ABSTRACT
This chapter considers research concerning psychological adaptation of healthy siblings and the implications for research and comprehensive care concerning chronically ill children and their families. Systematic studies of sibling psychological adaptation are relatively new and represent a welcome trend toward a family-centered perspective in chronic illness research. Chronic illness is a stressor which, in interaction with other variables, may contribute to increased risk of psychological disturbance for some siblings. Type and severity of disability bore no relationship to sibling psychological functioning, nor did sex, age, or birth order. The problem of research design concerning sibling psychological adaptation transcends the formidable problem of ruling out extraneous influences. Practitioners may find a number of strategies to be helpful in improving sibling psychological adaptation. Despite general agreement that the psychological needs of siblings may be underemphasized in comprehensive care of chronically ill children, there have been few descriptions of formal or informal intervention strategies for siblings.
