| Abstract: | The birth of a child with a handicapping condition creates tremendous turmoil and disruption in the family. Because of stresses inherent in the diagnosis of a child with a congenital handicap, researchers have indicated that these families often experience clinical depression, marital difficulties or divorce, loss of social support, disruptions in everyday family life, and strained or problematic sibling relationships and adaptation. In particular, the siblings of children with disabilities have often been found to be suffering from psychological, behavioral, and somatic problems. In this investigation, we explored the behavioral adjustment of the siblings of children with craniofacial anomalies. One hundred and twenty age and sex matched children with craniofacial anomalies were split into groups based upon the visibility of their diagnosis. The siblings of children with visible anomalies (cleft lip, any craniofacial syndromes) and children with invisible anomalies (cleft palate, submucous cleft) were compared with siblings of a comparison group. To assess the siblings' behavior, care-givers were asked to complete the Child Behavior Checklist. In addition, other variables that have been found to be influential in the adaptation of siblings to a handicapped child were measured. The severity of the child's impairments were assessed by the Revised Denver Developmental Screening Test. Similarly, caregivers were asked to complete the Social Support Questionnaire and the Short Marital Adjustment Test. Results indicated that the siblings of children with craniofacial anomalies did not experience significant levels of behavior problems when compared to a control group. The visibility of the child's deformity, the degree of parental social support, parental marital satisfaction, and maternal depression did, however, seem to significantly impact sibling behavior. |
