Behavioural adjustment of children with intellectual disability and their sibling is associated with their sibling relationship quality.
N K Hayden, R P Hastings, T Bailey
PMID 36602088WHAT IT FOUND
Both siblings' behaviour links to relationship quality, not just the child with disability.
Prosocial behaviour from the child with intellectual disability strongly predicted intimacy and companionship. Being younger than the sibling with disability predicted more closeness and more conflict. Parents' views matter more than the child's diagnosis.
Key findings
01The child with intellectual disability's prosocial behaviour had the strongest positive association with intimacy and companionship in the sibling relationship.
02The child with intellectual disability's externalising problems had the strongest association with antagonism and quarrelling, but their prosocial behaviour was also linked to more quarrelling.
03Where the sibling without disability was younger than their sibling with intellectual disability, this was associated with both more intimacy and more antagonism.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The data are cross-sectional, so the study cannot prove that behaviour causes changes in relationship quality or vice versa. All information came from primary caregiver reports, which may differ from the children's own perspectives. The sample was not representative, with most caregivers being White British. The measure of sibling relationship quality required statistical adjustments that reduced its nuance, leaving only broad 'positive' and 'negative' dimensions. The model fit was only 'adequate', meaning other variables might explain the relationships better.
Declared interests
Funded by an Economic and Social Research Council doctoral scholarship, part-funded by the UK charity Sibs, and the wider 1000 Families Study was funded by Cerebra. Authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that increasing prosocial behaviour in the child with intellectual disability will only improve the relationship positively. The study found that higher prosocial behaviour in the child with disability was associated with both more intimacy and more quarrelling, suggesting that more equal and frequent interaction can lead to more conflict as well as closeness.