Predictors of depression and anxiety in adult siblings of individuals with intellectual developmental disorder.

Publication date: Jul 07, 2026

This study examined childhood emotional neglect, family functioning, and sibling relationships in relation to current mental health among adult siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Participants included 100 adult siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who completed online assessments of sibling relationships, family functioning, childhood trauma, and current depression and anxiety. Adult siblings reported fondness for their siblings with IDD and positive family and sibling relationships. They also reported mild to moderate depressive and anxious symptomology, both significantly related to perception of emotional neglect in childhood, age, and severity of siblings’ IDD. Findings demonstrate that lived experiences of adult siblings, especially perceptions of emotional neglect during childhood, predict depressive and anxious symptomology. Findings highlight the need to identify interactions among individual, family, and system factors, and to identify potential protective factors that suggest ways to support these siblings and families.

Semantics

Original Article