Effectiveness of a group intervention to improve mental health in siblings of children with chronic disorders: a cluster randomized controlled trial.
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| Title: | Effectiveness of a group intervention to improve mental health in siblings of children with chronic disorders: a cluster randomized controlled trial. |
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| Authors: | Kirchhofer, Solveig M1,2 (AUTHOR), Fredriksen, Trude1,3 (AUTHOR), Orm, Stian3,4 (AUTHOR), Botta, Matteo1 (AUTHOR), Zahl, Erica1 (AUTHOR), Cogo-Moreira, Hugo5 (AUTHOR), Prentice, Caitlin M1 (AUTHOR), Vatne, Torun M1,6 (AUTHOR), Haukeland, Yngvild B7 (AUTHOR), Silverman, Wendy K8 (AUTHOR), Fjermestad, Krister W1,6 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Jun2025, Vol. 50 Issue 6, p443-453. 11p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Siblings, *Health promotion, *Chronic diseases, *Intellectual disabilities, Mental health, Randomized controlled trials, Therapeutics, Parent-child communication |
| Abstract: | Objective We evaluated the effectiveness of SIBS, a preventive intervention for siblings and parents of children with chronic disorders (CDs). Methods This two-arm, unmasked cluster randomized controlled trial registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04056884), included 288 siblings (M age = 10.4 years, SD = 1.9) and parents of children with CDs (mainly neurodevelopmental disorders) randomly assigned to intervention (k = 34, n = 137) or waitlist control (k = 35, n = 151) groups. Eligible siblings were aged 8–16 years and had a sibling diagnosed with a CD. SIBS is manual-based and was delivered as five sessions over 2 weeks in primary care and hospital settings across Norway. Three sessions are separate for siblings and parents, and two are integrated sibling–parent dialogues. The primary outcome was sibling mental health, rated by siblings, parents, and teachers. The secondary outcome was parent–child communication, rated by siblings and parents. Analyses included intention-to-treat (ITT) and complier average causal effects (CACE). Results Although not statistically significant, at 3-month follow-up, the intervention group showed fewer mental health problems (ITT: sibling-rated d = −0.16, 95% CI [−0.49, 0.17]; parent-rated d = −0.10, 95% CI [−0.48, 0.12]; teacher-rated d = −0.18, 95% CI [−0.50, 0.29]) and higher-quality parent–child communication (ITT: sibling-rated d = 0.21, 95% CI [−0.10, 0.52]; parent-rated d = 0.24, 95% CI [−0.07, 0.55]) compared to waitlist. Conclusions The SIBS intervention demonstrated small, consistent positive effects on sibling mental health and parent–child communication. This suggests SIBS is a promising preventive program for siblings of children with CDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | Objective We evaluated the effectiveness of SIBS, a preventive intervention for siblings and parents of children with chronic disorders (CDs). Methods This two-arm, unmasked cluster randomized controlled trial registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04056884), included 288 siblings (M age = 10.4 years, SD = 1.9) and parents of children with CDs (mainly neurodevelopmental disorders) randomly assigned to intervention (k = 34, n = 137) or waitlist control (k = 35, n = 151) groups. Eligible siblings were aged 8–16 years and had a sibling diagnosed with a CD. SIBS is manual-based and was delivered as five sessions over 2 weeks in primary care and hospital settings across Norway. Three sessions are separate for siblings and parents, and two are integrated sibling–parent dialogues. The primary outcome was sibling mental health, rated by siblings, parents, and teachers. The secondary outcome was parent–child communication, rated by siblings and parents. Analyses included intention-to-treat (ITT) and complier average causal effects (CACE). Results Although not statistically significant, at 3-month follow-up, the intervention group showed fewer mental health problems (ITT: sibling-rated d = −0.16, 95% CI [−0.49, 0.17]; parent-rated d = −0.10, 95% CI [−0.48, 0.12]; teacher-rated d = −0.18, 95% CI [−0.50, 0.29]) and higher-quality parent–child communication (ITT: sibling-rated d = 0.21, 95% CI [−0.10, 0.52]; parent-rated d = 0.24, 95% CI [−0.07, 0.55]) compared to waitlist. Conclusions The SIBS intervention demonstrated small, consistent positive effects on sibling mental health and parent–child communication. This suggests SIBS is a promising preventive program for siblings of children with CDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 01468693 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/jpepsy/jsaf021 |
