Siblings Dealing with Pediatric Cancer: A Family- and Context-oriented Approach

Background: Pediatric cancer is a severe life-threatening disease that poses significant challenges to the life of the siblings. Based on the social ecology model, the current study is aimed at exploring the association between intrafamilial (family functioning, family support) and contextual (network support) resources, and the individual adjustment of siblings facing cancer in their brother/sister. Methods: Participants were 81 siblings of children with leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The mean siblings’ age was 10.32 years. Siblings completed the Family Environment Scale, the Social Support Questionnaire for Children, the Situation-Specific Emotional Reactions Questionnaire, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Data were analyzed using a multi-level approach. Results: Family functioning, family support, and network support proved to be related to siblings’ cancer-related emotional reactions post-diagnosis. In addition, the present study suggests taking into account the gender of the ill child and the age of the siblings. Discussion: Our findings led to the conclusion that resources at both the intrafamilial level and the contextual level are important for explaining sibling adjustment post-diagnosis. Interventions targeting the sibling, the family, and the external network are warranted to enhance sibling adjustment.

Sibling Adjustment to Childhood Chronic Illness: An Integrative Review

Siblings of children with a chronic illness are among the close family members impacted by childhood chronic illness. Family roles, routines, and functioning are adjusted to fit the needs of the child and family throughout the course of the illness. Empirical articles regarding adjustment of healthy siblings of children with chronic illnesses ages 0 to 17 years, published in 2000 to 2019 were searched on PsycInfo, PubMed, and Medline using the keywords “sibling adjustment,” “sibling chronic,” and “sibling illness.” Through thematic synthesis, four broad topics emerged concerning sibling adjustment to chronic illness: (a) experiences, (b) psychosocial adjustment, (c) coping, and (d) communication. Implications for family nursing and family health practitioners and future research directions are presented.

Maternal Perspectives of Well Siblings’ Adjustment to Family Life With a Technology-Dependent Child

Technology-dependent (TD) children require complex care and are dependent on medical technology. Approximately 75% of families, in the United States, who are caring for a TD child, also care for a well child. Well siblings are likely to be affected by the experience of living with a TD sibling as the process of family normalization is described as a family affair. The experiences of well siblings are not well described. The purpose of this qualitative analysis was to describe the experiences of well siblings who are living in a family with a TD child. Mothers were interviewed about the experiences of their well children and were digitally audio recorded. The interviews were transcribed, and content analysis was conducted. Content analysis from the interviews revealed the major themes of well sibling adjustment within the family unit, upside (altruistic, prosocial behaviors) and downside (negative internal and external processing behaviors). These results can be applied to advance the delivery of family nursing care offered to these families.