The validity of a measure of adjustment in siblings of children with developmental and physical disabilities: a brief report

Dev Neurorehabil. 2021 Jul;24(5):355-358. doi: 10.1080/17518423.2020.1869338. Epub 2021 Jan 3.

Abstract

Background: Few questionnaires are tailored for siblings of children with disabilities. The Negative Adjustment Scale (NAS) was developed to measure siblings' adjustment, but has not yet been validated.Objective: To investigate the factor structure and convergent validity of the NAS.Method: We examined the validity of the NAS in terms of factor structure and convergent validity against a general mental health measure. The sample comprised 107 siblings (M age = 11.5 years, SD = 2.1, 53.8% boys) of children with disabilities.Results: We confirmed a one-factor structure for the NAS. Convergent validity was demonstrated through significant correlations (r=.29-.44) with sibling externalizing and internalizing mental health difficulties.Conclusion: The NAS holds promise as a measure tailored for the assessment of sibling's adjustment.

Keywords: Negative adjustment; confirmatory factor analysis; developmental disorders; mental health; physical disabilities; siblings.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder*
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Child
  • Developmental Disabilities*
  • Disabled Children
  • Down Syndrome
  • Emotional Adjustment*
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Heart Defects, Congenital
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Health*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Siblings / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires