Autistic Spectrum Disorders have shown to be some of the most disruptive and bizarre childhood developmental disorders, affecting all relationships within the family (Glass, 2001). The sibling relationship is possibly one of the most important relationships in childhood development, affecting cognitive and emotional adjustment (Dunn, 2000; Sanders, 2004). While the effects on parents of having a child with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder are well documented, there is very little qualitative research that explores the experience from the sibling‟s perspective. Using Family Systems Theory as a framework for understanding, the question asked in this study was: “What is the experience of having a sibling with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder?” The study made use of a phenomenological approach, which was useful in exploring the „lived world‟ of the participant. Making use of semi structured interviews, a focus group and various projective techniques and one participatory technique, three participants shared their thoughts, feelings and experiences of having a younger sibling with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Interpretive analysis guided by the Hermeneutic circle was used to analyze the data. The results showed a complex and protective relationship that also evoked feelings of frustration and embarrassment in the participants. While the relationship was difficult, there was no indication that the participants faced any emotional or adjustment difficulties. Furthermore, the effective coping mechanisms that were utilized by the participants were highlighted. The study also aimed to provide recommendations for care-givers and professionals, as well as future research in this area. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

The purpose of this study was to examine the processes and patterns of communicative interaction which preschool and elementary school-aged deaf and hearing siblings utilized to initiate, maintain and terminate dialogs during play. Specifically, the focus was to determine if the processes and patterns of communication differed when a deaf sibling interacted with an older hearing sibling who has been exposed primarily to a simultaneous visual-auditory (SimVA) pattern of communication, as compared to when a deaf sibling interacted with a younger hearing sibling who has been exposed to both a SimVA and a sequential visual (Seq V) pattern of communication. Video-taped playbouts were observed between each of two sibling dyads at play within a single family: (a) an older dyad composed of a seven-year-old hearing child and her five-year-old deaf sister, and (b) a younger dyad with the second-born deaf sister and her three-year-old hearing brother. The video-tapes were coded to determine: the kinds of play siblings engaged in; the use and expression of behavioral and communicative elements of attention-getting, exchange of information, and termination processes of dialogs; who initiated and terminated dialogs; the occurrence of turn-taking during message delivery; and the expression of patterns of communication used by siblings during dialogs. Only three of five possible kinds of play were actually noted, of which social play was the most frequently observed kind of play taking place between siblings within both dyads. In the older hearing and deaf sibling dyad, it was found that the older hearing sister predominately used visual processes and patterns of communicative interaction when conversing with her deaf sister, whereas the deaf sibling relied extensively on visual-auditory processes and patterns of communication when conversing with her hearing sister. In the younger dyad, visual-auditory patterns of communication predominated both hearing and deaf siblings' expression of processes and patterns of communication with each other. New terminology reflecting siblings' behavioral and communicative patterns of communication are introduced. This study represents the first known research examining the processes and patterns of deaf and hearing siblings' behavioral and communicative interactions of dialog. The findings are discussed in relation to potential applications to early intervention programs for hearing families with deaf and hearing siblings and to future research directions. Overall, the findings from this study appear to indicate that deaf and hearing siblings communicate in ways largely influenced by developmental maturation and the communicative environments to which each child has been exposed during language acquisition processes. The findings are also consistent with Vygotsky's theory of a sociocultural origin of language development.

This study explores how experience with a chronically ill or disabled sibling may affect prospective reproductive attitudes and behavior. Eighty-two young adults were interviewed using a structured, written questionnaire, which included the index of Family Relations (IFR) developed by Hudson (1982). Respondents in the main group (n = 41) had siblings with either a single-gene, hereditary illness or a physical/intellectual handicap. A multiple regression analysis examined how different group and subgroup combinations of the sibling factor might predict reproductive attitudes, controlling for sociodemographic, family, and developmental variables. Contrary to expectation, experience with an affected sibling predicted acceptance of potentially affected offspring. The significance of this finding was marginal for the main group, but more favorable when the sibling was intellectually handicapped. Respondents with siblings in genetic categories felt more obliged than others to test their own genetic risk status, but were least likely to favor abortion for medical indication.

This study investigated firstborns' adjustment and responsiveness to a new sibling and parents' responsiveness to their firstborn before and after the second child's birth. Parental responsiveness was also examined in the context of predicting firstborns' adjustment and responsiveness to the sibling. Fifty families with firstborn daughters (26-55 mo) were visited at home 6-10 weeks before and 5-6 weeks after the sibling's birth. After the sibling's birth, young firstborns were more distressed than old firstborns; however, prenatal distress was the best predictor of postnatal distress. Old and young firstborns showed different patterns of responsiveness to brothers and sisters. In terms of parental responsiveness, firstborns perceived mothers as more responsive after the birth than before, while their perceptions of fathers remained unchanged. Mothers gave less support after the birth, particularly to old firstborns. Although fathers' support remained unchanged postnatally, fathers gave the least support to old firstborns with brothers. Time spent by mothers with firstborns decreased from before to after the birth, while fathers' time increased. Continuity was found for parental support but not for parental involvement, especially by fathers. Parental support was associated with low postnatal distress while parental caregiving was related to high postnatal distress. Prenatal maternal responsiveness and postnatal paternal responsiveness predicted postnatal distress. Firstborns' perceptions of parental responsiveness were generally associated with firstborns' responsiveness to the sibling. The results were discussed in terms of family-systems theory and stress-coping theory.

This study assessed the relationship and rivalry differences among siblings of intact families versus divorced families. It involved children, young adults, and adults from a Midwestern, moderately sized community. These participants answered two brief questionnaires requesting information on their age, sex, ethnicity, family structure, and perceived sibling relationships. The researcher found that there were no overall differences between children of married parents versus divorced parents except concerning the level of antagonism. Further, it was found that there were differing levels of dominance, nurturance, and quarrels in sibling relationships depending on the level of contact with step or half siblings and the child's perceptions of the parents' current relationship with each other. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-46).

Thesis (PhD) - Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, 2007. / Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology - 2007. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 220-242).

Thesis (M.S.W.) - Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-102). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-73).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1986.