| This study examined resilience in siblings of children with autism and the role of social support. As the prevalence of autism spectrum diagnoses continues to increase, it is important to understand how families are impacted. Previous studies have mainly focused on mothers of children with autism, and the impact of being a caregiver for a child with special needs. Fewer investigations have focused on the siblings of children with autism. Furthermore, the literature has predominately reported the negative impact on siblings. Studies considering positive outcomes for siblings of children with autism are less common. Therefore, this study investigated attributes of resilience, in siblings of children with autism, in order to highlight the strengths of this population.;This study analyzed data obtained from 60 siblings of children with an autism spectrum disorder. The siblings were between the ages of 9 and 11. The participants completed an online survey, answering questions related to mastery, relationships, emotion regulation, and social support. This study utilized the Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents (RSCA), developed by Prince-Embury (2007), to assess the siblings' resources and vulnerabilities. In addition, the investigator used the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS), developed by Malecki, Demaray, Elliott, and Nolten (1999), to measure the siblings' perception of available social support.;The results of this study revealed that siblings of children with autism differed from the normative sample. While siblings had average personal resources, they had higher levels of vulnerability. The siblings in this sample were significantly more vulnerable than the normative sample because they experienced intense emotional reactions, which impaired their psychological functioning. These findings did not support the hypothesis that the sibling sample would not differ significantly from the normative sample. Furthermore, social support was significantly correlated with the siblings' resource scores; yet, it was not significantly related to the vulnerability scores. The results of this study suggest that the siblings of children with autism are a more vulnerable population because there appears to be an imbalance in terms of having higher levels of emotional reactivity and lower levels of personal resources to cope. |
