Recording and slides are for delegates only

Slides Irena Tetkovic

Slides Amalie Schumann

This webinar shines a spotlight on the often-overlooked experiences of siblings of children and young people with mental health conditions. Five leading researchers will each deliver a 15–20 minute presentation, sharing evidence and insights on sibling relationships, wellbeing, risk and protective factors, and the kinds of support that can make a difference. You’ll also hear about intervention approaches and service perspectives, with contributions from international experts across psychology and family research.

Format of the webinar

• Presentations: Five expert talks (15–20 minutes each), offering diverse perspectives from current research and practice.
• Discussion & Q&A: The event will conclude with a structured exchange among the speakers, who will reflect on points of agreement and constructive disagreement. Attendees can submit questions via Zoom’s Q&A function, with a selection addressed during the final discussion.

About the talks

Professor Claire Hughes – Young Siblings as Socialisers: Risks, Resilience, Rewards

Sibling influences on child development have long been overlooked, or viewed primarily in terms of sibling rivalry and aggression. Yet, sibling relationships show striking variability, and so are likely to be associated with a diverse array of outcomes. Indeed, alongside evidence that persistent conflict between siblings can have negative consequences for children’s peer relationships and social competence, sibling relationships have also been demonstrated as having considerable potential for promoting positive outcomes. These include: better understanding of others’ minds and resilience in the face of adversity. The twin aims of this lecture are to provide a balanced perspective on sibling influences, and to explore early predictors of sibling harmony. To this end, I shall draw on: (i) longitudinal findings linking preschool sibling conflict to bullying and loneliness in the early school years; (ii) meta-analytic evidence that false belief understanding (a key milestone in children’s development of a theory of mind) is accelerated in preschoolers with siblings; (iii) international evidence that, during the stressful lockdown period at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the presence of older siblings was associated with reduced levels of preschoolers’ externalizing problems; and (iv) predictive associations between expectant mothers’ positive and ‘mind-minded’ views of their firstborn child and sibling harmony following the arrival of a new baby. Together, these findings will, I hope, be useful for developing effective interventions to harness the power of positive sibling relationships to promote young children’s and adjustment.

Learning outcomes

1. To understand that sibling relationships matter for young children’s development and adjustment
2. To understand the socio-cognitive mediators of sibling influence, including accelerated acquisition of a ‘theory of mind’
3. To understand how mothers’ positive, mind-minded representations of their child may facilitate early sibling harmony

Professor Shawn D. Whiteman – Pathways of Sibling Influence on Adolescents’ Alcohol and Other Substance Use: Moving Towards an Integrated Model of Sibling Influence

Research demonstrates that siblings, especially older siblings, make unique contributions to adolescents’ and young adults’ alcohol and other substance use above and beyond the effects of shared genetics and shared parenting. Extant work highlights both direct and indirect pathways through which siblings shape each other’s alcohol and other substance use behaviors and cognitions. Direct pathways include facilitating substance use through providing the settings and environments in which substance use occurs as well as engaging in substance use together. Indirect pathways comprise modeling and shaping expectations and attitudes about the effects of substances and substance use. Using evidence from both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, this presentation provides evidence for these various pathways, ultimately integrating them into a comprehensive model of sibling influence.

Learning outcomes

1. To recognize siblings as critical and unique socialization agents during adolescence and early adulthood
2. To understand various processes through which siblings influence alcohol and other substance use
3. To leverage siblings as novel targets for intervention and prevention to promote health and mitigate substance use

Sue Cotton – Understanding siblings experiences of supporting a family member with a severe mental illness

When a family member experiences a severe mental illness (SMI), the entire family is impacted, with increased levels of distress, burden, and reductions in functioning and quality of life. Siblings, in particular, play a crucial role in providing emotional and practical support to their brother or sister with SMI. Despite this, siblings’ own needs often remain unmet, placing them at heightened risk of psychological difficulties and adverse outcomes. This presentation highlights the importance of recognising and engaging siblings within youth and adult mental health services. The specific aims are to: (i) provide an overview of current research on the psychological impacts of the sibling role; (ii) identify key factors associated with siblings’ distress and burden; and (iii) examine the unique contributions siblings can make to service evaluation and improvement. Data will be drawn from a range of studies, including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, cohort investigations, and service evaluation projects. Collectively, this body of work underscores the necessity of family-inclusive approaches in mental health care, ensuring that siblings are supported both as caregivers and as individuals in their own right.

