McKenzie Smith, Mhairi;
(2020)
Psychological Wellbeing of Siblings of Children and Young People with Chronic Health Conditions.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
The psychological wellbeing of individuals with a brother or sister with a chronic illness or condition is at a unique risk. There is a need to further consider the impact on sibling psychological wellbeing from their own perspective within the family unit in order to build a holistic understanding of sibling’s need for support. This thesis includes 10 chapters. The 1st chapter provides a review of the existing literature on sibling psychological wellbeing along with an introduction and overview of the thesis. The 2nd chapter is a systematic review and meta-analysis that synthesises 17 studies and 1,264 participants to consider the effectiveness of support offered to siblings. Chapter 3 introduces a large qualitative research project involving siblings with a brother or sister with cystic fibrosis and their immediate families. The results of the large qualitative study are presented in Chapters 4 to 7, and a family level multiple casestudy analysis in Chapter 8. Chapter 9 increases the depth of understanding of these findings by presenting a mixed methods analysis using the qualitative results and quality of life measures from the siblings and their immediate families. Chapter 10 describes how the results from Chapters 2 to 9 fit within the scope of existing research and theory, and identifies how best to support siblings. Results of this thesis suggest that the evidence of effectiveness of sibling support is inconsistent and measures used may lack the necessary sensitivity. Although siblings generally did not identify a large impact on themselves, it was clear from both the qualitative analysis and the mixed methods study that many siblings used avoidance coping mechanisms. When it became more difficult to avoid their brother's or sister’s health condition siblings felt an impact to a greater extent. Interventions may be best targeted at siblings during stressful times.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Psychological Wellbeing of Siblings of Children and Young People with Chronic Health Conditions |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2020. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. - Some third party copyright material has been removed from this e-thesis. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10100202 |
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