Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar 19;10(3):587.
doi: 10.3390/children10030587.

Sibling Relationship Dynamics in Families with a Child Diagnosed with a Chronic Mental Disorder versus a Somatic Condition

Florina Rad  1   2 , Emanuela Lucia Andrei  1   2 , Alecsandra Irimie-Ana  3 , Ilinca Olteanu  4 , Magdalena Budișteanu  1 , Ilinca Mihailescu  1   2 , Elma-Maria Mînecan  1 , Mihnea Costin Manea  1   2 , Anca Coliță  1   5 , Alexandra Buică  2   6
Affiliations

Sibling Relationship Dynamics in Families with a Child Diagnosed with a Chronic Mental Disorder versus a Somatic Condition

Florina Rad et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Recent research still focuses on the psychological impact on siblings and the problematic relationships in families with children with chronic illnesses. Our study evaluates the dynamics in sibling relationships in families with a child diagnosed with a chronic disease.

Methods: We comparatively evaluated the degree of empathy, involvement, friendship, and rivalry in sibling relationships in two groups of families who have a child with a chronic pediatric disorder versus a chronic mental disorder.

Results: The levels of involvement/friendship, empathy/care/concern, and education/learning were significantly higher in the pediatric group. Where there were siblings under the age of 10, rivalry scores tended to be higher in both groups.

Conclusions: Coping strategies, emphatic interactions, and implications in common activities are difficult to identify in the relationship between siblings when one of them has a chronic mental disorder. All of these negative aspects entail poor quality sibling relationships and draw alarm signals regarding the need for monitoring and intervention familial programs.

Keywords: chronic mental disorders; siblings; somatic conditions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Level of school education of parents.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Involvement/friendship field for both groups.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Empathy/care/worry field for both groups.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Education/learning field for both groups.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Age influence on rivalry scores in the psychiatric group.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Age influence on rivalry scores in the somatic group.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Involvement/friendship field in relation to age and disorder.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Deavin A., Greasley P., Dixon C. Children’s Perspectives on Living with a Sibling with a Chronic Illness. Pediatrics. 2018;142:e20174151. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-4151. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Marquis S.M., McGrail K., Hayes M.V. A population-level study of the mental health of siblings of children who have a developmental disability. SSM Popul. Health. 2019;8:100441. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100441. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Giallo R., Gavidia-Payne S. Child, parent and family factors as predictors of adjustment for siblings of children with a disability. J. Intellect. Disabil. Res. 2006;50:937–948. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2006.00928.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Piaget J. In: The Moral Judgment of the Child. Gabain M., translator. Routledge & Kegan Paul.; London, UK: 1932.
    1. Turiel E. The development of morality. In: Damon W., Lerner R.M., Eisenberg N., editors. Handbook of Child Psychology. 6th ed. Volume 3 John Wiley & Sons; New York, NY, USA: 2006. Social, Emotional, and Personality Development.

LinkOut - more resources