Psychological growth among siblings of children with and without intellectual disabilities.

Full Abstract

The presence of a child with an intellectual disability is often perceived as a cloud hanging over the heads of their siblings, placing them at risk of developing a variety of problems. Only recently have siblings been examined for the positive aspects of this life situation, such as the potential to experience psychological growth. Adopting J. A. Schaffer and G. H. Moos' (1992) theoretical framework, this study investigated the contribution of perceived stress, self-differentiation, and parental preference to the personal, social, and spiritual growth of siblings. Participants comprised 101 siblings of children with intellectual disabilities and 89 siblings of children with typical development (age range = 13-19 years). Results indicated that siblings of children with intellectual disabilities evidence higher levels of growth, with self-differentiation and perceived maternal preference acting as the main contributors to this growth.

Author information

Author/s: Findler, Liora (L); Vardi, Aya (A);

Affiliation: The Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel. findler(-atsign-)mail.biu.ac

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Intellectual and developmental disabilities (Intellect Dev Disabil), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Feb; vol 47 (issue 1) : pp 1-12

Dates: Created 2009/01/27; Completed 2009/05/12;

PMID: 19170414, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 5/12/2009, IMS Date: 12 May 2009 00:00:00)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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