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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.68064 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Sabetti, Judith J. |
| Contributors | Duder, Sydney M. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Social Work (School of Social Work.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001399994, proquestno: AAIMM94310, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
Page generated in 0.0023 seconds