How Does The Sudden Impact Of A Disability Within The Immediate Household Affect Siblings?

Abstract

AbstractThis paper examines the relationship amongst siblings when they are impacted with a crisis. The crisis in this paper is a spinal cord injury. The theoretical framework for the paper is based on family systems theory. This theory incorporates how the self, roles and identities are created and impacted by the family in how they interact and communicate with one another. The paper examines how the family interacted and communicated prior to the crisis, during the crisis and how they currently interact and communicate. Respectively these time periods are labeled as; prior to crisis, onset of disability and adjustment phase. It was found that the relationship amongst the siblings prior to the crisis is identified as "normal" which according to the siblings meant typical brother and or sister relationships. After the crisis, initially the siblings encountered role strains and role conflicts due to role reversals that took place between the spinal cord injured sibling and the younger sibling. After the siblings adjusted to the spinal cord injury, they were able to resume to what they considered a "new normal."