Date Presented 03/26/20
AOTA’s position statement, Vision 2025, promotes OT practitioners working within family systems (AOTA, 2017; Somers, 2016). OT practitioners can minimize the adverse effects of sibling aggression to prevent injuries and promote healthy child development (AOTA, 2017). Education about sibling aggression in OT programs and continuing education, the level of education, and years of experience predicted OT practitioners’ confidence to address sibling aggression with the families that they serve.
Primary Author and Speaker: Lisa Shooman
Contributing Authors: Mary Fowler
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to predict what factors predict OT practitioners’ confidence to address the problem of sibling aggression (SA) with parents and children. With sufficient confidence, OTs will be able to assist families experiencing SA to promote healthy child development and prevent injuries among siblings. The US has high rates of prevalence and severity of SA among families (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2017). Incidents of assault against siblings are reported in the US by law enforcement agencies to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) (Krienert & Walsh, 2011). The NIBRIS shows 80% of the reported incidents were a simple assault against siblings, 15% aggravated assault (causing severe physical injury), and 5% were intimidation in single victim single-abuser sibling violence incidents (Krienert & Walsh, 2011). When SA is not addressed, children may experience emotional dysfunction, increased family violence, as well as mental and physical illness (Caffaro, 2014; Tucker, Finkelhor, & Turner, 2018). Decreased executive functioning skills (inhibitory control) were found to predict levels of SA in children (Spann & Gagne, 2016). SA has serious negative consequences on the cognitive, mental, and physical health and occupational participation of children (Buist & Vermande, 2014; Mathis & Mueller, 2015; Tucker et al., 2018). Therefore, OTs have the potential to minimize the adverse effects of SA by assisting families with parenting strategies and strengthening executive functioning skills for children who are physically or verbally aggressive with siblings (AOTA, 2017).
DESIGN: The design of this study is a predictive cross-sectional survey. OT practitioners were recruited from pediatric OT Facebook groups, state OT associations’ Facebook pages, the national AOTA listserv, and an OT continuing education company’s blog, direct email, and text messages. Inclusion criteria were OT practitioners, which included OTs and OTAs with at least an associates’ degree, English language skills, and at least one year of experience working with children between the ages of 5 and 12 within the last five years. Two hundred and twenty-eight OT practitioners completed the online survey.
METHODS: A multivariate linear regression model predicted education levels, years of experience, and coverage of SA in continuing education courses and OT programs.
RESULTS: As the years of experience (p < 0.01), level of education (p < 0.05), and coverage of SA in continuing education (p < 0.01) and OT programs increased (p < 0.01), OTs’confidence to address the topic of SA with parents and children increased. Differences were found between education levels at the 5% significance level with OTs who earned doctoral degrees, reporting more confidence than OT practitioners with associates’, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees.
CONCLUSION: OTs with increased education of SA in their OT programs and continuing education courses, years of experience, and level of education were more likely to feel confident to address SA. OT practitioners can improve their confidence to address SA through more educational opportunities in their OT programs and continuing education courses, years of clinical experience, and education particularly at the doctoral level.
IMPACT STATEMENT: Coverage of SA in OT education programs and continuing education courses, is vital to increase OTs’ confidence to address SA. OTs would benefit from more coverage of SA in OT programs and continuing education opportunities to bolster healthy child development and decrease injuries as a result of SA.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2017). Occupational therapy services for individuals who have experienced domestic violence. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71. doi: 2017.716S10
Mathis, G., & Mueller, C. (2015). Childhood sibling aggression and emotional difficulties and aggressive behavior in adulthood. Journal of Family Violence, 30(3), 315-327. doi:10.1007/s10896-015-9670-5
Spann, C. A., & Gagne, J. R. (2016). Aggressive behaviors in young siblings: Associations with executive functions and maternal characteristics. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44(3), 523-533. doi:10.1007/s10802-015-0042-7
Tucker, C. J., Finkelhor, D., & Turner, H. (2018). Family adversity’s role in the onset and termination of childhood sibling victimization. Psychology of Violence. 8(1), 10-18. doi: org/10.1037/vio0000087
