Families of children with 5p- (cri du chat) syndrome: familial stress and sibling reactions.

This research examined family stress and sibling reactions in families of children with 5p- (cri du chat) syndrome aged 1 to 18 years who were living at home. In Study 1, 99 parents reported on themselves and their child with 5p-, as well as on family demographics, social supports, and stress. The best predictor of familial stress was the child's amount of maladaptive behavior, accounting for 12 to 38% of the variance across different stress measures. In Study 2, sibling concerns were examined in 44 unaffected siblings. The major finding was that parents and siblings disagreed on the extent of the siblings' interpersonal concerns. Parents reported that siblings felt ignored and misunderstood, whereas siblings themselves rated these concerns at much lower levels.