A longitudinal study of sibling bullying and mental health in autistic adolescents: The role of self-esteem.
Sibling bullying in early adolescence chips away at self-esteem and fuels later mental-health problems in autistic teens.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Deniz et al. (2023) followed autistic teens for six years. They asked about sibling bullying at age 11, self-esteem at 14, and mental health at 17.
The team wanted to know if being picked on by brothers or sisters sets off a chain reaction.
What they found
More sibling bullying at 11 predicted lower self-esteem at 14. Lower self-esteem at 14 then predicted worse mental health at 17.
The damage started early and snowballed.
How this fits with other research
Lovell et al. (2016) and Gold (1993) already showed that brothers and sisters of autistic kids report more depression. Emre’s team moves the lens to the autistic teens themselves and shows sibling bullying is one reason why.
Schertz et al. (2016) interviewed autistic teens about peer bullying. Emre shows sibling bullying can be just as harmful and lasts years.
Shivers (2019) found that some siblings feel extra empathy. Emre’s findings remind us that warm feelings do not rule out hurtful actions.
Why it matters
If you work with autistic middle-schoolers, ask one simple question at intake: “Do your brothers or sisters tease or hurt you?” A yes flags a kid who may need self-esteem supports now to prevent depression later. Coach families to set kinder sibling rules and give the autistic child safe spaces and praise. Small changes at home can protect mental health all the way to graduation.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Sibling bullying is associated with poor mental health in autistic adolescents. The reasons for this remain unknown. In the current study, we attempted to replicate the existing findings on the direct associations between sibling bullying and mental health in autistic adolescents and expand knowledge by focusing on the indirect associations through self-esteem. We made use of existing data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative UK-based birth cohort study. We fitted a mediation model to longitudinal data from a sample of 416 autistic adolescents aged 11, 14, and 17 years old who had at least one sibling. We found that sibling bullying was prevalent in the lives of autistic adolescents, especially in those who were late-diagnosed, had a shared bedroom, and lived in a low-income household. Additionally, increased sibling bullying in early adolescence was a significant predictor of reduced self-esteem in mid-adolescence; in turn, reduced self-esteem predicted poorer mental health and wellbeing in late adolescence. Our findings indicate that sibling bullying in early adolescence may indirectly lead to poorer mental health and wellbeing in late adolescence through a reduction in self-esteem in mid-adolescence in autistic adolescents. We discuss the implications of these findings further.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2023 · doi:10.1002/aur.2987