Sibling Bullying in Middle Childhood is Associated with Psychosocial Difficulties in Early Adolescence: The Case of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Genetic influences on sibling bullying and mental health difficulties

BACKGROUND

Sibling bullying is associated with mental health difficulties; both in the short and long term. It is commonly assumed that sibling bullying leads to mental health difficulties but additional explanations for the relationship between the two are seldom investigated.

METHODS

To address this gap in knowledge, we used a genetically sensitive design with data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (maximum N = 3,959, 53% female). At ages 11-13 years, individuals self-reported their involvement in sibling bullying, as a victim and perpetrator, and parents reported on their child's mental health difficulties. Polygenic scores, indices of genetic risk for psychiatric disorders (major depressive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) were computed using children's genetic data. Regression and structural equation models were fitted to the data.

RESULTS

Sibling bullying, victimisation and perpetration, and polygenic scores both predicted mental health difficulties in an additive manner but there was no interaction between them. Polygenic scores for mental health difficulties were also associated with sibling bullying.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that sibling bullying, victimisation and perpetration, is associated with mental health difficulties, even after accounting for some genetic effects. Additionally, the relationship between sibling bullying and mental health difficulties may be, at least partly, due to shared genetic aetiology. One possibility is that genetic risk for mental health difficulties influences the onset of mental health difficulties which in turn make children more susceptible to sibling bullying.

Autistic traits predict social avoidance and distress: The chain mediating role of perceived stress and interpersonal alienation

Social avoidance and distress are the primary aspects of social anxiety. Nonautistic people with high levels of autistic traits are more likely to exhibit social avoidance and distress. However, research has yet to reveal how autistic traits induce social avoidance and distress. To fill this gap, the present study recruited 708 participants to complete the 25-item Autism Spectrum Quotient, Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Chinese Perceived Stress Scale, and Interpersonal Alienation Subscale. The results indicated that autistic traits significantly predicted social avoidance and distress in nonautistic people. In addition, autistic traits induced social avoidance and distress through perceived stress and interpersonal alienation, respectively. Importantly, perceived stress and interpersonal alienation (including the subdimensions of interpersonal alienation: sense of loneliness, sense of social isolation, and alienation between family members) partially mediated the relationships between autistic traits and social avoidance and distress. Overall, autistic traits predict social avoidance and distress via perceived stress and interpersonal alienation. This finding extends the hypothetical model of clinical anxiety in autism spectrum disorders. Furthermore, reducing perceived stress and interpersonal alienation in nonautistic people with high levels of autistic traits may be a valid intervention method to prevent and eliminate their social avoidance and distress.

Children's resilience to sibling victimization: The role of family, peer, school, and neighborhood factors

Although common, little is known about the potential impacts of sibling victimization, and how best to ameliorate these. We explored longitudinal associations between sibling victimization and mental health and wellbeing outcomes, and promotive and risk factors that predicted better or worse outcomes following victimization. Data were from >12,000 participants in the Millennium Cohort Study, a longitudinal UK birth cohort, who reported on sibling victimization at age 11 and/or 14 years. We identified potential risk and promotive factors at family, peer, school, and neighborhood levels from age 14 data. Mental health and wellbeing outcomes (internalizing and externalizing problems, mental wellbeing, self-harm) were collected at age 17. Results suggested that over and above pre-existing individual and family level vulnerabilities, experiencing sibling victimization was associated with significantly worse mental health and wellbeing. Having no close friends was a risk factor for worse-than-expected outcomes following victimization. Higher levels of school motivation and engagement was a promotive factor for better-than-expected outcomes. This indicates that aspects of the school environment may offer both risk and promotive factors for children experiencing sibling victimization at home. We argue that effective sibling victimization interventions should be extended to include a focus on factors at the school level.

