Predicting the Emotions of Brothers and Sisters of Individuals with Down Syndrome/Autism

Within a family system, when a sibling is diagnosed with Down Syndrome (DS) or autism, it can pose significant challenges for the non-diagnosed sibling, especially as the non-diagnosed sibling is often responsible for the future care of the diagnosed sibling. DS and autism have specific characteristics that may uniquely influence sibling relations, particularly the emotions towards the sibling with the disability. The current study focused on the role of sense of coherence (SOC) in predicting the emotions of emerging adult siblings of individuals with DS/autism. There were 543 participants ranging in age from 18 to 27 (M = 22.33, SD = 2.49): 306 were siblings (105 brothers, 201 sisters) of individuals with DS and 237 siblings (89 brothers, 148 sisters) of individuals with autism. Participants completed self-report questionnaires on emotions, SOC, and demographics. Factor analysis revealed that emotions comprised active negative emotions, passive negative emotions, and positive emotions. Path analysis results showed that SOC predicted all three emotion types, with the disability (DS/autism) and the sex of the typically-developing sibling involved in this relation. The results highlight the importance of addressing the unique needs of siblings of individuals with DS/autism both in terms of the type of disability and according to their sex.