Sibling relationships and internalizing symptoms of youth in foster care

Abstract

Compared to the sibling literature of the general population, little is known about sibling relationships of youth in foster care. The current study aimed to report on sibling relationships among youth in foster care, and investigate the potential protective nature of sibling relationships of those who have experienced trauma on the expression of internalizing symptoms among a nationally representative sample of 152 adolescents in foster care. Results indicated that the large majority of the sample was currently separated from their sibling. Of those who were not living with their sibling, nearly three quarters saw their sibling monthly or less frequently with one third of the sample reporting never having any contact with their sibling. In addition, bootstrapping methods were used to determine if sibling relationships mediated the effect of trauma on internalizing symptoms. Results indicated that a positive sibling relationship significantly mediated this relationship. Implications of these findings are discussed. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.