Prosocial behavior and psychopathology: An 11-year longitudinal study of inter- and intraindividual reciprocal relations across childhood and adolescence

The current study investigated whether prosocial behavior and emotional problems, peer problems, conduct problems, and hyperactivity and inattention problems were long-term longitudinally and bidirectionally related at inter- and or intra-individual levels from early childhood through mid-adolescence. Parents in the United Kingdom reported their child's prosocial behavior and multidimensional psychopathology at ages 3, 5, 7, 11, and 14 years (N = 16,984, 51% male, 83% White). Four random intercepts cross-lagged panel models were fitted. Higher levels of earlier prosocial behavior were associated with greater than expected decrements in psychopathology. At an intraindividual, within-person level, prosocial behavior was negatively bidirectionally associated with peer, conduct, and hyperactivity and inattention problems. Also at an intraindividual, within-person level, prosocial behavior was unidirectionally protective against emotional problems. At an interindividual level, prosocial behavior and each dimension of psychopathology were negatively associated. Therefore, engaging in prosocial behavior can reduce psychopathological symptoms over time (and vice versa), and youth who are more prosocial also tend to experience fewer psychopathological symptoms. Intraindividual associations were small while interindividual associations were moderate to large. Implications for theory, future research, and evidence-based interventions are discussed.

Prevalence of Victimisation in Autistic Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Autistic individuals are at an increased risk of experiencing victimisation. Previous reviews have focussed specific types of victimisation. Thus, a clearer picture considering the range of victimisation experiences autistic people face is required. This systematic review aims to identify the prevalence of victimisation in autistic individuals considering a variety of victimisation types (e.g., bulling, sexual victimisation, and crime) in both adults and children from clinical and community settings. Through systematic searches of relevant databases, 291 studies met the criteria for review. Of those, 34 studies met the inclusion criteria: a) quantitative studies, b) involving autistic individuals, c) reporting prevalence rates of victimisation. Meta-analysis found a pooled prevalence rate of victimisation of 44% in autistic individuals. Subgroup analysis examined moderating factors as high heterogeneity was present. This found the pooled prevalence rates for bullying to be 47%, 16% for child abuse, 40% for sexual victimisation, 13% for cyberbullying, and 84% for multiple forms of victimisation in autistic individuals, though heterogeneity remained. Correction for participants' age, reporter used, and the population which the sample was recruited from did not reduce heterogeneity. Although heterogeneity impedes the definitive interpretation of the findings, this review illustrates the need for strategies and interventions to reduce the incidence of victimisation.

A longitudinal study of sibling bullying and mental health in autistic adolescents: The role of self-esteem

Sibling bullying is associated with poor mental health in autistic adolescents. The reasons for this remain unknown. In the current study, we attempted to replicate the existing findings on the direct associations between sibling bullying and mental health in autistic adolescents and expand knowledge by focusing on the indirect associations through self-esteem. We made use of existing data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative UK-based birth cohort study. We fitted a mediation model to longitudinal data from a sample of 416 autistic adolescents aged 11, 14, and 17 years old who had at least one sibling. We found that sibling bullying was prevalent in the lives of autistic adolescents, especially in those who were late-diagnosed, had a shared bedroom, and lived in a low-income household. Additionally, increased sibling bullying in early adolescence was a significant predictor of reduced self-esteem in mid-adolescence; in turn, reduced self-esteem predicted poorer mental health and wellbeing in late adolescence. Our findings indicate that sibling bullying in early adolescence may indirectly lead to poorer mental health and wellbeing in late adolescence through a reduction in self-esteem in mid-adolescence in autistic adolescents. We discuss the implications of these findings further.

A longitudinal study of the mental health of autistic children and adolescents and their parents during COVID-19: Part 1, quantitative findings

