%0 Journal Article %1 Breslau1982 %A Breslau, N. %D 1982 %J J Abnorm Child Psychol %K Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Birth Order; Cerebral Palsy; Child; Child Behavior Disorders; Child, Preschool; Cystic Fibrosis; Disabled Persons; Female; Humans; Male; Meningomyelocele; Psychological Tests; Sibling Relations; Social Environment %N 1 %P 85--96 %T Siblings of disabled children: birth order and age-spacing effects. %V 10 %X Whereas older siblings of children with congenital disability have lived their earliest years in a "normal" family environment, younger siblings, especially those in a close age-spacing relationship, were born into families marked by the presence of a disabled child. In this paper, 327 siblings of disabled children are compared to 248 siblings from a random sample of families to examine whether the early family environment of siblings of disabled children, as indexed by relative birth order and age-spacing, has a unique influence on psychological functioning. The findings partially confirmed the expected relationships: Younger male siblings, specifically those in close age-spacing relationship to the disabled child, scored higher on psychological impairment than older male siblings. Among female siblings, a similar influence was not in evidence: Younger female siblings were psychologically better off than older female siblings and their age-spacing was not significantly related to psychological functioning. However, the results suggest that siblings' later response to early life experience may be sex-contingent, with males demonstrating interpersonal aggression and females experiencing depressive-anxious feelings.

@article{Breslau1982, abstract = {Whereas older siblings of children with congenital disability have lived their earliest years in a "normal" family environment, younger siblings, especially those in a close age-spacing relationship, were born into families marked by the presence of a disabled child. In this paper, 327 siblings of disabled children are compared to 248 siblings from a random sample of families to examine whether the early family environment of siblings of disabled children, as indexed by relative birth order and age-spacing, has a unique influence on psychological functioning. The findings partially confirmed the expected relationships: Younger male siblings, specifically those in close age-spacing relationship to the disabled child, scored higher on psychological impairment than older male siblings. Among female siblings, a similar influence was not in evidence: Younger female siblings were psychologically better off than older female siblings and their age-spacing was not significantly related to psychological functioning. However, the results suggest that siblings' later response to early life experience may be sex-contingent, with males demonstrating interpersonal aggression and females experiencing depressive-anxious feelings.}, added-at = {2014-07-19T19:12:07.000+0200}, author = {Breslau, N.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2ef9d3875c9fd053c52357d3b6ecd502d/ar0berts}, groups = {public}, interhash = {a9be9d483408e1c73fd92c7cfe1f377e}, intrahash = {ef9d3875c9fd053c52357d3b6ecd502d}, journal = {J Abnorm Child Psychol}, keywords = {Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Birth Order; Cerebral Palsy; Child; Child Behavior Disorders; Child, Preschool; Cystic Fibrosis; Disabled Persons; Female; Humans; Male; Meningomyelocele; Psychological Tests; Sibling Relations; Social Environment}, month = Mar, number = 1, pages = {85--96}, pmid = {6213696}, timestamp = {2014-07-19T19:12:07.000+0200}, title = {Siblings of disabled children: birth order and age-spacing effects.}, username = {ar0berts}, volume = 10, year = 1982 }