by adult siblings of individuals with disabilities

“…Of these, Lee et al . (2019) confirmed certain correlates (e.g. poor parent caregiving ability and brother–sister relationship quality), while they did not find greater sibling caregiving when brothers–sisters had lower levels of independent functioning or more maladaptive behaviours.…”

“…Finally, we asked the extent to which, over the past year, respondents participated in eight advocacy activities [1 ( not at all ) to 5 ( a lot ); Lee et al . 2019]. To preserve model parsimony, these activities were collapsed into one of two factors (68% of variance accounted for via principal components analysis): (1) informal (i.e.…”

“…2012; although refer to Lee et al . 2019), and are involved in advocacy activities on behalf of their brother–sister. These siblings are more likely to stay in closer contact with their brother–sister (Hodapp et al .…”

“…Families who engaged in future planning report reduced caregiver burden, improved self‐determination by brothers–sisters (Heller and Caldwell 2006; Arnold and Heller 2018; Lee et al . 2019) and a reduced risk of family crisis later in life (Jokinen and Brown 2005; Heller et al . 2015).…”

Future planning for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: Perspectives of siblings in South Korea

“…Despite their future roles, little research has focused on the perspectives of siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities with respect to their engagement in future planning activities, barriers or correlates (see a review; Lee & Burke, 2020). In addition, most studies were conducted within European countries or the United States (Davys, Mitchell, & Haigh, 2016; Heller & Kramer, 2009; Lee, Burke, Arnold, & Owen, 2019; Lindahl et al., 2019; Taggart, Truesdale‐Kennedy, Ryan, & McConkey, 2012). Given the higher expectation of sibling caregiving in South Korea (Chon, 2018) and the potential impact of a different cultural background (e.g.…”