The Moderating Role of Self-Disclosure Among Typically Developing Siblings of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder
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ORIGINAL PAPER
The Moderating Role of Self-Disclosure Among Typically Developing Siblings of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Megan Murrin1 Jenna H. Beffel
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Amy K. Nuttall
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Accepted: 30 September 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Typically developing siblings (TDS) of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have high caregiving responsibilities for parents (parent-focused parentification; PFP) or siblings (sibling-focused parentification; SFP). Prior research demonstrates that PFP is associated with TDS’ adjustment risk whereas SFP is associated with positive sibling relationships and social support moderates these associations. The purpose of the present study (N = 108) was to extended prior work by examining self-disclosure of worries about siblings with ASD to parents as a moderator between both parentification roles and TDS’ relational and adjustment outcomes. TDS college students ages 18 to 24 (M = 20.37, SD = 1.55) completed online surveys assessing parentification, disclosure, negative sibling interactions, depressive symptoms, well-being, and self-esteem. High disclosure to parents was protective against risk to well-being at high levels of PFP, which suggests a family pattern in which TDS’ caregiving is reciprocated by parents to underscore the importance of parents as a critical source of social support for TDS during the transition to adulthood. The impact of disclosure was more nuanced in the context of sibling-focused parentification; high disclosure to parents was associated with risk to sibling relationships at high levels of SFP and enhanced well-being at low levels of SFP, suggesting that the benefit of self-disclosure is not maintained when TDS’ responsibilities for siblings are too great. Keywords Siblings Social support Parentification Broad autism phenotype Autism ●
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Highlights Disclosing worries about their siblings with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to parents is a critical support process for typically developing siblings (TDS) ● TDS may experience both positive and negative effects of caregiving roles ● When providing care to parents support reciprocity is important for TDS’ well-being ● Turning to parents may not be as useful for coping with sibling caregiving roles ●
The experience of having a sibling with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has both positive and negative influences on typically developing siblings (TDS; Hodapp et al. 2005; Meadan et al. 2010). In the TDS literature, there is a need to understand the family processes through which TDS are
* Amy K. Nuttall [email protected] 1
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
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Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Center for Research in Autism, Intellectual, and Other Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
impacted (Meadan et al. 2010). One family process impacting TDS is parentification. In chil
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