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Understanding of ASD by Siblings is Associated with Warmth and Hostility in the Sibling Relationship

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Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) impacts not only the child with ASD, but also the entire family system, including siblings. The present study examined perceptions of the sibling relationship in brothers and sisters of children with ASD, as well as how understanding of autism (symptoms, long-term implications of the disorder) in siblings of children with ASD is related to the sibling’s perceptions of quality of the sibling relationship. Siblings (N = 44, Mean Age = 10.4 years, SD = 2.6) of children with ASD were administered an interview assessing their understanding of ASD and self-report questionnaires measuring their perception of the sibling relationship quality. The more siblings understood about ASD, the more hostility they reported by their sibling with ASD. Age of the sibling, conversely, was negatively associated with both hostile and warm behavior by the brother or sister with ASD towards the sibling. More understanding of autism may be associated with more contention within the sibling relationship, whereas older siblings may spend less time with their brother or sister with autism. Results have implications for improving sibling relationship quality, as well as elucidating the complexity of sibling relationships. These findings have further implications for the development of support systems with use of coping skills for improving the quality of the sibling relationship.

Highlights

  • Understanding of ASD in siblings is related to quality of relationship.

  • Siblings report of more hostility from their brother or sister with ASD associated with more understanding of ASD.

  • Siblings’ report less hostility and warmth from sibling relationship with age.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the funding agencies that supported this research, including the Organization for Autism Research (Graduate Research Grant Competition) and the Virginia Tech Center for Autism Research (Hulick Serving Spirit Scholarship). We would like to acknowledge the group co-leaders who helped with the intervention aspects of this project, including Lauren Herlihy, Jessica Bradshaw, Avery Voos, Lauren Delk, Reina Factor, and Andrea Trubanova Wieckowski. We would also like to gratefully acknowledge the families and participants who helped with this project.

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Correspondence to Marika C. Coffman.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was granted Ethical Approval by Yale School of Medicine and Virginia Tech.

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Informed consent was obtained from all parents, and assent was obtained from all participants involved in this study.

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Coffman, M.C., Kelso, N., Antezana, L. et al. Understanding of ASD by Siblings is Associated with Warmth and Hostility in the Sibling Relationship. J Child Fam Stud 30, 1577–1585 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-01945-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-01945-z

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