The Sibling Emotions Project is looking for typically developing (TD) siblings of people with disabilities between the ages of 9-12 and their parents to conduct a research study about the emotions of TD siblings with a brother or sister with ID. This research study seeks to learn:
- about the emotions and experiences that TD siblings have;
- how siblings understand their feelings and talk about their emotions to other family members;
- what siblings think about the feelings of other people within their household;
- and how parents understand their TD child’s feelings.
This study is being conducted by Michael McCarthy, a big brother to sister Nicole who has intellectual disabilities and a graduate student at the Warner School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester. This study is being conducted for McCarthy’s PhD dissertation. “I am interested in learning more about families who have a child with intellectual disabilities. I want to know more about the emotions and experiences that siblings with a brother or sister with disabilities have. I also want to know how siblings understand their feelings and talk about their emotions to other family members within their homes. I am also interested in learning more about what siblings think about the feelings of other people within their family. In addition, I am interested in understanding how parents understand their typically developing child’s feelings and how their child perceives the emotions of other people within the family.”
Interested individuals should visit the study’s website, siblingemotionsproject.com for details on eligibility, the study itself and to apply to participate.