Investigation into the experiences of young adults who are the second sibling to self-identify and come out as a sexual minority in their families of origin is non-existent. In the context of evolving conceptualizations of the coming out process, the present study sought to explore the perceptions of the second sibling to come out as LGBT in the family of origin and the role of the already-out LGBT sibling on the coming out process. Guided by an integration of life course theory and symbolic interactionism, 15 young adults participated in intensive interviews involving their personal coming out experiences, self-identification processes, and family relationships. A constructivist grounded theory approach to data analysis was utilized, as deeper understandings of meaning and context was a goal of this inquiry. An iterative process of open, axial, and selective coding yielded 3 themes and 10 sub-categories that revealed the nuances of LGBT siblings and their family structures and dynamics, the coming out process of both the first and second siblings, and the construction of meaning post-coming out. The findings of this study have significant implications for the advancement of understanding when two or more siblings navigate the coming out process in their families of origin. Family scholars, practitioners, and community professionals will be able to utilize these findings in their work with LGBT individuals and their families. / Ph. D.

The funtioning of families of children with developmental disabilities has been of interest to researchers for some time. To date, little research has focused on experiences of New Zealand families. The aim of this research is to investigate relationships between various aspects of the family environment and family functioning, and to explore siblings' level of self-concept and satisfaction with the sibling relationship. It is expected that families who receive more support from external levels of the environment will be able to function more effectively in their immediate environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Hornby, 1994). Twenty-one parents and nineteen siblings of children with developmental disabilities volunteered to take part in this study. Parent participants completed questionnaires about family demographics, the level of support received from external sources, their perceptions of the family environment, and level of stress related to child characteristics; pessimism and family problems. Sibling participants completed questionnaires about their satisfaction with the relationship with their brother or sister, their self-concept, and their own perceptionso of the family environment. The results indicate that there are a number of relationships between various aspects of the environment and family functioning. Siblings who are more satisfied with their relationship have higher self-concept scores, however the self-concept scores were lower than expected. Families who receive higher levels of support have more positive perceptions of the family enviornment, and families who have more support and more positive views of the environment have few concerns on the resources and stress scale. The results indicated that families consider that they are receiving adequate support from professional services, however support from family and friends appears to be lacking. This study has provided insight into the functioning of New Zealand families who have children with developmental disabilities, and has suggested a number of avenues for future research.

THESIS TITLE Upbringing in a family of a child with a serious illness: the view of the parent and sibling ABSTRACT The diploma thesis deals with the topic of upbringing in a family of a child who has suffered from cancer as seen by their parents and siblings. The work is both theoretical and empirical. The theoretical part deals with the issue of upbringing in a family of a child with serious disease, sibling relationships and characteristics of cancer, especially leukemia. It also describes the role of family members, coping strategies and stress response. In this part of the thesis we also mention current research, organizations and projects, which focus on helping these families, especially to the siblings in these families. The aim of the empirical part is to find out and describe whether, from the parents' and healthy siblings' point of view, the parents have changed their parenting to children after a serious illness of a child started. The second goal is to find out how cancer affected siblings and their family relationships. The research investigation is of a qualitative nature. The data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using grounded theory procedures. The interviews were conducted with 5 families. In each case we spoke to a parent and a healthy...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:38:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Raissa Ducatti Lino Machado.pdf: 622410 bytes, checksum: d3d77ca9ef39e52536dc987e41810c16 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-06 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The objective of this study was to comprehend the construction and reconstruction of women´s sibling relationship between sisters of medium to high income living in urban areas who have an active professional life. We intended to understand the reciprocal influences between these women throughout their lives and the implications of such influences on their professional lives. To achieve this objective we performed a case study. Open interviews were conducted with four sisters whose narratives allowed us to better understand their life experiences, current and past. We have found that the bonds between them are built based on loyalty and mutual support which becomes evident throughout their relationships histories and influences important themes in all of their individual lives, among which is their professional life / O objetivo deste estudo foi compreender a construção e reconstrução do relacionamento fraterno entre irmãs das camadas médias urbanas que tivessem uma vida profissional ativa. Pretendemos compreender as influências recíprocas entre estas mulheres ao longo da vida, e quais suas implicações para o desenvolvimento do projeto profissional de cada uma delas. Para tanto, realizamos um estudo de caso. Foram realizadas entrevistas abertas com quatro irmãs, cujas narrativas nos permitiram compor um quadro de suas experiências de vida, atual e passada. Constatamos que os laços entre estas mulheres se construíram com base em lealdade e apoio mútuo, o que se evidencia ao longo da história do relacionamento e perpassa temas de relevância na vida individual, dentre os quais a vida profissional

