# Communication quality between parents and siblings of children with chronic disorders

## TL;DR

This study explores how parents and siblings of children with chronic disorders communicate during an intervention to improve communication quality and emotional well-being.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into parent-sibling communication patterns during a manual-based intervention for families affected by chronic disorders.

## Key findings

- Siblings expressed concerns and cues about chronic disorders, differential treatment, and emotional challenges.
- Parents used validation and exploration more frequently than listening in their responses to siblings.
- Changes in the intervention were associated with increased parental validation of siblings' concerns.

## Abstract

This study examines parent-sibling communication during a manual-based group intervention (SIBS) that aims to improve communication quality and well-being for siblings of children with a chronic disorder diagnosis.

Audio recordings and transcripts of 20 parent-sibling conversations were analyzed using the manual-based tool Verona Coding Definition of Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES). We measured siblings' negative expressions and parental responses, focusing on how parents applied the SIBS target behaviours of listening, exploring and validating responses.

Siblings raised topics such as heritability of the chronic disorder, differential treatment, and instances of violence and temper tantrums. Siblings' negative expressions were 53 % cues (implicit expressions) and 47 % concerns (explicit expressions). Parents provided space in 74 % of the responses to cues and concerns, meaning they gave space for further disclosure. Within these responses, parents applied the SIBS target behaviours, including exploration (59 %), validation (33 %), and listening (8 %).

Parents mainly provided space and used a warm tone when responding to siblings in the SIBS sessions. Responses included a higher proportion of validation responses and a lower proportion of listening responses compared with previous studies.

Parents and siblings of children with chronic disorders face unique challenges that can negatively impact the quality of parent-sibling communication and psychological adjustment in siblings. This study contributes new insight into how parents and siblings communicate in an intervention setting, and how characteristics of the intervention may influence the quality of this communication.

•Siblings of children with chronic disorders have an elevated risk of mental health problems.•This study looks at how such siblings and their parents communicate during an intervention.•Parents responded to siblings' emotional expressions with a variety of response types.•Changes to the intervention were linked to increased parental validation of siblings' concerns.

Siblings of children with chronic disorders have an elevated risk of mental health problems.

This study looks at how such siblings and their parents communicate during an intervention.

Parents responded to siblings' emotional expressions with a variety of response types.

Changes to the intervention were linked to increased parental validation of siblings' concerns.