Brief Report: Family-Based Group Intervention for Young Siblings of Children with Chronic Illness and Developmental Disability

Debra J. Lobato, Barbara T. Kao
2005 Journal of Pediatric Psychology  
Objective To evaluate the impact of a family-based group intervention for young siblings of children with chronic illness and developmental disability (CI/DD). Methods Forty-three healthy siblings (ages 4-7 years) of children with CI/DD and their parents participated in an intervention designed to address sibling challenges that cut across types of diagnostic conditions. The intervention consisted of six sessions of collateral and integrated sibling-parent groups. Measures of sibling knowledge,
more » ... sibling sense of connectedness with other children in similar family circumstances, and sibling global functioning were collected before and after intervention. A subsample of 17 families completed a 3-month follow-up. Results Siblings' knowledge of the child's disorder and sibling connectedness increased significantly from pre-to posttreatment for both boys and girls, regardless of the nature of the brother or sister's condition. Sibling perceptions of self-competence increased from pre-to posttreatment, whereas parent reports of sibling behavioral functioning remained within the normal range. Improvements in sibling knowledge and connectedness maintained at follow-up. Parent satisfaction with the program was high. Conclusions Results support more controlled evaluations of family-based intervention to improve young sibling adaptation to CI/DD.
doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsi054 pmid:16260437 fatcat:wjqtbqrwcraprlpkhye35jpsrq