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In the present study, a grounded theory approach was employed with the purpose of developing a substantive theoretical model to identify and illustrate changes in sibling relationships after pediatric bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Further investigation of the impact of sibling relationship quality on children's adaptation following this life-threatening medical procedure was examined. Two families, each consisting of a sibling dyad that included a child who received a BMT and a well sibling that ranged in age from 10-14 and a parent, participated in the study. Siblings were interviewed individually, and in the dyad, to capture an insider's view of the sibling relationship after BMT and factors that impact child adaptation to pediatric BMT. Child observational and parent survey data provided a multiple-informant and multiple-method approach which helped to foster a more complete picture of the broader family context. Findings suggest that children's sibling relationships improved after BMT, as evidenced by their building a close relationship, establishing intimacy and gaining trust, and learning to get along and settle differences better. Positive coping strategies included identifying and utilizing supports and resources, praying/prayer, making life easier for the sibling, and redefining what is important in life. Children's individual adaptation outcomes included accepting the illness, recognizing the longevity of the relationship, reducing worry/stress, and moving beyond the illness. Analyses that were grounded in the data from the present study suggest four theoretical propositions. First,children's sibling relationships have the potential for positive change after BMT. Second, close sibling relationships can serve as a buffer, or protective factor, to the adverse conditions and extremely stressful situations encountered after BMT. Third, positive changes in children's sibling relationships after BMT can positively influence children's coping strategies which may have a direct influence on children's adaptation to BMT. The fourth, and primary hypothesis, suggests that positive changes in children's sibling relationships after BMT potentiate new coping strategies in the dyad that are more facilitative to child adaptation than managing stress on one's own. Findings add to the general knowledge on sibling relationships and shed light on the complexities of children's sibling relationships when one child is severely ill.

The funtioning of families of children with developmental disabilities has been of interest to researchers for some time. To date, little research has focused on experiences of New Zealand families. The aim of this research is to investigate relationships between various aspects of the family environment and family functioning, and to explore siblings' level of self-concept and satisfaction with the sibling relationship. It is expected that families who receive more support from external levels of the environment will be able to function more effectively in their immediate environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Hornby, 1994). Twenty-one parents and nineteen siblings of children with developmental disabilities volunteered to take part in this study. Parent participants completed questionnaires about family demographics, the level of support received from external sources, their perceptions of the family environment, and level of stress related to child characteristics; pessimism and family problems. Sibling participants completed questionnaires about their satisfaction with the relationship with their brother or sister, their self-concept, and their own perceptionso of the family environment. The results indicate that there are a number of relationships between various aspects of the environment and family functioning. Siblings who are more satisfied with their relationship have higher self-concept scores, however the self-concept scores were lower than expected. Families who receive higher levels of support have more positive perceptions of the family enviornment, and families who have more support and more positive views of the environment have few concerns on the resources and stress scale. The results indicated that families consider that they are receiving adequate support from professional services, however support from family and friends appears to be lacking. This study has provided insight into the functioning of New Zealand families who have children with developmental disabilities, and has suggested a number of avenues for future research.

