Impact of Growing Up with a Chronically Ill Sibling on Well Siblings' Late Adolescent Functioning
Table 3
Siblings’ responses to the question “How has the disease affected your life?”.
Theme
(%)
Quotation
Positive
25 (62.5)
Cautious about health
10 (25)
“It did make me like more health conscious”
Empathy/compassion
4 (10)
“…able to also relate with people that have siblings or who are struggling with illnesses … “Hey, I’ve been there and this is how, you know, I got through it, and you know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Cautious about others health
2 (5)
“like-being-it made, it made me be more precautious…I am really like precautious of little kids…”
Accepting of others
2 (5)
“I’m more open to people… cause my sister would often tell me a lot of things…if she were to tell the people about it at school, they would like shy away from her…if people like tell me something about themselves, I’ll just listen and accept them for the way they are.”
Aware of unpredictability of health
8 (20)
“…guess it just kinda also makes you realize that you know life can’t be perfect and so that you know you can’t expect everyone to have perfect health”
Maturity
9 (22.5)
“I think I am not as petty and I don’t think of little things in a very big way and I don’t overreact to situations the way a lot of teenage kids do”
Appreciate life
7 (17.5)
“it is made me really thankful for being healthy, like I think about that everyday”
Brought family closer
4 (10)
“I do wonder sometimes if our family would be as close as we are if it was not for…”
Knowledge
4 (10)
“… it is raised my awareness about the, about the disease…and um just kind of help others to be aware of it I guess too”
Reinforce religion
2 (5)
“guess the fact that uh, the doctors like gave him like a five percent chance and he pulled through…we are all like catholic so that’s probably enforced that in my life”
Negative
7 (17.5)
Overprotective parents
1 (2.5)
“My mom’s a little over protective now”
Responsibility for sibling
3 (7.5)
“I think I probably a lot more protective over my little sister than I would have been”
Worry for the future
2 (5)
“It’s made me think about having kids and how scary it is”
Paranoia about sickness
1 (2.5)
“…when I see them (others’ children) running around and breathing a certain way, I’m like you should go check if they have asthma cause they probably do and one day you know, they will probably have an attack and you won’t even know what to do and stuff.”
Indifferent
8 (20)*
No effect
7 (17.5)
One person was indifferent because they were later diagnosed with the same disease.
