Martis Chiara, Levante Annalisa, Lecciso Flavia
Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, Via di Valesio, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
Lab of Applied Psychology, Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, Via di Valesio, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ. 2025 Jul 29;15(8):147. doi: 10.3390/ejihpe15080147.
The diagnosis of a disability in a child may significantly impact the entire family system. While existing literature has primarily focused on parental reaction to the diagnosis, little is known about how typically developing siblings process this event.
This exploratory study presented the preliminary psychometric properties of the Reaction to Diagnosis Questionnaire-Sibling Version, adapted from an instrument originally designed to assess parental reaction to the child's diagnosis. Following a back-translation and adaptation process, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 623 typically developing siblings ( = 24.6 years, = 5.76) of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders or physical disabilities.
Exploratory factor analyses supported a refined 32-item questionnaire with two factors-lack of resolution versus resolution, both showing excellent internal reliability. No significant differences were found based on typically developing sibling sex, age, or type of disability of the brother/sister, while correlational analyses indicated that greater disability severity was associated with lower resolution and higher lack of resolution.
Results suggested that the Reaction to Diagnosis Questionnaire-Sibling Version is a promising tool for assessing the reaction to the brother/sister diagnosis on behalf of the typically developing siblings. Further research is needed to confirm these results and inform intervention programs promoting well-being and adaptive family functioning.
儿童残疾的诊断可能会对整个家庭系统产生重大影响。虽然现有文献主要关注父母对诊断的反应，但对于发育正常的兄弟姐妹如何应对这一事件却知之甚少。
本探索性研究展示了《诊断反应问卷-兄弟姐妹版》的初步心理测量特性，该问卷改编自最初用于评估父母对孩子诊断反应的工具。经过回译和改编过程后，对623名发育正常的兄弟姐妹（平均年龄 = 24.6岁，标准差 = 5.76）进行了横断面研究，这些兄弟姐妹的哥哥或姐姐患有神经发育障碍或身体残疾。
探索性因素分析支持了一份经过优化的32项问卷，该问卷有两个因素——未解决与解决，两者均显示出出色的内部信度。根据发育正常的兄弟姐妹的性别、年龄或其哥哥/姐姐的残疾类型未发现显著差异，而相关分析表明，残疾严重程度越高，解决程度越低，未解决程度越高。
结果表明，《诊断反应问卷-兄弟姐妹版》是一种很有前景的工具，可用于评估发育正常的兄弟姐妹对其哥哥/姐姐诊断的反应。需要进一步的研究来证实这些结果，并为促进幸福感和适应性家庭功能的干预项目提供信息。
