First Advisor
Hess, Robyn S.
Document Type
Dissertation
Date Created
12-2017
Department
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, School Psychology, School Psychology Student Work
Abstract
The entry of a child with a disability into the family system can contribute to unique challenges, and potentially, joys for their families. Designed from a psychological resilience framework, this post-intentional phenomenological study specifically focused on the process of adaptation for five older siblings who had a younger sibling with an intellectual disability. To understand their perspectives about what their experiences had entailed, each adolescent participant wrote a daily check-in journal and completed both a photo-elicitation interview and a semi-structured interview. The results of this study indicated that adolescent older siblings adjusted to having a sibling with a disability by engaging in protective processes at the individual and familial levels. While participants described facing significant sources of stress, they also perceived that they had benefited because of their sibling relationship. While this study detailed how older siblings can adapt to having a sibling with a disability, additional research is needed to further understand the sources of risk and resilience these older siblings can encounter. Findings from this study might be applied by parents, families, and professionals to promote resilience processes for these older siblings.
Extent
225 pages
Local Identifiers
Reimers_unco_0161D_01613
Rights Statement
Copyright is held by the author.
Recommended Citation
Reimers, Bradley Hugh, "It’s Different: Perceptions of Risk and Resilience in Older Siblings of Children with Disabilities" (2017). Dissertations. 472.
https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations/472