Emotional and Behavioral Adjustment in Typically Developing Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2012-07, Vol.42 (7), p.1393-1402
• Main Authors: Dempsey, Allison G., Llorens, Ashlie, Brewton, Christie, Mulchandani, Simmi, Goin-Kochel, Robin P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adjustment (to Environment); Adolescent; Adolescents; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic children; Autistic spectrum disorders; Behavior Problems; Behavior Rating Scales; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Check Lists; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child Behavior; Child clinical studies; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - diagnosis; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - psychology; Children; Cognitive Ability; Communication Skills; Community Study; Comparative Analysis; Developmental Delays; Developmental Disabilities; Developmental disorders; Down Syndrome; Emotional behavior; Emotions; Externalizing behaviour; Family Characteristics; Female; Humans; Incidence; Infantile autism; Internal-External Control; Internalization; Male; Medical sciences; Multiple Disabilities; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Neurosciences; Original Paper; Parents; Pediatrics; Personality Assessment - statistics & numerical data; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public Health; Rating Scales; Reference Values; Risk; Risk Factors; Sample Size; Sibling Relations; Siblings; Social Adjustment; Social Behavior; Standardization; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Twins
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-011-1368-9

Research findings describing the emotional and behavioral functioning of typically developing (TD) siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are contradictory. Methodological issues, such as small study sample sizes and reliance on parent report, may contribute to inconsistent findings. The purpose of this study was to use parent and teacher report to describe presence of internalizing and externalizing behaviors among a large sample ( n  = 486) of TD siblings of children with ASD. Results indicated that siblings did not exhibit a disproportionate prevalence of internalizing or externalizing symptoms in comparison to the standardization sample of the rating scale. The presence of a sibling with an ASD may not be considered a risk-factor for adjustment problems among TD siblings.