LAY ABSTRACT

Autistic children and adolescents, and their parents/carers, tend to experience more symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to those with other special educational needs and disabilities. The rapid change in society as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have disproportionately affected autistic young people and their parents/carers. We investigated how the mental health of autistic young people, and their parents/carers, developed during the first lockdown in the United Kingdom and how it changed once schools fully reopened for face-to-face teaching approximately 6 months later. Parents/carers completed online standardised questionnaires about their own and their child's mental health at four time points between March 2020 and October 2020. We found that, throughout this period, autistic young people experienced more symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to those with other special educational needs and disabilities. Anxiety levels decreased as lockdown progressed and schools reopened for face-to-face teaching but only for those with other special educational needs and disabilities. For autistic young people, both anxiety and depression symptoms remained high throughout. There were no differences in the mental health of parents/carers of autistic children compared to those with other special educational needs and disabilities. These findings suggest that the mental health of autistic children and adolescents is likely to have been disproportionately affected during and after the first lockdown in the United Kingdom. In the second part of this article (Asbury & Toseeb, 2022), we attempt to explain these trends using qualitative data provided by parents during the same period.

Bullying and Emotional Problems in Pupils from 11 to 13 Years Old: Joint Detection through Self-Report

The objective of this study was to adapt and make available a valid instrument based on a joint questionnaire (self-report type) to detect the risk of bullying and emotional problems in pupils aged from 11 to 13 years. The questionnaires used were that of Spain's Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo) to detect the risk of becoming a victim of bullying and an adaptation of Spain's CECAD to assess the risk of emotional problems. The participants were 1077 gender-matched subjects enrolled in the 6th year of Primary Education (n = 467) and the 1st year of Lower Secondary Education (n = 610) from 19 schools in the Region of Extremadura. High reliability was obtained in both questionnaires, as well as a significant relationship between bullying and emotional problems (0.36). The scales place the pupils at either a certain risk level (mild, moderate, or severe) or no risk. The study concludes with the description of four situations deriving from the cross relationship between victimization and the pupil's emotional problems: (1) no risk of bullying and no risk of emotional problems (73.2%), (2) risk of bullying but no risk of emotional problems (11.1%), (3) no risk of bullying but risk of emotional problems (9.4%), and (4) risk of bullying and risk of emotional problems (6.3%).

Does Bullying Occur behind Closed Doors? Agreement of Bullying Reports between Parents and Children and Its Differential Associations with Child Outcomes

The present study was aimed at examining the level of agreement between parent and child perceptions of sibling and peer bullying (victimization and perpetration), and investigating whether any differential associations with child emotional and conduct problems could be identified across raters. The actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) was utilized in order to statistically account for the non-independence of the parent-child dyad. The study was based on a sample of 142 parent-child dyads (children: M_age = 12.3 years; parents: M_age = 44.4 years) and employed an online survey design. Bullying experiences and child outcomes were assessed via parent- and self-report. Intraclass correlation analysis revealed a moderate level of agreement between parent- and child-reports of sibling and peer bullying victimization. Low to moderate levels of parent-child agreement emerged for sibling perpetration and low agreement for peer perpetration. Moreover, APIMs found that parent- and child-reports of bullying were differentially associated with child adjustment. The results of this study suggest that child- and parent data each add additional and unique information into the big picture. Thus, our findings argue for the utility of integrating parent and child perspectives simultaneously in research and clinical practice, in order to uncover the complex reality of child functioning in the context of the family system.

Sibling conflict during COVID-19 in families with special educational needs and disabilities

Young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SENDs) and their families have been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this longitudinal study, sibling conflict in these families during and after the first lockdown in the United Kingdom was investigated. Online questionnaires were completed by 504 parents of young people with SENDs at four time points between 23 March 2020 and 10 October 2020 (over half completed the questionnaire at multiple time points). As lockdown progressed, young people with SENDs were more likely to be picked on or hurt by their siblings compared with earlier stages of the lockdown but there was no change in how frequently they harmed or picked on their siblings. After lockdown, both perpetration and victimization decreased but not to the same rates as the first month of lockdown. Young people with SENDs with severe or complex needs were somewhat protected from sibling conflict. Findings are discussed with reference to implications for support and planning for future pandemics.

