abstract: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is experienced in a variety of ways within families particularly among siblings with and without ASD. The effects of ASD on sibling relationships are integral to family life. While some studies have examined sibling relationships, research regarding sibling roles exhibited during play activities and social interactions is lacking. Further, siblings' voices are rarely revealed in research on play. In response to a need for greater understanding of the role of play among siblings impacted by ASD, this dissertation used a cultural historical activity theory lens to understand how play and social interactions evolved among siblings since childhood development is informed by access to and participation in play. Siblings may be considered actors with unique cultural histories as they create and re-create their own identities through play. In this study, an emphasis was placed on the complex processes siblings experience while locating their own niche with their families. The study focused on the use of a variety of tools, division of labor, the rules families utilized to interact and how these rules were disturbed. As a result, the study offers a more complete understanding of how play and social interactions affect the ways ASD impact siblings, families, and community members. This study provides holistic views of the development and impact of sibling play on identity development and relationships. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2012

abstract: Time adolescents spend in organized or informal skill based activities after school is associated with a variety of positive developmental outcomes. Little is known about how siblings might shape adolescents' motivation to participate in after-school activities. The current study applied the expectancy value model and ecological theory to understand if sibling behaviors were related to adolescents' after-school activities for 34 Mexican origin families. Qualitative and quantitative results suggested siblings engaged in five promoting behaviors (i.e., support, provider of information, role modeling, comparison, co-participation) and three inhibiting behaviors (i.e., babysitting, transportation, and negativity) towards adolescent activity participation. Furthermore, sibling behaviors differed by adolescent characteristics (i.e., cultural orientation, familism, and neighborhood) and sibling characteristics (i.e., gender, age). The results provide evidence of the various promoting and inhibiting socialization behaviors sibling might use to influence adolescents' activity motivation. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Family and Human Development 2012

A presença de uma criança com Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo (TEA) em uma família está associada à maior vulnerabilidade emocional dos pais assim como à maior suscetibilidade de seus irmãos bebês ao transtorno e a outros problemas do desenvolvimento. A detecção e a intervenção precoces têm sido apontadas como fundamentais para redução do sofrimento e melhoria do prognóstico de desenvolvimento de bebês. O retraimento social, fenômeno essencialmente diático e relacionado a perturbações duradouras da interação, constitui importante sinal de sofrimento psíquico nos primeiros meses de vida. Manifesta-se através da redução ou ausência de comportamentos positivos (como contato visual, sorrisos e balbucios) e/ou pelo aumento da frequência de comportamentos negativos (como choros, gritos e gestos de autoestimulação), e pode ter origem em uma combinação de fatores orgânicos e ambientais. Por estar associado a uma série de problemas de comportamento e relacionamento que se estendem da infância à idade adulta, sua identificação nos primeiros dois anos de vida constitui importante sinal de alerta para risco de desenvolvimento psíquico, podendo ser útil na avaliação deste grupo específico de bebês. O objetivo do presente estudo consiste em descrever e avaliar a ocorrência de retraimento de bebês, irmãos de crianças com diagnóstico de TEA, em comparação com outros bebês, irmãos de crianças sem diagnóstico de TEA, além de estimar a associação entre o retraimento do bebê e outras variáveis como: sexo do bebê; escolaridade materna; suporte social percebido pela mãe; grau de autismo do irmão; e presença de sinais de risco para autismo do bebê. A amostra do estudo foi composta por 133 famílias, sendo 68 pertencentes ao grupo caso (com um bebê e, ao menos, um(a) filho(a) mais velho com TEA) e 65 pertencentes ao grupo contraste (sem nenhum(a) filho(a) com TEA, a lém de um bebê). A avaliação do retraimento foi realizada através da codificação da Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) aplicada a filmagens da interação mãe-bebê. Embora a frequência de retraimento tenha sido duas vezes maior entre os bebês do grupo caso (19,11%, n=13) em relação aos bebês do grupo contraste (9,23%, n=6), a diferença encontrada não foi estatisticamente significativa (p=0,103). Dentre os itens avaliados pela escala, bebês, irmãos de crianças com TEA, apresentaram redução significativa da expressão facial em comparação aos irmãos de crianças sem TEA (p=0,012), independentemente do desfecho de retraimento. O grau de autismo do irmão e o suporte social percebido pela mãe não apresentaram associação com o retraimento (p=0,250 e p=0,554), assim como o sexo ou a idade do bebê. Em contrapartida, o retraimento parece estar associado ao risco para autismo do bebê (p=0,003) e ao grau de escolaridade materna (p=0,042). Ainda que não apresentem risco estatístico comprovado para o retraimento, o conjunto de resultados indica que bebês, irmãos de crianças com TEA, podem apresentar maior vulnerabilidade para tal. Os resultados demonstram, portanto, que irmãos de crianças com autismo têm chance aumentada de apresentarem problemas do desenvolvimento, o que aponta para a consequente necessidade de elaboração de estratégias de intervenção junto a essas famílias / The presence of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a family is associated with greater parental emotional vulnerability as well as with higher susceptibility of the infants siblings to this disorder and other developmental problems. Early detection and intervention have been identified as central on reducing suffering and improving the developmental prognosis of the infants. The social withdrawal, phenomenon essentially dyadic and related to lasting disturbance of interaction, is an important sign of psychological distress in early life. Expressed over reduction or absence of positive behaviors (such as eye contact, smiles and babbling) and/or by increasing frequency of negative behaviors (such as cries, screams and self-stimulation actions), can come from a combination of organic and environmental factors. Due to association with several behavioral and relationships problems extending from childhood to adulthood, identifying social withdrawal in the first two years is an important warning sign for risk of psychical development, also useful for assessing this specific group of infants. The aim of present study is to describe and assess the occurrence of social withdrawal in infant siblings of children diagnosed with ASD compared to infant sibling of children without a diagnosis of ASD, and estimate the association between infants withdrawal and other variables such as: sex of the infant; maternal education; social support perceived by the mother; degree of autism on the child diagnosed; and the presence of risk factors for infants autism. The study sample was composed by 133 families, 68 in the case group (with a infant and at least one older child with ASD) and 65 in the contrast group (without a child with ASD, besides the infant). Withdrawal assessment was coded by the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) of mother-infant interaction video recordings. Although the frequency of withdrawal has been twice as high among the group of infant case (19.11%, n = 13) compared to the contrast group (9.23%, n = 6), the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.103). Among the items of the scale, sibling infant of children with ASD showed significantly decrease on facial expression compared to siblings of children without ASD (p = 0.012), regardless the withdrawal outcome. Childs autism degree and social support perceived by the mother were not associated with withdrawal (p = 0.250; p = 0.554), as well as sex or infants age. In contrast, withdrawal appears to be associated with the risk for infants autism (p = 0.003) and with the degree of maternal education (p = 0.042). Although the results did not show statistical risk examined on withdrawal, it still indicates that infants siblings of children with ASD may be more vulnerable to such outcome. Therefore, the results demonstrate that infant siblings of children with ASD are more likely to have developmental problems, which points to the consequence need to develop of intervention strategies for these families

