MayRoseLilli
Siblings of Chronically Ill Children
Improving the Coping of Siblings of Ill Children Williams PD, Williams AR, Graff C, et al. A community-based intervention for siblings and parents of children with chronic illness or disability: the ISEE study. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2003;143:386-393.
Children with a severe chronic illness or disability often require a lot of family resources. The siblings of these children demonstrate a number of developmental and behavioral problems, including low self-esteem, shyness, loneliness and isolation, anxiety and depression, delinquency, and poor school performance. Researchers developed the Intervention for Siblings: Experience and Enhancement (ISEE) and tested its effectiveness in promoting positive development and growth with 254 siblings of children with a variety of chronic illnesses or developmental disabilities. The siblings averaged 11 years of age, roughly 85% were white, and more than 80% came from families with 2 parents in the home. Siblings in the full intervention attended a 5-day summer camp, where they received education about the illness affecting their brother or sister from a pediatric nurse clinician, along with group psychosocial sessions to share experiences, talk about their feelings, and learn ways of coping. Booster sessions were provided at 4 and 9 months after the camp to reinforce the camp experience. Parents also attended an education session at the camp and at the booster sessions. A second sibling group received a partial intervention involving a summer camp session without the educational and psychosocial components. A third group received no intervention, although they were offered a camp session after the completion of the study. Siblings in the full ISEE group demonstrated a 10% increase in knowledge about the involved illness, along with an improvement in mood and a decrease in problem behaviors. Those in the full and the partial interventions showed gains in self-esteem, while all 3 groups improved in social support and decreased in negative attitude about the illness. With the help of the booster sessions, these positive effects were sustained at 1 year after the intervention.
Children with a severe chronic illness or disability often require a lot of family resources. The siblings of these children demonstrate a number of developmental and behavioral problems, including low self-esteem, shyness, loneliness and isolation, anxiety and depression, delinquency, and poor school performance. Researchers developed the Intervention for Siblings: Experience and Enhancement (ISEE) and tested its effectiveness in promoting positive development and growth with 254 siblings of children with a variety of chronic illnesses or developmental disabilities. The siblings averaged 11 years of age, roughly 85% were white, and more than 80% came from families with 2 parents in the home. Siblings in the full intervention attended a 5-day summer camp, where they received education about the illness affecting their brother or sister from a pediatric nurse clinician, along with group psychosocial sessions to share experiences, talk about their feelings, and learn ways of coping. Booster sessions were provided at 4 and 9 months after the camp to reinforce the camp experience. Parents also attended an education session at the camp and at the booster sessions. A second sibling group received a partial intervention involving a summer camp session without the educational and psychosocial components. A third group received no intervention, although they were offered a camp session after the completion of the study. Siblings in the full ISEE group demonstrated a 10% increase in knowledge about the involved illness, along with an improvement in mood and a decrease in problem behaviors. Those in the full and the partial interventions showed gains in self-esteem, while all 3 groups improved in social support and decreased in negative attitude about the illness. With the help of the booster sessions, these positive effects were sustained at 1 year after the intervention.