Learning outcomes

1. To understand why it is important to consider siblings’s experiences of living with a brother or sister with severe mental health disorder
2. Understand what contributes to siblings’ distress and burden
3. To understand why siblings offer a unique perspective in mental health service evaluation

Irena Tetkovic – Sibwell: Supporting siblings of children and young people with mental health conditions in their wellbeing

Some children and young people grow up with a sibling who has a mental health condition. While some cope well, others struggle. Research suggests siblings face a 2-4 times higher risk of developing a mental health condition themselves. However, little is known about what predicts good mental health outcomes in this group. The Sibwell project surveyed 1,630 young people aged 18-26 about their experiences of growing up with a sibling who has a mental health condition. In this talk, I will present key findings on risk and protective factors that influence how siblings are affected. We also carried out focus groups and interviews with 19 siblings, giving us a deeper understanding of their experiences and the kinds of support they find most helpful. These insights deepen our understanding of how best to support siblings and their families. Our findings will be relevant to clinicians, policymakers, and families affected by sibling mental health conditions.

Learning outcomes

1. To understand the mental health challenges faced by some young people with sibling mental health conditions.
2. To understand factors that affect siblings’ mental health outcomes.
3. To recognise the types of support siblings have experienced as helpful.

Amalie Schumann – Supporting siblings: Adapting the SIBS intervention for UK eating disorder services

Siblings of children and young people with eating disorders are at increased risk of mental health difficulties, yet remain underrepresented in both research and clinical practice. Few interventions are designed specifically for siblings, despite their important role in family life and recovery. This project aims to adapt the Norwegian-developed SIBS intervention for use in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the United Kingdom, guided by the ADAPT Framework for intervention adaptation. In this talk, Amalie will present two studies forming the first step of this process. The first is a clinical audit examining how siblings are currently involved in CAMHS eating disorder services. The second is a qualitative study with siblings, parents, and healthcare professionals, exploring their perspectives on sibling needs and support, as well as their feedback on the SIBS intervention. Findings from these studies provide essential insights into how SIBS can be adapted to the UK context and are informing a subsequent feasibility study.

Learning outcomes

1. To learn about current sibling involvement in UK CAMHS eating disorder services and stakeholder perspectives.
2. Gain insight into the process of adapting an existing intervention (SIBS) to a new cultural and service context.
3. To understand how qualitative methods can inform intervention development and adaptation.

About the speakers

Chair of the session is Professor Umar Toseeb.
Professor Umar Toseeb is a Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of York. Umar uses behavioural and genetic data from research and administrative datasets to understand children and young people’s mental health and special educational needs. Umar is also one half of ACAMH’s ‘Mind the Kids’ podcast duo.

Professor Claire Hughes Professor of Developmental Psychology Centre for Child, Adolescent & Family Research (CAFR), Department of Psychology & Newnham College, Cambridge. Claire is a developmental psychologist at the University of Cambridge, where she is a Fellow of Newnham College, and Deputy Head of the Psychology Department. Her books include Social Understanding, Social Lives (British Psychological Society Book of the Year in 2013) Why Siblings Matter, Executive Function in Childhood and most recently, The Psychology of Starting School. Her research applies longitudinal and international designs to examine the interplay between children’s social experiences and cognitive development. Her particular interests include cultural similarities and differences and periods of transition: (e.g., becoming a parent, becoming a sibling, starting school).

Shawn D. Whiteman is a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and the Interim Dean in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. Broadly, Shawn conducts research on the connections between family socialization processes and youths’ health and socioemotional adjustment. He is specifically interested in how siblings directly and indirectly act as sources of social influence and social comparison within families and how their family experiences foster similarities and differences in their relationship qualities, attributes, and health-related behaviors.

Sue Cotton is a psychologist (trained as clinical neuropsychologist), biostatistician, and mental health researcher with over 20 years’ experience leading clinical trials, longitudinal studies, and outcome evaluations in youth mental health. She has extensive expertise in psychotic and mood disorders, particularly early intervention for psychosis and bipolar disorder. She is Director of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence in Bipolar Disorder (CORE). Also part of her work is examining the impacts of caring for a loved with severe mental illness, including the impact on siblings. For her work, Sue has been in receipt of prestigious awards such as the Tom Trauer Evaluation and Research Reward (The Mental Health Services Learning Network, theMHS, 2020) and the Oration Award (Society for Mental Health Research, 2023).

Irena Tetkovic is a PhD student in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, working within the Child and Adolescent Resilience and Mental Health Team. Her research project, Sibwell, explores how best to support young people growing up with a sibling with a mental health condition. Her doctoral work is funded by the Friends of Peterhouse charity and supported by the NIHR School for Public Health Research. Irena holds a Master’s degree in Psychological Research from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UCL. She previously worked as a research assistant on the ACER study at UCL, which focuses on mental health rehabilitation services. Through her research, Irena hopes to contribute to more inclusive and effective support resources for families affected by mental health conditions.

Amalie Schumann is a DPhil candidate in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the siblings of children with mental illness and on interventions designed to support them. Before beginning her DPhil, Amalie worked as a clinical psychologist with children and families in Norway, where she was also involved in researching a sibling intervention known as SIBS. In her doctoral research, she is examining whether SIBS is feasible and acceptable within CAMHS eating disorder services in the UK.