The Psychological Impact of Living in a Family with an Autistic Sibling

Abstract

This qualitative study illuminates the lived experience of five adult siblings growing up in a family with a sibling or siblings diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The participants completed two semistructured interviews designed to elicit a narrative about their perceptions regarding their relationships within their family constellation with an emphasis on the relationship with their siblings diagnosed with ASD. Data was analyzed by virtue of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and further conceptualized through a psychodynamic lens. Five master themes were identified regarding participants’ experience while growing up with their sibling(s) diagnosed with autism: responsibility, ambivalence, anxiety, limitations, and support. Subthemes included family legacy, maturation, compliance, guilt and phantasy, memory, stress, birth order, family outings, separations, and having needs. Findings indicated the imperative of offering or requiring early intervention with individual psychotherapy in addition to sibling support groups for child with a sibling diagnosed with autism. For adult siblings, long-term psychodynamic treatment is recommended to examine repressed and foreclosed states of mind and to provide an understanding of complexities associated with birth order, the false self, and internal splitting. The study emphasizes the importance of informed mental health care professionals who can enhance treatment methods when considering this population’s unique family situation.