Factors associated with positive adjustment in siblings of children with severe emotional disturbance: The role of family resources and community life.

Abstract

This study builds on the scant research involving siblings of children with severe emotional disturbances (SED) and examines: associations between adversity experiences and adjustment among 5- to 10-year-old siblings, and relations among family resources, community life, and sibling adjustment. Caregivers from 100 families completed standardized indicators of sibling adjustment and scales reflecting multiple contextual variables. Results document negative associations between stress exposure and sibling adjustment. Regression models also indicate positive associations between the caregiver–child relationship and broader family resources on sibling behavioral and emotional strengths, even after accounting for adversity experiences; adversity exposure was the prime correlate in regression models involving sibling oppositional behavior. Analyses also suggest that strain related to parenting a child with SED is associated with sibling adjustment. This work documents the needs of these siblings and their family systems and highlights the relevance of not only core proximal influences (e.g., child–caregiver relationship) but also elements of their broader contexts. Implications and recommendations are described, including the need to support plans of care that involve services, supports, or preventive strategies for these siblings.

Risky Resilience and Resilient Risk: The Key Role of Intentionality in an Emerging Dialectics

“…We challenge the readers to speculate. 2 Second, the risk/resilience dialectics caution against the aforementioned horserace risk/resilience research, in which a host of psychosocial factors are poured into a multivariate equation for the purpose of predicting a putative outcome, whereby some factors are resolutely defined as risks and other as protective (Kilmer et al, 2010;Krzysztof & Zimmerman, 2006;Laser et al, 2007;Lewis et al, 2009;Siefert et al, 2007;Tinsley et al, 2007). Because many of these factors are likely to embed elements of both risk and resilience, their effect on putative outcomes, in the context of other (similarly complex) predictors, is not easily interpretable.…”

“…It is easy to invoke numerous studies in which a clinical/health outcome is predicted from numerous psychosocial factors which are classified as either risk or protective factors (e.g., Kilmer, Cook, Munsell, & Salvador, 2010;Krzysztof & Zimmerman, 2006;Laser, Laster, & Oshio, 2007;Lewis, Phillip, Bowser, DeLuca, & Rosen, 2009;Siefert, Finlayson, Williams, Delva, & Ismail, 2007;Tinsley, Nussbaum, & Richards, 2007), including our own (Kidd & Shahar, 2008;Schatner, Shahar, Lerman, & Abu-Shakra, 2010). Rarely do these kinds of studies consider the possibility that a construct might actually serve as both a risk factor and a resilience factor.…”

Interventions for Family Members of Adolescents With Disruptive Behavior Disorders

“…Children who have been diagnosed with a mental illness are typically the focus of research, and few studies have been conducted with their family members. Studies that have included family members often focus on primary caregivers, most often mothers (Kilmer, Cook, Munsell, & Salvador, ; Rosenzweig & Kendall, ). These studies have shown that primary caregivers often report mild to moderate levels of depression and anxiety and severe levels of stress (Gerkensmeyer et al., ; Oruche et al., in press).…”

Practical Disadvantage, Socioeconomic Status, and Psychological Well-Being Within Families of Children with Severe Emotional Disturbance

“…A key aim of the Sibling Project was to better understand the adversity experiences, resources, family contexts, and adjustment of these siblings (see Kilmer et al 2010a, b), and findings informed recommendations for improving the mental health services available to the entire family, not just the diagnosed child (Kilmer et al 2010a). Participants were recruited via several different methods, including: electronic recruitment (i.e., emailed flyers) in partnership with the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, a national parent-run family support organization; presentations given to different parent advocacy groups and mental health professionals; and flyers made available by family-serving agencies (Kilmer, et al 2010b). Data collection included measures completed at baseline by caregivers via mail and phone interviews with caregivers between October, 2004 and July, 2008.…”