Browsing by Subject "Siblings"
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Item A Family Bereavement Camp: Emerging Themes Regarding Its Impact on the Lives of Bereaved Parents and Siblings(2016-08-25) Carawan, Melissa Anne; Germann, Julie; Faith, Melissa A.; Winick, NaomiBACKGROUND: Within the grief literature, family bereavement camps have yet to be researched in a combined population of bereaved parents and siblings. Camp Sol is a weekend retreat for families who have experienced the death of a child/sibling. The goal of the current study is to establish areas reported by parents and sibling campers as being impacted by their experience at camp in hopes of identifying standardized measures that can be implemented in the future evaluation process. This will provide future researchers the ability to quantitatively evaluate the overall efficacy of a family bereavement camp among bereaved parents and siblings. SUBJECTS: Camp Sol evaluations were collected post-camp over the span of five and a half years totaling 656 evaluations. Parents comprised 50.2% of the sample, where the majority of them spoke English versus Spanish (81.4% vs. 18.5%). The children comprised 49.8% of the sample and ranged from the age of 4 to 19. METHOD: Data coding and analysis followed a mixed-methods design, specifically the convergent parallel design, which utilizes both qualitative and quantitative data. The constant Comparative Method (CCM) was used to analyze and code the qualitative portion of the evaluation to arrive at core themes. A variety of quantitative analyses (independent t-test, ANOVA, MANOVA) was used to analyze potential differences between groups according to family role, language, and age. RESULTS: The prominent themes that emerged from the qualitative data were social support, communication, continuing bonds as a coping skill, increased knowledge of the grief process, adjustment, family interaction, and camp environment. Quantitative results revealed that fathers rated the Understanding Index significantly lower than unspecified parents, and siblings ' ages 8 to 11 and 12 years and older had significantly higher mean scores on communication than siblings ' ages 2 to 7. DISCUSSION: This study is the first to research both parent and sibling benefits of a family bereavement camp, which identified the importance of non-pathological constructs (e.g. social support, communication, family relationships) while providing richness of information about how a uniquely structured camp may facilitate positive adjustment and coping for entire bereaved families. The camp structure may provide cost effective and accessible grief intervention for bereaved families (English and Spanish) in a safe and supportive environment. Future research would benefit from the use of pre- and/or post- intervention measures assessing for social functioning and mental health, as well as the implementation of a control group to allow discrimination of participants' outcomes.Item Sibling Relationships in Adolescent Eating Disorder Treatment(August 2021) Parides, Ashlyn Alyce; Ghannadpour, Jasmine; Stewart, Sunita M.; Pollard, Sara; McDonald, Wade; McGarrahan, AndrewThis study explored the quality of sibling relationships amongst a sample of adolescent patients receiving treatment for an eating disorder. Despite the importance of siblings in adolescents' lives and the utilization of family-based treatment (FBT) as the gold standard treatment, sibling relationships are often overlooked. When sibling relationships have been investigated in the literature, the story has been one-sided, with patient perspectives being omitted. We sought to understand, through the eyes of the patient, the overall quality of the sibling relationship on four factors: warmth/closeness, relative status/power, conflict, and rivalry, and ways in which the onset of the eating disorder changed the relationship regarding these four factors. Of particular interest was discovering specific behaviors, interactions, and aspects of the sibling relationship that patients felt contributed, either negatively or positively, to their eating disorder and recovery efforts. We also hoped to provide patients the opportunity to share ideas or suggestions that could better support their recovery efforts. Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews (N = 14) were completed with adolescent patients. Data were analyzed using a hybrid inductive and deductive approach and thematic content analysis. Results: After the onset of the eating disorder, participants expressed decreased warmth and closeness, increased conflict, and increased competition for family resources. Siblings were often one of the first in patients' lives to suspect the eating disorder. Helpful aspects included greater understanding of their siblings' condition and increased ability to relate to their siblings' struggles, sibling motivation, and involvement in treatment. Comparison, competition, and invalidating or triggering comments were unhelpful. Patients suggested implementation of sibling education and increased involvement in treatment. A common thread throughout this study is the patients' desire to be fully seen, heard, and understood, which they identify to be a critical aspect of achieving recovery. Conclusions: Findings illustrate the importance of sibling relationships among adolescents receiving treatment for an eating disorder. We demonstrate that siblings can be important resources in prevention and early identification efforts. We echo the voices of our patients and advocate for increased sibling education and sibling involvement in treatment, in hopes that our efforts can better support these patients and their families in their journey to recovery.Item Socioeconomic Status and Access to Resources as Predictors of Sibling Hope and Sibling Coping with Pediatric Cancer-Related Stressors(2016-08-25) Prindiville, Katherine Alexis; Faith, Melissa A.; Germann, Julie; Holland, Alice A.; Holm, SuzanneAlthough most siblings of pediatric cancer patients adjust well to cancer diagnosis and treatment course, some siblings demonstrate significant adjustment difficulties. One question is whether these siblings may also be at risk for reduced hope and poor coping, especially if family roles and routines are particularly disrupted during cancer treatment. This study will examine the degree to which sociodemographic variables (i.e., socioeconomic status and access to resources) predict pediatric cancer patients' siblings' hope and coping. Data were obtained from siblings of pediatric oncology patients and their parents at a large pediatric cancer treatment center using paper-and-pencil questionnaires, telephone/in-person structured interviews, and internet-based questionnaires. I hypothesized a direct relation between sociodemographic variables and sibling hope. I also hypothesized a direct relation between sociodemographic variables and adaptive coping and an inverse relation between sociodemographic variables and maladaptive coping. Both hypotheses were partially supported; sociodemographics as a whole did not significantly predict hope or adaptive coping, but did account for 5% and 10% of the variance, respectively. Sociodemographics did not significantly predict internalizing/externalizing coping or avoidant coping. To rule out superfluous findings, more research on the predictive value of income is needed. Future studies should also further examine other components of socioeconomic status and access to resources on sibling adjustment to pediatric cancer diagnosis and treatment. Life disruption variables significantly predicted all outcome variables, indicating that life disruption plays an important role in sibling adjustment. Providers should be aware of the impact of life disruption and find ways to care for siblings and families to ensure they experience as little disruption as possible.Item [UT News](1985-09-30) Harrell, Ann