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Siblings as babysitters: responses of adolescents to younger siblings in problem situations.

Adolescents (75 males, 150 females) assumed the role of parent surrogate and responded to nine problem situations involving younger siblings. Responses were coded into 21 categories--grouped as high, medium, low and non-power as well as "effective" or "ineffective"--and analyzed by sex, grade (10, 11, or 12) and birth order (first-, second-, or laterborn). Ninety-two percent of responses were categorized as "ineffective" (i.e., not communicating own or sibling's feelings). Seniors used less high and more medium and non-power responses than younger students. Most students, particularly females, expressed interest in joining a group to learn better ways of relating to younger siblings.

Adult

[Calculation of the plausibility of paternity, using the results of blood grouping tests in cases in which the fatherhood of a man to twins and siblings is disputed. III. Practical experience with the method used for calculation of some cases concerning twins and siblings (author's transl)].

In 129 two-children cases, including 84 twin cases and 45 brother and sister cases, the probability of paternity of one or several men was calculated, applying the method of Hummel and Schulte-Mönting. With this method the whole information, given by the blood group results, is used. Because of this, the achieved values of probability in most of the cases are higher than the values achieved using the Essen-Möller formula, in which the relation between the children is not taken into account.

Blood Group Antigens

End of Life Events and Causes of Death in Danish Long-Lived Siblings: Reduced Dementia Risk Compared to Sporadic Long-Livers.

BACKGROUND: Better physical robustness and resilience of long-lived siblings compared to sporadic long-livers has been demonstrated in several studies. However, it is unknown whether long-lived siblings also end their lives better. OBJECTIVE: To investigate end-of-life (EoL) events (dementia diagnosis, medication, hospitalizations in the last 5 years of life), causes of death, and location of death in long-lived siblings compared to matched sporadic long-livers from the Danish population. METHODS: Long-lived siblings were identified through three nationwide Danish studies in which the inclusion criteria varied, but 99.5% of the families had at least two siblings surviving to age 90 + . Those who died between 2006 and 2018 were included, and randomly matched with sex, year-of-birth and age-at-death controls (i.e., sporadic long-lived controls) from the Danish population. RESULTS: A total of 5,262 long-lived individuals were included (1,754 long-lived siblings, 3,508 controls; 63% women; median age at death 96.1). Long-lived siblings had a significantly lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia in the last years of life (p = 0.027). There was no significant difference regarding the number of prescribed drugs, hospital stays, days in hospital, and location of death. Compared to controls, long-lived siblings presented a lower risk of dying from dementia (p = 0.020) and ill-defined conditions (p = 0.030). CONCLUSIONS: In many aspects long-lived siblings end their lives similar to sporadic long-livers, with the important exception of lower dementia risk during the last 5 years of life. These results suggest that long-lived siblings are excellent candidates for identifying environmental and genetic protective factors of dementia.

Humans

Hodgkin's disease in siblings.

An incidence survey of Hodgkin's disease in Greater Boston during 1959-1973 detected five sibling pairs under the age of 45. The expected number is 0.7; thus, siblings of young adults with Hodgkin's disease have about a sevenfold excess risk of the disease (P = 0.0008). Eight sibling pairs, not in the incidence series, were also identified. Among all 13 pairs, 12 were sex concordant; the number expected is 6.8 (P = 0.01). The literature includes 46 sibling pairs under 45 of which 30 are sex concordant. The expected number is 23.9 (P = 0.05). Combining the present and the literature series suggests that siblings of the same sex as an affected person have a risk of Hodgkin's disease double that of siblings of the opposite sex. The sex concordance suggests that the excess Hodgkin's disease among siblings of affected persons is due either to inter-personal transmission of an etiologic agent by prolonged or intimate contact or to common-source exposures.

Adult

Season of birth among siblings of schizophrenics. A test of the parental conception habits interpretation.

Many studies have shown schizophrenics to be born with unusual frequency in the period January-April, and one interpretation of this seasonality of birth is that the parents of schizophrenics have an unusually strong general tendency to conceive offspring who will be born in January-April. This parental conception habits interpretation may be tested by studying whether the siblings of schizophrenics are also born with increased frequency in January-April. The present study investigated the season of birth of 288 full siblings and 44 half-siblings in 91 families of male schizophrenics. Approximately 5% of the siblings were known to be schizophrenic; with the schizophrenic siblings excluded from the analyses, the full siblings showed a birth pattern much closer (nonsignificant) to that of the schizophrenics than to that of the general population. Half-siblings showed January-April birth rates at or below the population level. Although the mechanisms responsible for the current results still remain unclear, the study suggests that seasonality of births of schizophrenics may be related to the parents' conception habits as well as to an etiological or triggering effect on the development of schizophrenia in the offspring.

Adult

Psychologic adjustment of siblings of children with chronic illness.

