Relationships between siblings with and without disabilities. An overview of research

This overview of research on relations between siblings with and without di sabilities addresses four aspects: (1) the role relationships between sibli ngs, (2) the amount of contact between siblings, (3) qualitative aspects of this contact, and (4) type of play behavior. Research shows that a charact eristic feature of the relationship between siblings with and without disab ilities is a greater role asymmetry compared with pairs of nondisabled sibl ings: Regardless of birth order, the nondisabled sibling adopts a dominant position. Contact between siblings is generally not restricted, and sibling relations are generally rated positively by both nondisabled siblings and parents. Play behavior reveals that nondisabled siblings try to compensate the differences in play level and thus establish the necessary precondition s for playing together. Research has singled out three factors that could impact on relations betwe en siblings with and without disability: (1) differential attention paid to siblings by parents, (2) the transfer of childcare responsibilities to the nondisabled sibling, and (3) the type of disability. The state of research on the impact these three factors exert on sibling relations is reported. Finally, conclusions are drawn for providing psychosocial support to famili es with disabled children.