Adult Siblings Who Have a Brother or Sister with Autism: Between-Family and Within-Family Variations in Sibling Relationships.
Gael I Orsmond, Daniel Fulford
PMID 29971655WHAT IT FOUND
Adult siblings of people with autism differed more from each other within the same family than families differed from one another.
Their own closeness in adolescence and depressive symptoms were linked to how positive the relationship felt now.
Key findings
01For total positive feelings, 25% of the variation was between families and 75% was within families.
02Siblings who reported a closer relationship in adolescence had higher positive feelings, while siblings with higher depressive symptoms reported lower positive feelings.
03When the brother or sister with autism also had intellectual disability, siblings reported less positive feelings and more pessimism about the future.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The relationship measures were based only on the adult sibling's report, so the brother or sister with autism did not rate the relationship. The study was observational, so it shows associations, not causes. Not all siblings from each family took part, which may have affected the within-family comparison. The sample was mostly White and came from families able to stay in a long-term study. The analysis did not include many possible relationship factors, and the authors did not collect the perspective of the person with autism when possible.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these findings as showing that a sibling's depression or the brother or sister's disability causes a worse relationship. The data were collected at the same point for these outcomes, and all relationship ratings came from the sibling, so shared mood and self-report may account for the links.