Impact of child sexual abuse on non-abused siblings: A review with implications for research and practice

Abstract

Research has widely supported the numerous negative outcomes for victims of child sexual abuse (CSA), but little attention has been paid to the experiences of nonabused, non-offending siblings following the victim's disclosure. This review presents evidence indicating that this overlooked sibling population merits both clinical and research attention. Siblings may experience significant emotional and behavioral responses to the victim's disclosure due to changes within the family system. A sibling's internalizing and externalizing behaviors can increase family distress post-abuse, while a supportive sibling can contribute to the victim's recovery. The current state of clinical services for siblings is described. Services including the entire family have been found to be especially beneficial in reducing the negative impact of CSA. Although siblings may present to treatment with subclinical symptoms of distress on average, there is a heterogeneity in emotional and behavioral responses similar to that found in victims. There are currently no measures designed to specifically capture the sibling's experience and impairment following the victim's CSA. Recommendations for future research are provided.

“Brothers in Arms”: Secondary Traumatization and Sibling Relationship Quality Among Siblings of Combat Veterans

“…The inclusion criteria were combat veterans, who were Hebrew proficient, and were discharged from active combat service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the past 15 years. Following other studies (e.g., Schreier et al, 2017), siblings recruited were born to the same mother and father of the veteran and were closest to him or her in their age. The exclusion criteria were veterans who were discharged from non-combat service, combatants released more than 15 years ago, non-full biological siblings, and participants with weak language proficiencies.…”

“He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother”: Distress tolerance moderates the association between secondary posttraumatic symptoms and secondary posttraumatic growth among siblings of combat veterans.

“…Sibling relationships are of the most stable, longest, and closest relationships over one’s life cycle (Schreier, Pogue, & Hansen, 2017). It is quite surprising, though, that most studies deal with parent–child relationships, while much less attention has been given to siblings’ relationship and particularly, adult-sibling relationship (Perricone, Fontana, Burgio, & Polizzi, 2014).…”

“…Studies show that if one of the siblings suffers from medical illness or mental disorder, the other siblings in the family might be negatively and/or positively affected (Pollard, Barry, Freedman, & Kotchick, 2013). For example, families with a sibling suffering from various mental disorders (Ma, Roberts, Winefield, & Furber, 2017), attention deficit and hyperactive disorder (Mikami & Pfiffner, 2008), autism or Down’s syndrome (Pollard et al, 2013), and even victims of sexual assault (Schreier et al, 2017), were at risk for negative psychopathological outcomes, as compared with comparison families. However, other studies found positive outcomes such as better ability to accept differences, higher level of empathy, a greater sense of responsibility and self-confidence, for siblings of children with disabilities (Gibbons & Gibbons, 2016).…”

Childhood Sexual Abuse: Sibling Perspectives

“…The long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are far reaching and extend beyond the initial victim (Elliott & Carnes, 2001; van Toledo & Seymour, 2013). Disclosure of CSA creates a crisis that impacts the entire family (Humphreys, 1995; Welfare, 2008); however, the experiences of nonabused siblings are almost absent from the research literature (Schreier, Pogue, & Hansen, 2017).…”

“…Most studies about nonabused siblings are based on clinical observations or maternal reports of child siblings (Schreier et al, 2017). As younger siblings share family environments they may be impacted by disruptions in the family (Baker, Tanis, & Rice, 2001; Hill, 2003; Tavkar & Hansen, 2011).…”