Abstract
This systematic review summarises the parenting intervention literature for parents of children who have a sibling with a chronic health condition, and evaluates intervention efficacy for improving parent (parenting skills, parenting efficacy) and child (emotional and behavioural adjustment, condition knowledge, quality of life) outcomes. Electronic databases were searched to identify relevant papers published in English from inception until May 2020. Reference lists of eligible papers were further searched for relevant articles. Six papers (two controlled trials, four uncontrolled trials) evaluating four separate intervention programs met inclusion criteria. All included parent- and child-focused intervention components. Results showed an overall trend for pre- to post-intervention improvement in children’s behavioural and emotional adjustment and health condition knowledge. Few studies examined effects on parent outcomes, and there was no evidence of change on these measures. Overall, results suggest that parenting interventions may help to improve siblings’ emotional and behavioural adjustment and condition knowledge; however, all of the interventions combined parent- and child-directed intervention components, making it difficult to determine which intervention elements drive change. Further research is needed to test mechanisms by which parenting interventions may improve outcomes for siblings of children with chronic health conditions, and to establish the efficacy of this approach.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barlow, J., Harrison, K., & Shaw, K. (1998). The experience of parenting in the context of juvenile chronic arthritis. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 3(3), 445–463. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104598033008
Bellin, M. H., & Kovacs, P. J. (2006). Fostering resilience in siblings of youths with a chronic health condition: A review of the literature. Health & Social Work, 31(3), 209–216. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/31.3.209
Brown, R. T., Wiener, L., Kupst, M. J., Brennan, T., Behman, R., Compas, B. E., Elkin, T. D., Fairclough, D. L., Friebert, S., Katz, E., Kazak, A. E., Madan-Swain, A., Mansfield, N., Mullins, L. L., Noll, R., Farkas Patenaude, A., Phipps, S., Sahler, O. J., Sourkes, B., & Zelter, L. (2008). Single parents of children with chronic illness: An understudied phenomenon. Journal of Pediatic Psychology, 33(4), 408–421. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsm079
Coffey, J. S. (2006). Parenting a child with chronic illness: A metasynthesis. Pediatric Nursing, 32(1), 51–59.
Cohen, M. S. (1999). Families coping with chronic childhood illness: A research review. Families, Systems and Health, 17(2), 149–164. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0089879
Dauz Williams, P., Ridder, E. L., Setter, R. K., Liebergen, A., Curry, H., Piamjariyakul, U., & Williams, A. R. (2009). Pediatric chronic illness (cancer, cystic fibrosis) effects on well siblings: Parents’ voices. Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, 32(2), 94–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/01460860902740990
Feeman, D. J., & Hagen, J. W. (1990). Effects of childhood chronic illness on families. Social Work in Health Care, 14(3), 37–53. https://doi.org/10.1300/J010v14n03_03
Gan, L. L., Lum, A., Wakefield, C. E., Nandakumar, B., & Fardell, J. E. (2017). School experiences of siblings of children with chronic illness: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 33, 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2016.11.007
Giallo, R., & Gavidia-Payne, S. (2008). Evaluation of a family-based intervention for siblings of children with a disability or chronic illness. Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 7(2), 84–96. https://doi.org/10.5172/jamh.7.2.84
Graff, J. C. (2001). An evaluation of a modified intervention for siblings of children with chronic illness/disability [Dissertation, University of Kansas]. Retrieved from ProQuest, document ID 304697351
Hartling, L., Milne, A., Tjosvold, L., Wrightson, D., Gallivan, J., & Newton, A. S. (2014). A systematic review of interventions to support siblings of children with chronic illness or disability. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 50(10), E26–E38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1754.2010.01771.x
Haukeland, Y. B., Czajkowski, N. O., Fjermestad, K. W., Silverman, W. K., Mossige, S., & Vatne, T. M. (2020). Evaluation of “SIBS”, an intervention for siblings and parents of children with chronic disorders. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29, 2201–2217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01737-x
Higgins, J. P. T, & Altman, D. G. (2008). Chapter 8: Assessing risk of bias in included studies, In J. P. T Higgins & S. Green (Eds.), Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions: Cochrane Book Series. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470712184.ch8
Hollidge, C. (2001). Psychological adjustment of siblings to a child with diabetes. Health & Social Work, 26(1), 15–25. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/26.1.15
Kiburz, J. A. (1994). Perceptions and concerns of the school-age silbings of children with myelomeningocele. Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, 17(4), 223–231. https://doi.org/10.3109/01460869409078307
Knecht, C., Hellmers, C., & Metzing, S. (2015). The perspective of siblings of children with chronic illness: A literature review. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 30, 102–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2014.10.010
Limbers, C. A., & Skipper, S. (2014). Health-related quality of life measurement in siblings of children with physical chronic illness: A systematic review. Families, Systems and Health, 32(4), 408–415. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000077
Lobato, D. J., & Kao, B. T. (2002). Integrated sibling-parent group intervention to improve sibling knowledge and adjustment to chronic illness and disability. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 27(8), 711–716. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/27.8.711
Lobato, D. J., & Kao, B. T. (2005). Brief report: Family-based group intervention for young siblings of children with chronic illness and developmental disability. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 30(8), 678–682. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsi054
