Untitled program for siblings of children with disabilities

OVERVIEW

This after-school program is designed to provide children who have a sibling with a disability with a rewarding and supportive environment where they can have positive interactions with peers and adults in the community.  To create this environment, the program provides group discussions about the childrens’ concerns, homework assistance, and recreational activities. The group discussions are designed to help children understand and alleviate the stress caused by having a sibling with a developmental disability. An evaluation of the program found that children in the program had significantly improved socioemotional functioning (ability to show affection, respect, or social acceptance of another person), reduced stress levels and self-esteem anxiety, and increased social support.  While the children in the control group did not show considerable improvements, the quality of the sibling relationship was not affected.

 

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

 

Target population: Siblings of children with developmental disabilities from economically disadvantaged families.

 

The program is designed to provide children with a rewarding and supportive environment where they can have positive interactions with peers and adults.  This positive environment is intended to help children reduce stress and to “do and feel better”.  In addition, the program seeks to lessen the impact of multiple stressors experienced by children who have a sibling with developmental disabilities.

 

The program is a 15-week program that offers three components: group discussions about developmental disabilities, recreational activities, and homework assistance.  The program meets every weekday for an hour and a half and is led by team leaders and volunteers.  At the beginning of each session, the children engaged in a group discussion where children had the opportunity to discuss concerns and also discuss a pre-selected topic.  They children were also provided tutoring for their homework and participated in structured and unstructured recreational activities.

 

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

 

Evaluated population: Participants in this study consisted of 180 African American children from a low income East Coast inner city. 

 

Approach: The participants ranged in age from 9 to 12 with an average age of 11.3. The children all had at least one sibling with developmental disabilities. The participants in the overall sample were 60 percent female.

 

Six team leaders and seven volunteers staffed the program, and each team leader was responsible for a group of 15 children.  The children were randomly assigned to either a program or a control group. The participants in the program group received the after-school program while the participants in the control group were placed on a waiting list.  Both groups were given a pre-test before the start of the program.  One-week before the end of the program the intervention group was given a post-test, and one-week later the control group was given the post-test.

 

A variety of measures were collected from the children using several surveys.  To measure depression, anxiety and self-esteem of program participants, the researchers used the Children’s Depression Inventory, the Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale-Revised, and the Self-Esteem Questionnaire.  To measure child perceived social support, the Perceived Social Support Scale-Revised was used.  The researchers measured stress using the Daily Hassles Questionnaire. Family functioning was measured using the Family Environment Scale, and sibling relationships were measured using the Sibling Relationships Questionnaire.

 

Results: Results of the study indicate that overall, children in the after-school program group had improved socioemotional functioning, reported less stress, and more social support while there were no changes for children in the control group (F’s ranging from 4.23 to 5.47).  The researchers compared scores on the questionnaires and determined that there were no significant differences between the two groups at pre-test. At post-test, the researchers found that children in the program group reported reduced depression (F=4.33), anxiety (F=4.31) and increased levels of self-esteem (F’s between 4.31 and 5.47), whereas their control counterparts did not experience any significant change.  In addition, program participants had significantly less sibling-related stress (F=4.77), however, they did not have any significant differences on the parent-related or home-life subscales of the Daily Hassles Questionnaire.  Program participants also reported significantly higher levels of social support (F’s between 4.23 and 4.33).  Finally, researchers found no differences on measures of family functioning or sibling relationships.

 

The researchers state that because all three components of the program were administered to all the children in the intervention groups, it is difficult to isolate the effect of any program component.

 

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

References

 

Phillips, R.S.C. (1999). Intervention with siblings of children with developmental disabilities from economically disadvantaged families. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 80(6), 569-577.

 

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

 

Evaluated participant ages: 9-12 / Program age ranges in the Guide:  6-11, 12-14

Program components: Clinic/Provider-based

 

Measured outcomes: social and emotional health and development; mental health.

 

KEYWORDS: Middle Childhood (6-11), Adolescence (12-17), Children, Social/Emotional Health, Mental Health, Anxiety, Therapy/Counseling, Tutoring, Clinic/Provider-based, Self Esteem, Stress, Urban, African American or Black.

 

Program information last updated 07/1/09.