THE RESPONSE OF CHILDREN TO A SIBLING WITH DIABETES

Yale University, New Haven CT

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Abstract

The management of type I diabetes is a responsibility that has a significant impact not only on the individual child, but on the family as a whole. Little is known about the response of children to a sibling with type I diabetes. The aims are to determine 1) What are the specific responses of children, in the context of the family unit, to living with a sibling with type I diabetes?; 2) Does resilient behavior on the part of the family unit foster adaptation to living with type I diabetes?; and 3) What are the coping strategies used by those children and their families that enhance the adaptation to living with a chronic illness? Data will be collected over a six-month period from approximately 100 children who have a sibling with type I diabetes. Various instruments, including FACES, FIRMk CHIP and FILE, as well as KIDCOPE and Sibling Social Support Scale, will be used to collect the data.