This study is the result of observations and questions that stem from my professional role as a senior key worker with families where a child has a life-threatening or life-shortening illness. This project explores the cultures of families where a child has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal medical condition. By examining parents' accounts, other family members' accounts and professionals' accounts of the ways treatment regimes are experienced, the study indicates typical differences in the ways life-threatening and life-shortening illnesses affect family relationships. The study also examines variations in what these illnesses 'mean' for families and the ways that treatment regimes help to shape these meanings. A combination of qualitative research methods was used via in depth, semi-structured and informal interviews with families and professionals, and included participant observation. Data was collected from five informant groups: a) mothers where a child had been diagnosed with cancer or was living with a life-shortening condition; b) families of the ill children, suffering from both cancer and from a number of severe chronic medical conditions; c) well siblings living alongside an ill sibling; d) ill children themselves; e) professionals from health and psychosocial backgrounds who worked with the families. A detailed summary of the sample may be found in Appendix 1 page 291 Although limited, the findings have helped to provide a hypothesis outlining typical differences in the ways life-threatening illnesses and lifeshortening illnesses affect family relationships. They also offer health professionals and others working with ill children insight into the crises and challenges which might typically face families during the course of their children's treatment. Medical technology is successfully prolonging the lives of children diagnosed with lifethreatening and life-shortening illnesses who would not have survived the same illness some years ago. In the light of these improvements, findings from this study indicate that when the illness is life-threatening as in childhood cancer, the treatment regimes and the sudden and frequent hospitalisation of the mother and ill child impact on the daily life of the family, changing the family dynamic and creating a sense of an emotional rollercoaster ride - with horror, hope, fear, relapse and remission all part of their journey. Conversely, findings suggest that in cases of rare, often difficult to diagnose, lifeshortening conditions, the family is drawn into a life-long up-hill struggle where the medical management of the child takes priority over, and increasingly dictates, other family members' relationships, roles and activities. Unlike the intermittent but extreme crises of life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, life-shortening conditions continue for the lifetime of the child, creating enduring long-term pressures on the family. However, in both categories of illness the families' lives are entwined with various professionals who appear largely unaware of how the medical management of these illnesses drain the practical, financial and emotional resources of the family. The findings of this research raise implications for practice and future policy. I conclude by suggesting that there is a need for an increased understanding, acknowledgement and respect from professionals that the primary carers in both categories of illness are to a greater or lesser extent, experts in their own children's illnesses. NHS Trusts, Children's Hospices and Children's Agencies produce a variety of care pathways for sick children, and although training in communication with patients is already in place, there is considerable room for improving the day-to day skills and approaches of the various professionals, particularly health professionals involved in paediatrics and their communication with the parents and the ill child. There is also a need for increased understanding by professionals of the particular daily challenges faced by families with children undergoing treatment for these conditions.