Sibling bullying among Vietnamese children: the relation with peer bullying and subjective well-being

BACKGROUND

Siblings play an important role in a child's life. However, many children often experience sibling bullying. This study investigates differences in sibling victimization by sex, age, a parent's absence from the home due to employment, or a child's privacy and the relationship between sibling victimization, peer victimization, and the child's well-being.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

Participants were Vietnamese children participating in the third wave of the International Survey of Children's Well-Being. The study included 1537 children (811 boys and 726 girls) attending public schools, age 10-14 years (M = 11.29, SD = 1.15).

RESULTS

The results show that over half of children with siblings in this study reported being victimized by a sibling. Younger children were bullied more often than older children. Children whose father worked away from home reported an increase in bullying behavior from their siblings. Children sharing a room with siblings reported being bullied more by siblings.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicated a positive correlation between sibling victimization and peer victimization and a negative relationship between being bullied and a child's subjective well-being.

Play-based interventions for mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis focused on children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and developmental language disorder

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Play-based interventions are used ubiquitously with children with social, communication, and language needs but the impact of these interventions on the mental health of this group of children is unknown. Despite their pre-existing challenges, the mental health of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should be given equal consideration to the other more salient features of their condition. To this aim, a systematic literature review with meta-analysis was undertaken to assess the impact of play-based interventions on mental health outcomes from studies of children with DLD and ASD, as well as to identify the characteristics of research in this field.

METHODS

The study used full systematic review design reported to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (PRISMA prisma-statement.org) with pre-specified inclusion criteria and explicit, transparent and replicable methods at each stage of the review. The study selection process involved a rigorous systematic search of seven academic databases, double screening of abstracts, and full-text screening to identify studies using randomised controlled trial (RCT) and quasi-experimental (QE) designs to assess mental health outcomes from interventions supporting children with DLD and ASD. For reliability, data extraction of included studies, as well as risk of bias assessments were conducted by two study authors. Qualitative data were synthesised narratively and quantified data were used in the metaanalytic calculation.

MAIN CONTRIBUTION

A total of 2,882 papers were identified from the literature search which were double screened at the abstract (n  =  1,785) and full-text (n  =  366) levels resulting in 10 papers meeting the criteria for inclusion in the review. There were 8 RCTs and 2 QEs using 7 named play-based interventions with ASD participants only. Meta-analysis of 5 studies addressing positive mental health outcomes (e.g. positive affect and emotional functioning) found a significant overall intervention effect (Cohen's d = 1.60 (95% CI [0.37, 2.82], p = 0.01); meta-analysis of 6 studies addressing negative mental health outcomes (e.g., negative affect, internalising and externalising problems) found a non-significant overall intervention effect (Cohen's d = 0.04 -0.17 (95% CI [-0.04, 0.51], p = 0.88).

CONCLUSIONS

A key observation is the diversity of study characteristics relating to study sample size, duration of interventions, study settings, background of interventionists, and variability of specific mental health outcomes. Play-based interventions appear to have a beneficial effect on positive, but not negative, mental health in children with ASD. There are no high quality studies investigating the efficacy of such interventions in children with DLD.

IMPLICATIONS

This review provides good evidence of the need for further research into how commonly used play-based interventions designed to support the social, communication, and language needs of young people may impact the mental health of children with ASD or DLD.

Sibling, Peer, and Cyber Bullying Among Children and Adolescents: Co-occurrence and Implications for Their Adjustment

Bullying across the sibling, peer, and cyber context has consistently been associated with a range of long-term health and well-being consequences for children and adolescents. Although research examining different bullying forms simultaneously in the same study are emerging, it remains unclear to what extend sibling, peer, and cyber bullying co-occur and in what ways they are associated. Moreover, previous work has demonstrated that children and adolescents who experience multiple forms of victimization are at a particular risk of adverse outcomes. However, whether different constellations of co-occurring bullying forms have differential impacts has not yet been investigated sufficiently. The aim of the present study was to examine the frequencies of isolated and co-occurring sibling, peer, and cyber bullying as well as to explore their independent and cumulative relationships with child adjustment. This study was based on a sample of 329 children and adolescents aged between 9 and 15. Bullying experiences across the sibling, peer, and cyber context in the previous 6 months were assessed via self-report. Youth further reported on emotional problems, conduct problems, sleep problems, and academic achievement via an online questionnaire. Sibling, peer, and cyber bullying were uniquely associated with child outcomes. A cumulative relationship between bullying victimization across contexts and emotional problems, conduct problems, and sleep problems could be identified, while bullying perpetration across contexts was only linked to more conduct problems in a cumulative manner. The findings have important practical implications arguing for the adoption of a holistic approach toward bullying in prevention and intervention.

