The Siblings of Individuals with Mental Retardation: A Quantitative Integration of the Literature

“I love my sister, but sometimes I don't”: A qualitative study into the experiences of siblings of a child with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities

“…Positive experiences were shared about activities together with their brother or sister and the joy they felt when their sibling is content. This corresponds with Rossiter and Sharpe's (2001) review study, in which the authors concluded that there is at most a minor negative effect on siblings but that positive aspects are present as well.…”

“…In a meta-analysis on the functioning of siblings of children with an ID, Rossiter and Sharpe (2001) stated as a main outcome a statistically significant but small negative effect for having a sibling with ID. Previously conducted sibling studies have used several methods for accessing the experiences of siblings, namely, by parent reports and sibling self-reports.…”

“…Previously conducted sibling studies have used several methods for accessing the experiences of siblings, namely, by parent reports and sibling self-reports. The FQOL studies (Brown et al, 2006;Hoffman et al, 2006) have incorporated parental views of the experiences of the sibling of a child with ID, as have other studies (Rossiter & Sharpe, 2001). This is odd, as research has also shown that siblings and parents have a different view on the influence of a child with ID on his/her sibling (Guite, Lobato, Kao, & Plante, 2004).…”

Maternal perceptions of sibling adaptation in Korean families of children with Down syndrome

“…Reviews of research on siblings of children with DS and other disabilities (Rossiter & Sharpe 2001;Stoneman 2001Stoneman , 2005Choi & Van Riper 2013) suggest that sibling adaptation is influenced by a complex variety of factors including competencies and behavioural problems of the child with disabilities, household and caregiving responsibilities given to the TD sibling, differential parental attention (perceived favouritism of one sibling over the other), parental psychological well-being, the nature of subsystem relationships within the family, and family variables such as family demands and family resources. Despite growing recognition that family context plays a critical role in sibling adaptation in families of children with disabilities (Giallo & Gavidia-Payne 2006), only a few researchers have examined how family factors influence sibling adaptation in families of children with DS.…”

“…Moreover, many of the existing studies have been conducted with siblings of children with Down syndrome (DS), the most common genetic cause of ID (National Down Syndrome Society 2013). However, our understanding of this sibling experience remains incomplete because most of the participants in the existing studies were Caucasian individuals from either North America or Europe (Rossiter & Sharpe 2001;Stoneman 2001Stoneman , 2005Skotko et al 2011a;Nielsen et al 2012;Choi & Van Riper 2013). Given that DS occurs in all races and ethnicities (National Down Syndrome Society 2013) and that societal values and cultural beliefs are likely to play a critical role in how one responds to the sibling experience of living with DS, there is an urgent need for research that includes non-Caucasian participants from countries outside of North America and Europe.…”