Risk and resilience factors impacting the mental health and wellbeing of siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions: A mixed methods systematic review

Cultural applicability and desirability of ‘Broodles’: The first serious game intervention for siblings of children with disabilities

“…Therefore, some families might have been more positive, because they have inflated expectations of the game, whereas other families might have been more negative, because they have not played the levels with themes that are more recognizable to them. Generalizability of the results is restricted, as we used a small sample size and did not further investigate important demographics, such as socio-economic status, disability type, comorbidities, and symptom severity, and the siblings' own (subclinical) neurodivergence [ 10 , 16 ]. Therefore, this study does not provide insight into which families might be more positive about this intervention, or might benefit more.…”

“…Siblings of children with disabilities represent an at-risk group [ 8 ]. Recent reviews and meta-analyses have shown that siblings have increased risk of mental health problems and decreased well-being compared to peers ( g = 0.13–0.22) [ [8] , [9] , [10] ]. Siblings may also show more prosocial behaviour than controls [ 9 ].…”

“…“Double protection” means parents and children try to emotionally protect each other by avoiding talking about sensitive topics [ 14 , 15 ]. The impact of having a brother or sister with a disability on siblings' well-being is associated with a large number of interrelated risk and resilience factors on the individual, family, and structural level such as sibling executive functioning and coping skills, diagnosis type and symptom severity, socio-economic status, parental stress, and social support [ 10 , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] ]. Researchers have emphasised that siblings may benefit from preventive support to enhance their quality of life, well-being, and coping skills [ 11 , 20 ].…”

“…These aims are targeted through videos, reflective questions, mini-games about helpful thoughts and emotions, confirmations, and explanations. The components of the game tap into important risk and resilience factors associated with sibling well-being, including adaptive emotional functioning, coping skills, and social support [ 10 , 16 ]. The game incorporates important mechanisms in sibling interventions: ‘validation of feelings and experiences’, ‘increased communication with the parent’, and ‘respite’ [ 24 ].…”

Positive family connections for families of children with a developmental disability: Cluster randomized controlled trial.

“…Family members of people with a developmental disability (such as an intellectual disability, autism, and genetic syndromes associated with intellectual disability or autism) are at greater risk of adverse psychological and family outcomes. Compared with families of children without a developmental disability, systematic reviews and meta-analyses indicate that children with a developmental disability, their siblings, and parents are more likely to display increased symptoms of mental health problems (Bougeard et al, 2021; Buckley et al, 2020; Rydzewska et al, 2021; Wolff et al, 2022). Family members of individuals with a developmental disability can experience added strain in their relationships, on average reporting poorer family functioning (Jackson et al, 2022; Pisula & Porębowicz-Dörsmann, 2017) and reduced parental relationship satisfaction (Sim et al, 2016).…”