A moderated mediation model for predicting acceptance of a sibling with autism or Down Syndrome.
Teaching autism siblings to make life feel coherent and to voice both good and bad feelings raises their acceptance of their brother or sister.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Alon (2025) asked 312 emerging-adult siblings to fill out online forms. Half had a brother or sister with autism, half with Down syndrome.
The survey measured sense of coherence, daily emotions, and how much they accept their disabled sibling. Stats tested if feelings carry the effect of coherence to acceptance.
What they found
For autism siblings, strong coherence bred more positive and negative active feelings. Both feelings then raised acceptance.
The chain was twice as strong in the autism group as in the Down group. Simply put, helping autism siblings make sense of life boosts acceptance through emotion work.
How this fits with other research
Dudley et al. (2019) saw adolescent autism siblings report higher stress than Down siblings. Raaya flips the lens: the same group can also gain more from coherence training once they reach college age.
LeFrancois et al. (1993) first compared autism and Down siblings and found mixed adjustment. Raaya updates that work by showing why some siblings thrive: coherence plus processed emotions.
Busch et al. (2010) showed adult siblings across disabilities feel mostly positive. Raaya narrows the view, explaining how autism siblings convert coherence into acceptance via active feelings.
Why it matters
You can add two quick screens to intake: "Can you make sense of what happens with your sibling?" and "How do you handle mixed feelings?". If the client is an autism sibling, teach coherence skills like reframing and schedule emotion-check-ins. The study says this pair should lift acceptance more than praise alone.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Within the family system, the sibling subsystem holds particular importance, especially when there is a family member with a disability. Typically-developing siblings increasingly assume caregiving responsibilities for a brother/sister with a disability, particularly during the life stage of emerging adulthood. A critical factor influencing sibling relations is the acceptance of the sibling with a disability. Guided by the salutogenic approach, which emphasizes factors that promote health and effective coping, this study explored a moderated mediation model to examine the relationships between sense of coherence and emotions (active negative, passive negative, and positive emotions) toward siblings with autism or Down Syndrome, and how these relate to sibling acceptance. The sample included 520 emerging adult siblings (aged 18-27) of individuals with autism or Down Syndrome, who completed four self-report questionnaires. Disability type significantly moderated the indirect effect of the mediation relationship between sense of coherence and acceptance via active negative and positive emotions, but not via passive negative emotions. Specifically, the mediation effect via active negative emotions was significantly stronger for siblings of individuals with autism compared to those with Down Syndrome (b = 0.105), and the mediation effect via positive emotions was significant for siblings of individuals with autism but not for siblings of individuals with Down Syndrome (b = 0.137). The results highlight the role of sense of coherence in fostering sibling acceptance, mediated by emotions, and emphasize the need for community-based programs that enable siblings to process their feelings toward their siblings with autism or Down Syndrome, in order to promote acceptance.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.105059