Psychological adjustment of siblings of children with Prader-Willi syndrome

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Siblings of children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) may be at elevated risk for poor psychological adjustment (Mazaheri, M. M., Rae-Seebach, R. D., Preston, H. E., Schmidt, M., Kountz-Edwards, S., Field, N., Cassidy, S., Packman, Wet al. (2013). The impact of Prader-Willi syndrome on the family’s quality of life and caregiving, and the unaffected siblings’ psychosocial adjustment. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 57(9), 861–873. ; O’Neill, L. P., & Murray, L. E. (2016). Anxiety and depression symptomatology in adult siblings of individuals with different developmental disability diagnoses. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 51, 116–125. ). The current study describes psychological distress and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in non-disabled siblings. Method Fifty-eight siblings and 86 parents participated. Results Parents reported that almost 40% of siblings had psychological symptoms that exceeded clinical cut-off scores; 58.9% of siblings reported symptoms of PTSD that exceeded diagnostic cut-off scores. Symptoms were significantly related to family organisation and control per parent report and negative affect per sibling report. Conclusion Growing up with a sibling with PWS may challenge adaptive resources of non-disabled siblings, leaving them vulnerable to psychological distress. Those who care for children with PWS are in a unique position to educate families about the potential vulnerability of non-disabled siblings. We encourage routine screening and support for affected family members, especially siblings.