Stress and siblings

A study was undertaken to investigate the stress experienced by healthy siblings of children undergoing hospitalisation for an acute condition. Nineteen children aged between seven and 11 years old, who had had a sibling hospitalised for 24 hours or more for a surgical, medical or traumatic condition were interviewed. The amount of stress experienced by the siblings was quantified using a perceived change scale (PCS). It was found that 77 per cent of the subjects included in the study had experienced stress during the hospitalisation of a sibling. Siblings over the age of seven years, and those who had visited the hospitalised child more than once, had experienced more behavioural changes. Of those who experienced stress, 77 per cent had feelings of sadness during that time.