What About Me? Siblings of Children with an Anxiety Disorder (Report‪)‬

Sibling relationships are enduring and influential and can have a profound impact on children's development (Dunn, 2000). Positive sibling relationships are associated with better friendships, higher self-esteem, and lower levels of loneliness, depression, and delinquent behaviors (Yeh & Lempers, 2004). Although there has been research on siblings of children with chronic illnesses, there has been limited research on the impact of children's anxiety disorders on the functioning of siblings (Lindhout et al., 2003). This lack of research is surprising because anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problem in children and adolescents, with an estimated six-month prevalence rate of 10.5% to 16.5% (Verhulst, van der Ende, Ferdinand, & Kasius, 1997). In addition, anxiety disorders tend to run in families (Skre, Onstad, Edvardsen, Torgersen, & Kringlen, 1994), and first-degree relatives, such as siblings, of a patient with an anxiety disorder are at greater risk of developing an anxiety disorder compared with the general population (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). In addition to possible genetic risk factors, the family context may also be related to the development of anxiety disorders. For example, the quality of attachment to the caregiver is an important antecedent to a generalized psychological vulnerability to anxiety (Thompson, 1998). Parents of children with anxiety disorders may be overprotective, offer excessive reassurance, or engage in negative and adverse parent--child interactions, which may affect family functioning and sibling relationships (Eisen & Kearney, 1995). In addition, anxious children may perceive more differential treatment by parents than nonanxious children (Lindhout et al., 2003).