Impacts of Sibling Relations on Sociality, Communication, and Autism Severity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Retrospective Analysis.

Objective: This study investigated the differences in sociality, communication, and autism severity in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to the presence or absence of siblings, the number of siblings, the order of birth, and the sex of sibling.

Methods: We included 71 children with autism spectrum disorder who visited University Hospital as outpatients. We compared the communication and socialization scores using the Korean Version of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, second edition (K-VABS II); social interaction, communication, and language using the autism diagnostic interview-revised (ADI-R); and the total score of the Korean-Childhood Autism Rating Scale 2 (K-CARS 2) according to the presence or absence of siblings, the number of siblings, the order of birth and the sex of sibling. Data were evaluated with independent t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests.

Results: The patient's average age was 48.8 ± 13.6 months. There was a significant difference in the total score of K-CARS-2 according to the sex of siblings. The male sibling group was 34.36 ± 6.11 and the female sibling group was 30.29 ± 6.41 points, respectively.

Conclusion: This result indicates that the quality of sibling interactions in families with a child with ASD may play a significant role in reducing ASD severity and improving the quality of sibling interactions, rather than the number of siblings alone affecting the social interactions of children with ASD.