The Effect of Family Functioning on Bereaved Siblings' Depressive Symptoms 
Author(s)
Abstract
Bereaved families are a unique subset of the population that are at risk for higher incidence of mental health problems including depression. Bereaved children are vulnerable to maladjustment when environmental and parental factors such as family functioning are taken into account. However, most of the bereavement literature examines child adjustment after the death of a parent, not a sibling. The current study examined communication and affective expression/involvement in families and child depressive symptoms after the death of a sibling. Participants were made up of sixty parents and siblings recruited from a palliative care program. Parents completed the Family Assessment Measure-III (FAM-III) on communication/affective expression and affective involvement. Children completed the self-report Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) to assess depressive symptoms. Comparisons were made between parent dyads’ reports of family functioning and were then analyzed in relation to child depression. We hypothesize that (1) lower communication/affective expression will be negatively correlated with child depressive symptoms. Likewise, we hypothesize that (2) low levels of affective involvement will be negatively correlated with child depressive symptoms. Finally, we will explore possible inconsistencies in parent perception of family functioning within dyads. Targeted interventions that consider the influence of parental communication and affective involvement in surviving siblings after the death of a child may be beneficial in decreasing child depressive symptoms in this population.
Format
Conference Proceeding
Contributor(s)
Faculty Mentor
Douglas Delahanty
Emily Rabinowitz (graduate student)
Modified Abstract

The current study examined the effect of family functioning on bereaved siblings’ depressive symptoms. Participants were made up of sixty parents and siblings recruited from a palliative care program. Parents completed the Family Assessment Measure-III (FAM-III) on communication/affective expression and affective involvement. Children completed the self-report Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) to assess depressive symptoms. Comparisons were made between parent dyads’ reports of family functioning and were then analyzed in relation to child depression. We hypothesize that (1) lower communication/affective expression will be negatively correlated with child depressive symptoms. Likewise, we hypothesize that (2) low levels of affective involvement will be negatively correlated with child depressive symptoms. Finally, we will explore possible inconsistencies in parent perception of family functioning within dyads.
Permalink https://oaks.kent.edu/ugresearch/2020/psychology/effect-family-functioning-bereaved-siblings-depressive-symptoms
Straub, E., & Schmetzer, H. (n.d.). The Effect of Family Functioning on Bereaved Siblings’ Depressive Symptoms  (1–). https://oaks.kent.edu/node/10348
Straub, Elizabeth, and Hanna Schmetzer. n.d. “The Effect of Family Functioning on Bereaved Siblings’ Depressive Symptoms ”. https://oaks.kent.edu/node/10348.
Straub, Elizabeth, and Hanna Schmetzer. The Effect of Family Functioning on Bereaved Siblings’ Depressive Symptoms . https://oaks.kent.edu/node/10348.