The psychosocial development of adolescent siblings of children with spina bifida

Royle, Catherine M. (1990) The psychosocial development of adolescent siblings of children with spina bifida. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (21MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

A qualitative research study was undertaken to describe the developmental experiences of adolescents who have a sibling with spina bifida and to examine the impact of having a physically disabled sibling on the development of such adolescents. The developmental tasks of Duvall and Miller (1985) provided a conceptual framework for exploring the developmental experiences of adolescents and sorting and analyzing the data. -- Eleven adolescents, with the approval of their parents, participated in the study which involved tape recorded interviews. The guided interview process was utilized to obtain descriptions of the adolescents' experiences related to their development. -- The analysis revealed that the adolescents were in the process of achieving the developmental tasks appropriate for their age group. The experience of living with a child with a physical disability did have some impact on specific developmental tasks. Many of the adolescents demonstrated a maturity in development of specific tasks and this may be related to the experience of living with a child with a physical disability. Having a sibling with spina bifida has an impact upon six major areas during adolescence: 1) family responsibilities, 2) parental relationships, 3) sibling interaction, 4) school, 5) friends and peers, and 6) personal maturation.

Actions (login required)

View Item