Because of the many similarities between the life of George Eliot and the lives of Maggie and Tom Tulliver in The Mill on The Floss, Eliot’s novel has been understood as an autobiographical novel. The aim of the essay is to, by using a psychoanalytical perspective, examine if the fictional characters could be said to be engaged in an incestuous relationship even though they do not engage in a sexual relationship. Though their relationship never becomes sexual, there are factors which could support a claim that brother and sister are engaged in an non-sexual incestuous relationship.

The diploma thesis focuses on parenting styles and the sibling group of large families. The theoretical part describes the theoretical base of parenting styles, variables that can influence parenting styles and the specifics of large families. The qualitative approach in the empirical part was used. The study sample consists of nine Czech families with four or five children aged 1.5 to 18 years. Parents are mostly highly educated practicing Catholics. Data were gathered using qualitative and quantitative methods. The outcome of this research is a description of the specifics of family education in large families, possible causes for education differences among children in a family and the characteristics of a sibling group. Family size impacts communication among parents and children in the family, as well as the number of shared activities and the way the household is organized. Causes of differences in education among siblings can be found in the different personality characteristics, age, sibling constellation and the extent of parental experience. The significance of the sibling group is reflected in a compensation for lack of parental attention, an encouragement of younger siblings' development and a cultivation of social skills.

When analyzing the development of children and adolescents, the most attention is usually paid to parents. Other older members of a family, however, have an important role, too. The crucial, yet often neglected person (at least in Czech literature), impacting the development of an individual, is his or her older sibling. The subject of the theoretical part of this thesis is to clarify the specifics of a sibling relationship as well as to describe the role and the sphere of influence of the older sibling considering all the factors that come into the relationship between two siblings. The empirical part consists of the description of the research project and the results of the research, whose aim is to discover the specifics of a sibling relationship with a particular focus on the upbringing styles of the older sibling; to find differences between the upbringing methods of parents and the upbringing methods of older siblings; and to find out to what extent the gender and the age difference between siblings determines their mutual relationship. Keywords: siblings, sibling relationships, the role of a sibling, upbringing, methods of upbringing

Chronic illness of a child has an influence over the whole family system. Despite this fact healthy siblings have been overlooked by the majority of research. Some foreign studies declare that this population is in higher risk of developing psychsocial problems. The purpose of this thesis is to conduct a closer study on psychosocial characteristics of the siblings of children with diabetes mellitus type 1. The main concern of the theoretical part is the review of current literature dealing with the topic of siblings of chronically ill child and their families. The conducted research included quantitative and qualitative methods exploring sibling psychosocial problems and prosocial behaviour, self-esteem, siblings attitude towards illness and family functioning. The results stress out the important relationship between sibling adjustment, self-esteem and individual and family characteristics. The results also present the main themes connected with siblings feeling of fear, sadness and anger, with applied coping strategies and perceived rewards and costs of the illness for family. Keywords: siblings, diabetes mellitus type 1, psychosocial situation

What influence was health disadvantage on constellation of siblings Author: Bc. Petra Slavíčková ABSTRACT The diploma thesis is focused on the topic of sibling constellation and how these can be influenced by health disabilities, specifically according to the birth order of the disabled child. This is a qualitative research. The data collection is made using interviews with young healthy adult siblings of disabled children. Categorical systems and data comparison sorted per younger and older siblings of disabled children are used for the analysis of collected data. The aim of this thesis is to broaden the issue of siblings of disabled children by a new point of view and find out which conformities and differences are between sibling constellations of younger and older siblings of disabled children. The outcomes of the research revealed numerous differences between younger and older siblings of children with disabilities in the fields of relationships, opinions and attitudes. It was found out generally, that the fact of sibling disability is perceived more by their younger siblings and this fact has a greater influence on their regular life. KEY WORDS family, siblings, sibling constellations, order of birth, health disabilities

Background: The two most common neuropsychiatric disabilities are attention deficithyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Functional impairmentsentail some difficulties for the child that affects the family situation such as interaction withother people and learning and memory difficulties. Aim: The aim of this study was to illuminate the family's experience of living with childrenwho have a neuropsychiatric disability. Method: A qualitative approach was used for this literature based study. The CINAHL and PubMed databases were used to search for scientific articles. Through systematic searches we found ten articles and these were analyzed using Friberg's five-step method. Results: The result is presented on the basis of three themes: An everyday battle, Experiences of understanding and support from the outside world and Family life in light and darkness. It shows that it was a daily struggle for family members in their daily lives. The parents experienced a lack of understanding from the outside world and received limited support. Several parents felt socially isolated and alone. Their daily situation ended up in strong emotions. Conclusion: This study provides an understanding of how family members experience their everyday situation with the child with neuropsychiatric disability. The family relationship was affected in one way or another and it was important for family members to receive support. The nurse has an important responsibility to provide the support and care that family members need to avoid suffering.