The Moderating Role of Social Support in Siblings' Negative Feelings Toward Children with Neurodevelopmental

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Shunsuke Suzumura1, Satoko Ando2

  • 1Department of Child Psychiatry, Tokyo Metropolitan Ohtsuka Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. s.suzumura@mac.com.

Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|November 22, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Siblings of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) experience negative feelings due to challenging behaviors. Social support can reduce these feelings, especially when the sibling

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Family Studies

Background:

  • Siblings of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) often face challenging behaviors.
  • Limited research exists on the emotional responses of these siblings.
  • Understanding these emotional responses is crucial for family well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the link between discomfort from challenging behaviors and negative feelings in siblings of children with NDD.
  • To investigate if social support moderates this association.
  • To identify protective factors for sibling emotional adjustment.

Main Methods:

  • A self-report questionnaire administered to 127 siblings of children with NDD.
  • Development of scales to measure discomfort, negative feelings, and perceived social support.
  • Statistical analysis to examine correlations and moderation effects.

Main Results:

  • A significant positive correlation was found between sibling discomfort and persistent negative feelings.
  • Perceived social support moderated the association, reducing negative feelings.
  • The buffering effect of social support was less pronounced with higher levels of discomfort.

Conclusions:

  • Social support plays a protective role in the emotional adjustment of siblings of children with NDD.
  • Interventions aimed at increasing social support may benefit these siblings.
  • The intensity of challenging behaviors influences the effectiveness of social support.

Keywords:
Neurodevelopmental disordersPersistent negative feelingsSibling bullyingSocial support

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