Parent and Well-Sibling Communication in Families With a Child Who Has a Life-Limiting Condition: Quantitative Survey Data
Abstract Objective Living with a child with a life-limiting condition (LLC), for which there is no hope of cure and premature death is expected, places much stress on a family unit. Familial communication has the potential to serve as a buffer when children are faced with stressful situations. The o...
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Published in | Journal of pediatric psychology Vol. 47; no. 5; pp. 606 - 616 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Oxford University Press
13.05.2022
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Abstract
Objective
Living with a child with a life-limiting condition (LLC), for which there is no hope of cure and premature death is expected, places much stress on a family unit. Familial communication has the potential to serve as a buffer when children are faced with stressful situations. The overall aim of the study was to learn more about illness-related communication between parents and well-siblings, giving particular consideration to the amount of illness-related communication, and sibling satisfaction with familial communication.
Methods
Participants included 48 well-siblings (aged 6–21 years) of children with LLCs and their parents. Parents and well-siblings independently completed validated measures of familial communication and sibling functioning. Parents also provided demographic information and completed a questionnaire assessing amount of illness-related information provided to well-siblings.
Results
Parents reported that 47.8% of well-siblings never or rarely initiated conversations about their sibling's illness. Moreover, 52.2% of well-siblings never or rarely spoke about death. Amount of illness-related communication between parents and well-siblings was most strongly predicted by parental resilience and well-sibling age. Parents engaged in significantly more illness-related communication with girls than boys (t(44)=−2.28, p = .028). Well-siblings (p < .01) and parents (p < .05) rated satisfaction with familial communication significantly higher than published norms. The only significant predictor of well-sibling satisfaction with familial communication was greater familial cohesion. Family communication variables were not significantly correlated with measures of sibling functioning (all p’s>.05).
Conclusions
This study provides new information regarding parent and well-sibling communication in families who have a child with a LLC. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0146-8693 1465-735X |
DOI: | 10.1093/jpepsy/jsab128 |