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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

daily coping, children with disability, sibling with a disability, daily stressors

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

Abstract

A child with a disability may be a unique stressor to all members of the family. For years, researchers have focused on the parents and the child with a disability in the family. However, fewer studies have specifically focused on typically developing siblings of children with disabilities. Therefore, to extend previous research, the purpose of this study was to examine the coping styles used by siblings in families where there is a child with a disability. Medical and practical improvements have increased the lifespan of disabled children and the amount of time they spend at home. Because of this, siblings are more likely to be affected today than in the past (Cox et al., 2002). According to Lobato and associates (1988), the relationship among siblings is one of the most significant, prominent, and long-lasting of all human associations. Stoneman and Brody (1993) note that most disabled children are not the only child in the home. Therefore, siblings of children with disabilities are fairly common. Research indicates that families give meaning and solidity to life through a wide range of established patterns of functioning. Illnesses and disabilities, however, demand change within these set patterns (McCubbin, 1993). In order to change these patterns of functioning, children must develop coping methods that they can use on a daily basis. Unfortunately, most research reveals that disabilities have predominately negative effects. Therefore, in an effort to improve health and life within the home, this qualitative study focused on the various ways that siblings cope with daily stressors.

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