Marrying into it: Siblings-in-law in the social support networks of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Siblings-in-law are willing helpers—put them on the support list today.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hamama et al. (2021) sent a survey to adults who have a brother or sister with an intellectual or developmental disability.
They asked how much help the siblings-in-law give.
The goal was to see if brothers- and sisters-in-law could be part of the support team when parents can no longer do the job.
What they found
Most siblings-in-law already help.
They drive to doctors, give money advice, or simply stay in touch.
Support grows when parents step back, showing an untapped safety net.
How this fits with other research
Swettenham et al. (2013) showed that blood siblings keep help going by trading favors inside the family network.
L et al. widen the map to include in-laws, proving the network can stretch further than we thought.
Crossman et al. (2018) found the opposite with blood siblings: adults who were forced to care as kids now want to do less.
The two studies seem to clash, but they look at different ties.
In-laws choose to join the family as adults, so they feel free to help, while tired blood siblings may still carry childhood stress.
Why it matters
You can add siblings-in-law to the natural-support circle on your behavior plan.
Ask your client, "Who is married to your brother or sister?"
Invite that person to the next planning meeting.
One extra ally can mean one less crisis call when parents age.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Although attention has been devoted to social supports provided by parents and siblings of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), much less is known about supports provided by the spouses of these siblings-the so-called siblings-in-law. This study examined the role of the sibling-in-law in the social support networks of their brother/sister-in-law with IDD and factors associated with providing greater amounts of tangible, informational and emotional support. METHOD: Siblings-in-law of adults with IDD living predominately in the United States (N = 99) participated in a cross-sectional survey. Measures covered demographic and family background, perspectives towards having a brother/sister-in-law with IDD, supports provided and characteristics of the adult with IDD's social support network. RESULTS: Most siblings-in-law reported providing support to their brother/sister-in-law with IDD. Percentages of siblings-in-law providing support were similar to that of the spouse and the spouse's family in the area of emotional support and similar to percentages of paid professionals in tangible and informational supports. Across all three support types, the main predictor of increased sibling-in-law support levels was a decreased ability of the parents-in-law to care for their child with IDD. Other predictors (e.g. distance from brother/sister-in-law with IDD and disability 'insider' status) varied by support type. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the role of siblings-in-law in the social support networks of adults with IDD, with implications for policy and practice.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2021 · doi:10.1111/jir.12864