Lundahl, B., Risser, H. J., & Lovejoy, M. C. (2006). A meta-analysis of parent training: Moderators and follow-up effects. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 86–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2005.07.004
Mitchell, A. E., Morawska, A., & Mihelic, M. (2020). A systematic review of parenting interventions for child chronic health conditions. Journal of Child Health Care, 24(4), 603–628. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367493519882850
Morawska, A., Calam, R., & Fraser, J. (2015). Parenting interventions for childhood chronic illness: A review and recommendations for intervention design and delivery. Journal of Child Health Care, 19(1), 5–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367493513496664
Perrin, E. C., Ayoub, C. C., & Willett, J. B. (1993). In the eyes of the beholder: Family and maternal influences on perceptions of adjustment in children with a chronic illness. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 14(2), 94–105. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004703-199304000-00004
Perrin, J. M., Anderson, L. E., & Van Cleave, J. (2014). The rise in chronic conditions among infants, children, and youth can be met with continued health system innovations. Health Affairs, 33(12), 2099–2105. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0832
Pinquart, M. (2013). Do the parent-child relationship and parenting behaviours differ between families with a child wiht and without chronic illness? A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 38(7), 708–721. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jst020
Pinquart, M. (2018). Parenting stress in caregivers of children with chronic phyical condition - A meta-analysis. Stress and Health, 34, 197–207. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2780
Pinquart, M., & Shen, Y. (2011). Behavior problems in children and adolescents with chronic physical illness: A meta-analysis. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 36(9), 1003–1016. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsr042
Rodrigues, N., & Patterson, J. M. (2007). Impact of severity of a child’s chronic condition on the functioning of two-parent families. Journal of Pediatic Psychology, 32(4), 417–426. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsl031
Schunemann, H., Brozek, J., Guyatt, G., & Oxman, A. (2013). GRADE handbook for grading quality of evidence and strength of recommendations. Updated October 2013. The GRADE Working Group, 2013. https://www.guidelinedevelopment.org/handbook
Sharpe, D., & Rossiter, L. (2002). Siblings of children with a chronic illness: A meta-analysis. Journal of Pediatic Psychology, 27(8), 699–710. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/27.8.699
Stein, R. E. K., & Jones Jessop, D. (1982). A noncategorical approach to chronic childhood illness. Public Health Reports, 97(4), 354–362.
Strohm, K. (2001). Sibling project. Youth Studies Australia, 20(4), 48–52.
Timko, C., Stovel, K. W., & Moos, R. H. (1992). Functioning among mothers and fathers of children with juvenile rheumatic disease: A longitudinal study. Journal of Pediatic Psychology, 17(6), 705–724. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/17.6.705
Tritt, S. G., & Esses, L. M. (1988). Psychosocial adaptation of siblings of children with chronic medical illnesses. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 58(2), 211–220. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1988.tb01582.x
Vermaes, I. P. R., van Susante, A. M. J., & van Bakel, H. J. A. (2012). Psychological functioning of siblings in families of children with chronic health conditions: A meta-analysis. Journal of Pediatic Psychology, 37(2), 166–184. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsr081
Williams, P. D., Hanson, S., Karlin, R., Ridder, L., Liebergen, A., Olson, J., Barnard, M. U., & Tobin-Rommelhart, S. (1997). Outcomes of a nursing intervention for siblings of chronically ill children: A pilot study. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 2(3), 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6155.1997.tb00070.x
Williams, P. D., Williams, A. R., Graff, J. C., Hanson, S., Stanton, A., Hafeman, C., Liebergen, A., Leuenberg, K., Setter, R. K., Ridder, L., Curry, H., Barnard, M., & Sanders, S. (2003). A community-based intervention for siblings and parents of children with chronic illness or disability: The ISEE Study. Journal of Pediatrics, 143(3), 386–393. https://doi.org/10.1067/s0022-3476(03)00391-3
Wood, L. J., Sherman, E., Hamiwka, L. D., Blackman, M., & Wirrell, E. (2008). Depression, anxiety, and quality of life in siblings of children with intractable epilepsy. Epilepsy and Behavior, 13(1), 144–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2008.03.012
Wu, Y. P., Follansbee-Junger, K., Rausch, J., & Modi, A. (2014). Parent and family stress factors predict health-related quality in pediatric patients with new-onset epilepsy. Epilepsia, 55(6), 866–877. https://doi.org/10.1111/epi.12586
Funding
This work was supported by the Australian Research Council (Grant Number DP140100781) and a Children’s Hospital Foundation Early Career Fellowship (Award Ref. 50223).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The Parenting and Family Support Centre is partly funded by royalties stemming from published resources of the Triple P—Positive Parenting Program, which is developed and owned by The University of Queensland (UQ). Royalties are also distributed to the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at UQ and contributory authors of published Triple P resources. Triple P International (TPI) Pty Ltd is a private company licensed by UQ, to publish and disseminate Triple P worldwide. The authors of this report have no share or ownership of TPI. Dr Morawska receives royalties from TPI. TPI had no involvement in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of data, or writing of this report. Dr Mitchell, Dr Morawska, and Mx Vickers-Jones are employees at UQ.
Ethical Approval
The authors of the studies included in this systematic review report that all procedures were performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committees and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the studies.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mitchell, A.E., Morawska, A., Vickers-Jones, R. et al. A Systematic Review of Parenting Interventions to Support Siblings of Children with a Chronic Health Condition. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 24, 651–667 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-021-00357-1
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-021-00357-1