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The Quality Of The Sibling Relationship Of Children Diagnosed With Autism, Kelly C. O'Laughlin

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Seldom has the quality of the sibling relationship between children with disabilities and their siblings without disabilities been explored, particularly via firsthand accounts from the non-disabled sibling, rather than from parental observations and reports. Furthermore, research has shown mixed results regarding whether or not the siblings of children with disabilities have increased internalizing (anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder) or externalizing (attention deficits, hyperactivity, and oppositional) behaviors, psychosocial maladjustment, or impaired developmental stages, as opposed to siblings of children without disabilities. This study attempted to determine whether or not there was a correlation between the severity of autism disability; as …