Psychological Well-being and Behavioral Effect of Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Abstract
Objective: To investigate on the psychological well-being of the siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder and the correlations between depression and anxiety in the primary caregivers, behavior problems in children with ASD, social support and psychological well-being and behavior problems in siblings of children with ASD.
Methods: The current study used a quantitative approach and in-depth interview method to collect data from the sample group. The target populations were the caregivers of children with ASD and siblings of children with ASD between the age of 7 – 16 years old. Purposive sampling was done and 80 people participated in the study. The research instruments were applied as follows: 1) assessment forms for primary caregivers, which are, depression assessment form (PHQ9), anxiety assessment form (GAD7), The Scales of Independent Behavior–Revised (SIB–R), and The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), 2) assessment forms for the siblings of the children with ASD, which are Social Support Questionnaire and psychological well-being assessment form (MHI). The data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Inferential statistic and content analysis.
Result: It is found that 52.5% of the siblings of the children with ASD have healthy psychological well-being and they had normal behavior (92.5%). The result also reveals that the siblings of the children with ASD aged 7 – 12 are more likely to receive anxiety compared with the siblings of the children with ASD aged 13 – 16. Furthermore, from the correlation analysis, the study shows that the primary caregiver’s depression and the violent behavior of children with ASD were significantly positively correlated with the behavioral problems of siblings of children with ASD. Additionally, receiving social support was significantly positively correlated with the pro-social behavior of the siblings of the children with ASD. The result of the in–depth interview reveals that siblings of children with ASD experience both positive and negative feelings.
Conclusion: Most of the siblings of children with ASD had good mental health and typical behavior. Additionally, the primary caregiver’s depression and the violent behavior of children with ASD were significantly correlated with behavioral problems of siblings of children with ASD. Also, receiving social support was significantly correlated with the pro-social behavior of the siblings of the children with ASD.
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