Sibling Bullying: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Associations with Positive and Negative Mental Health during Adolescence

Sibling bullying is associated with poor mental health outcomes, but the relevance of specific bullying roles remains unclear. Data from a population-based study (n = 17,157, 48% female) focusing on early (11 years), middle (14 years), and late (17 years) adolescence were analyzed. Associations between sibling bullying roles in early adolescence and positive and negative mental health outcomes in late adolescence were investigated. Generally, bullying, irrespective of role, was associated with poorer mental health outcomes in late adolescence. As the frequency of bullying victimization increased between early and middle adolescence so did the severity of mental health outcomes in late adolescence. The developmental trajectories of externalizing problems were influenced by bullying in early adolescence. Sibling bullying, irrespective of role, is associated with poor mental health outcomes.

Precursors of sibling bullying in middle childhood: Evidence from a UK-based longitudinal cohort study

BACKGROUND

There is increasing evidence that sibling bullying is associated with various social, emotional, and mental health difficulties. It is, however, unclear which factors predict sibling bullying in middle childhood and whether child-level individual differences make some children more susceptible to sibling bullying involvement.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the precursors of sibling bullying in middle childhood in a UK based population sample.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Existing data from the prospective Millennium Cohort Study (N = 16,987) were used. Primary caregivers reported on precursors (child age 7 years or earlier) whilst children self-reported on sibling bullying (child age 11 years).

ANALYSIS

A series of multinomial logistic regression models were fitted. First, testing for crude associations between sibling bullying and the precursors individually. Culminating in a final model with the significant predictors from all of the previous models.

RESULTS

Structural family-level characteristics (e.g. birth order, ethnicity, and number of siblings) were found to be the strongest predictors of sibling bullying involvement followed by child-level individual differences (e.g. emotional dysregulation and sex). Parenting and parental characteristics (e.g. primary caregiver self-esteem and harsh parenting) predicted sibling bullying, but to a lesser extent.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that structural family characteristics and child-level individual differences are the most important risk factors for sibling bullying. If causality can be established in future research, they highlight the need for interventions to be two-pronged: aimed at parents, focusing on how to distribute their time and resources appropriately to all children, and the children themselves, targeting specific sibling bullying behaviors.

Cross-lagged model of bullying victimization and mental health problems in children with autism in middle to older childhood

LAY ABSTRACT

Youth with autism spectrum disorders are disproportionately at risk for bullying victimization compared to typically developing children and adolescents. While internalizing and externalizing mental health problems have been linked to victimization experiences, few studies have examined the longitudinal effects bullying victimization experiences may have on youth mental health outcomes. The present study investigated longitudinal associations between bullying victimization and mental health problems in a sample of children with autism in middle childhood to early adolescence (aged 5 to 12 years). Findings from our study suggest that youth with autism who experienced bullying victimization (versus no victimization) were older in age, had more severe autism symptoms, and higher levels of internalizing and externalizing mental health problems at study onset. Though externalizing mental health problems at study onset (Time 1) did not relate to change in the likelihood of being bullied one year later (Time 2), experiences of bullying victimization did relate to an increase in parent reports of internalizing mental health problems. This study expanded on previous cross-sectional studies by including two waves of data in a relatively large sample of youth with autism and highlights important information that may be helpful in adapting approaches to intervention at the individual level. Moreover, our findings support the need for bullying programs that may need to focus particular attention to subgroups of youth with autism who may be most at-risk for bullying victimization such as those with more autism symptoms and those with past experiences of victimization (given the chronic nature of bullying).