Bakgrund: Det är viktigt att känna sig delaktig i en familj och alla individer i familjen påverkar varandra, både positivt och negativt. Syskon betyder ofta mycket för varandra även om relationen inte alltid är positiv. När ett barn blir sjukt påverkas hela familjen. Det sjuka barnet får mer fokus och syskonet kan känna sig åsidosatt. Som teoretisk referensram till arbetet användes systemteori med fokus på familjecentrerad omvårdnad. Enligt teorin ses familjen som en helhet där alla delar, föräldrar, barnen och syskon, är beroende av varandra för att fungera på bästa sätt. Enligt familjecentrerad omvårdnad ska alla i familjen få komma till tals och bli uppmärksammade. Vården behöver uppmärksamma behoven hos hela familjen för att kunna ge bästa omvårdnad för alla inblandade. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att ta reda på vilka upplevelser och behov av stöd som syskon till sjuka barn har samt undersöka vad vården kan göra för syskonet. Metod: Metoden var litteraturstudie baserad på kvalitativa originalartiklar. Resultat: Föräldrar och syskon har ibland olika perspektiv och olika uppfattning om hur sjukdomen påverkar familjen. Syskon känner sig ofta åsidosatta. Syskon vill ha information och vill vara delaktiga i vården. Att ge information om sjukdomen ger trygghet till syskonet. Information, stödsamtal och gruppträffar har visat positivt resultat för syskon genom förbättrad empati, större förståelse för sjukdomen samt att de kan hantera och uttrycka sina känslor bättre. Familjestödjare har sett positiva resultat av att syskonet fått uppmärksamhet och höras. Slutsats: Syskon behöver involveras mer i vården av det sjuka barnet och de vill bli informerade. Det behövs en vårdplan tidigt i vårdförloppet för hela familjen. Vårdpersonal skall bekräfta syskonets tankar och visa att de lyssnar. Det behövs fler studier som väger in syskonets egna upplevelser och känslor. / Background: It is important to be a part of a family and all individuals in the family are affected of each other, both positively and negatively. Siblings often mean a lot to each other, even if the relationship isn´t always positive. When a child becomes ill, the entire family is affected. The ill child gets more focus and the sibling may feel overlooked. As a theoretical reference framework for the study, a system-theoretical model was used focusing on family-centered care. According to this theory, the family is seen as a whole where all parts are dependent on each other to have the family to work at its best. According to family-centered care, everyone in the family should be heard and get attention. Healthcare professionals should be able to detect the needs of the whole family to provide the best care for all involved. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine what experiences and needs siblings have when there is a sick child in the family and to examine what healthcare professionals can provide for the sibling. Method: The method was a literature study based on qualitative original articles. Results: Parents and siblings sometimes have different perspectives and different views of how the disease affects the family. Siblings often feel excluded. Siblings want to be informed and wants to be involved in the nursing. Providing information about the disease leads to a feeling of safety for the sibling. Information, support talks and group sessions have shown positive results for siblings by improved empathy, greater understanding of the disease, and better expressing of their feelings. Family support workers have seen positive results of the sibling after given more support and meetings. Conclusion: Siblings need to be more involved in the care of the sick child and they want to have more knowledge about the disease. A care plan is needed early in the process for the whole family. Healthcare professionals should confirm the sibling and show them that they are listening to them. More studies are required where sibling’s own experiences and feelings are heard.

The topic of this thesis is the sibling constellation theory. This theory says that the order of birth can affect many areas of life. The aim of this thesis is to verify this theory. The theoretical part of the thesis defines the term sibling constellation and briefly describes the history of research connected with this theory along with information about differences between certain author´s interpretations. The thesis also deals with the upbringing stereotypes that cause differences between individuals born in a certain order and with the description of their typical personality traits. The practical part of the thesis concentrates on verifying of sibling constellation theory through a questionnaire. The questionnaire is based on facts about each sibling position that were learned from literature and deals with the relationship between respondent´s parents and siblings in order to reveal possible rivalry and jealousy in their family environment.

While several studies have analyzed the impact of mother-child attachment security on the child’s emotion regulation abilities, few studies have proposed interventions to help children improve emotion regulation abilities in the presence of an insecure mother-child attachment. This current study extends previous findings about the influence of mother-child attachment on the child’s emotion regulation abilities and contributes new research in determining whether an older sibling can moderate this effect. This study predicts that across points of assessments: 18 months, 5 years, 10 years, and 15 years, the quality of mother-child attachment security will influence the child’s performance on an emotion regulation task, such that securely attached children will demonstrate the most persistence and least distress, children with Anxious-Avoidant attachment will demonstrate the least persistence, and children with Anxious-Ambivalent will demonstrate the most distress. If, at any point, the child develops an insecure relationship with the mother and a secure relationship with the older sibling, the child’s persistence is expected to increase and the child’s distress is expected to decrease. In this way, the older sibling will serve as a surrogate attachment figure. These research findings have important implications for parenting behaviors as well as clinical practices.