Depression and social adjustment in siblings of boys with autism.
Siblings of autistic boys often feel depressed even when they seem fine socially—ask them directly.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers compared brothers and sisters of boys with autism to brothers and sisters of typical boys.
They asked each child questions about mood and about how well they fit in with friends.
The study used paper surveys, not lab tests.
What they found
Siblings of autistic boys said they felt more depressed.
Their social adjustment scores looked the same as the other group.
The extra sadness did not show up as clear friend problems on the form.
How this fits with other research
Lovell et al. (2016) asked the same question twenty-three years later and still saw higher depression scores, so the risk is stable.
Koukouriki et al. (2021) found the same sadness in Greek kids and showed it gets worse when parents are anxious and support is low.
Shivers (2019) saw a brighter side: teen siblings of autistic kids scored higher on empathy and felt warmer toward their brother or sister.
The two views do not cancel out. A child can feel both proud of their sibling and quietly sad; we need to ask about both parts.
Why it matters
When you write a behavior plan, add a quick mood check for siblings. One extra box on your intake form—“Any sad days this month?”—can flag a child who needs help. Share hotline numbers or sibling support groups with parents. A five-minute chat may spare years of hidden depression.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Compared 22 siblings of autistic boys and 34 other siblings on measures of depression, social adjustment, and the amount of child care and domestic responsibility the siblings carry within the family. The relationship between sibling gender, age, birth order, qualities of the boy with autism, and family characteristics, and siblings' scores on the above measures were examined. Results of this research showed that siblings of autistic boys scored significantly higher on depression than the comparison group, but not on problems of social adjustment. There were no statistically significant gender differences; however, different gender-related patterns emerged on the correlates which may be of theoretical significance for future studies.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1993 · doi:10.1007/BF01066424