«The Healthy Sibling's Behaviour: Icelandic Families Caring for a Young Child with Chronic Asthma«

Abstract

Icelandic families of young children with chronic asthma face many challenges when caring for their child. Chronic illness within the family does not only affect the parents, but may also have an impact on siblings in the family. The purpose of this study was to examine parents' perspectives of sibling behaviour when mothers and fathers were caring for a young child with chronic asthma. The Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response Model (FAAR) (1) was the conceptual framework for the research. Twenty-six Icelandic families participated in the study. No significant differences were found between mothers' and fathers' perspective on healthy siblings behaviour, and the most frequent behavioural problems of the siblings reported by the parents were «could not wait» and «argues a lot.» The results indicated that mothers' perspective on family adaptation was an indicator of their perspective on the healthy sibling's behaviour, whereas their perspective on family demands was not. However, fathers' perspective on family adaptation and family demands was not an indicator of their perspective on sibling behaviour. These findings highlight the importance of family-centered care, when the focus is on the whole family.