Coping Strategies in Adolescent Siblings of Individuals with and Without Physical Disability

Abstract

Raising a child with a physical disability can be challenging for families and may demand strong coping strategies to maintain stability in family relationships. According to the previous literature, sibling bond is a process that plays a vital role in an individual's growth and development since childhood. Thus, it is very important to understand the underlying linkage between siblings. This study aims to extrapolate the affinity amongst siblings and their way of coping when one individual is physically disabled, as these siblings may carry potential triggers of disturbed emotional state. This comparative study included 100 overall participants. 50 participants for each of the two groups without gender specification, selected by purposive sampling from different special schools in Karachi, Pakistan. The measures involved, Coping Strategy Indicator, Amirkhan (1994a) which is a self-reporting scale along with a demographic form. It was formulated that, the coping strategies of typically developing adolescent siblings of individuals without physical disability had no difference as compared to the coping strategies present in typically developing adolescent siblings of individuals with physical disability. This study serves as an implication for the psychologists and care givers who need to be well-adjusted to the needs of both disabled and non-disabled individuals, as the results depict an integral literature for different institutionalized settings where disabled individuals receive better support needed by them to establish further stronger bonds within their household especially with their siblings.