Relationships Between Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Siblings: Influences of Behavioral Problems and Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

One of the prominent characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a delay in the development of socialization and communication. Although the relationships between children with autism spectrum disorder and their siblings with typical development may be different from those among siblings all of whom have typical development, only a few studies have investigated features of the relationships between children with autism spectrum disorder and their siblings. In the present study, the Japanese version of the Furman and Buhrmester (1984) Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) was factor analyzed. Then, using that questionnaire, influences on sibling relationships of behavioral problems associated with autism spectrum disorder and of intellectual disabilities that children with autism spectrum disorder have, were examined. The results showed that the ratings of relationships between the children with autism spectrum disorder and their siblings had lower scores on "warmth/closeness" and "power relationships" when the children with autism spectrum disorder also had intellectual disabilities, compared to when the children with autism spectrum disorder had high functioning intelligence and also compared to the relationships among siblings all of whom had typical development. Moreover, in general, "lethargy/withdrawal" was significantly negatively correlated with "warmth/closeness" (r = 0.53). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)