[Psychometric Properties of the German Version of the Sibling Perception Questionnaire (SPQ)]

The Sibling Perception Questionnaire (SPQ) measures the impact a cancer disease of a child has on a sibling's interpersonal relations in the family, communication, intrapersonal perceptions and fear of the disease. Aim of this study was the psychometric evaluation of the German version of the SPQ. For this purpose, data of 216 healthy siblings including 164 self-reports and 212 parent reports were gathered. For further analyses the 4 subscales "interpersonal difficulties", "intrapersonal difficulties", "open communication" and "fear of the disease" with overall 23 items were evaluated. Sufficient internal consistencies in the parent report (Cronbach's α between 0.73 and 0.87) and in the self-report version (α between 0.59 and 0.80) were found for all subscales except the subscale fear of the disease (α=0.35 and 0.16). Regarding external validity, significant correlations emerged between scales of the SPQ and scales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Quality of Life Inventory for Children (LQ-KID) (r=- 0.37; r=0.63; p≤0.001). The German version of the SPQ can be regarded as a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of emotional responses of healthy children on their sibling's cancer disease. Further investigations on different samples are recommended.