Although numerous references are made to the stressful, deleterious effects of chronic or terminal illnesses and handicaps on the siblings of pediatric patients, very few studies have been conducted using comparison groups. The present study compared the adjustment of 3- to 13-year-old siblings of pediatric hematology (N = 62), cardiology (N = 57), and plastic surgery patients (N = 37) with healthy siblings (N = 46). The adjustment measure was an objective, paper-and-pencil measure of children's emotional and behavioral problems, the Louisville Behavior Checklist. On analyses of covariance, the patient groups were more likely to show symptoms of irritability and social withdrawal, and the differences between illness groups approached significance on measures of fear and inhibition. Among the younger children, ages 3 to 6, there were significant group differences, with the siblings of patients undergoing plastic surgery showing the highest level of general psychopathology. Among children ages 7 to 13, male siblings of patients with blood disorders were more likely to show signs of emotional disturbance than female siblings. No group differences were noted on measures of aggression or learning problems. Significant interactions between sex and age relationship to the child were noted on scales of social withdrawal, inhibition, immaturity, and irritability.

Adolescent

The effect of early diagnosis and treatment in cystic fibrosis: a seven-year study of 16 sibling pairs.

Data on 16 sibling pairs with cystic fibrosis were analyzed to test the hypothesis that early treatment of this condition improves prognosis. Younger siblings' conditions were diagnosed before 1 year of age, usually before the onset of pulmonary disease. Older siblings' conditions were diagnosed after 1 year of age and after the onset of pulmonary disease. Although the sibling pairs received similar treatment, comparison at 7 years of age showed that the younger siblings had significantly better chest roentgenogram scores, total clinical scores, residual lung volumes, and ratios of residual volume to total lung volume. Younger siblings also required fewer hospital admissions to control their lung disease. The results suggest that, in general, early initiation of therapy is beneficial for patients with cystic fibrosis.

Child

Lymphocyte responsiveness to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis: Relationship to status of pulmonary disease in sibling pairs.

Lymphocyte proliferative responses to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were evaluated in six sibling pairs with cystic fibrosis. In each pair, one sibling had advanced clinical disease, whereas the other sibling was in good clinical condition. Three in this latter group had no clinically apparent Pseudomonas bronchitis. In all cases, the average responses to Pseudomonas isolated from each sibling pair were lower in the sibling with advanced clinical disease. This difference was not observed in the responses to Staphylococcus. Normal plasma or plasma from patients with CF in good clinical condition does not restore the responses in patients with advanced clinical disease. However, plasma from patients with low or no responses to Pseudomonas inhibits the responses of responding siblings. A progressive specific lymphocyte unresponsiveness to Pseudomonas may play an important role in the increasing destructiveness of chronic pulmonary Pseudomonas infection in cystic fibrosis.

Adolescent

Adaptation of siblings to childhood malignancy.

To explore the impact of childhood cancer, school-aged patients and their healthy siblings from 71 families were given one or more of the following psychologic tests: the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, the Bene-Anthony Family Relations Test, and the Thematic Apperception Test. The siblings showed even more distress than the patients in the areas of perceived social isolation, perception of their parents as overindulgent and overprotective of the sick child, fear of confronting family members with negative feelings, and concern with failure (older siblings only). In other areas, such as anxiety and vulnerability to illness and injury, the patients' and siblings' experience appeared very similar. These results indicate that siblings, like patients, experience severe stress when confronted with a chronic, life-threatening illness such as cancer. In recognizing and attending to their needs, one can practice primary prevention in pediatrics by facilitating their healthy adaptation to a very difficult situation.

Adaptation, Psychological

[Significance of sibling constellations for the origin of systematic schizophrenias (author's transl)].

In previous examinations of twins the author found that, surprisingly, "systematic schizophrenias" did not occur in identical twins, whereas they did in binovular twins. Even though the term systematic schizophrenia may not be accepted, the results, in any case, remain valid because they are based on a classification that had been defined and described prior to the present investigation. From the findings in twins the question arised as to whether the constellation of siblings who are not twins might also be significant in preventing the outbreak of systematic schizophrenias. Therefore, in a sample of 500 patients examined earlier we stated how many siblings, older siblings, younger siblings, brothers, sisters were to be found in systematic schizophrenias and their special types. There were many findings, in part being statistically significant, in part suggesting, at least, that they be taken into consideration. As a result of the findings it seems clear that sibling constellations are important for the origin of systematic schizophrenias. Thus, whereas psychosocial factors proved prominent, we found the heredity rate especially low in these forms of schizophrenia.

Age Factors

An evaluation of nutrition centre effectiveness by measurement of younger siblings.

Thirty children were measured when they entered nutrition centres. Their younger siblings were later measured at the same age. Over the same period, a matched group of control children and their siblings were measured. The younger siblings of Centre participants showed the same growth patterns as the younger siblings of control children. Centre teaching had evidently not affected the way mothers fed their younger children, and thus it had no effect on their growth.

Body Height

Siblings as therapists: a behavioral approach.

Although many family therapy programs have taught behavior modification techniques to parents, few have involved siblings as therapeutic agents in the treatment of retarded, emotionally disturbed, or physically handicapped children. The authors describe their experiences with two families in which siblings were taught to use simple procedures to encourage desired behaviors in a disturbed brother or sister. They conclude that further investigation is needed to refine sibling training techniques and suggest that involvement in treatment programs may have beneficial influences on the normal siblings of disturbed children.

Adolescent

The development of sibling relationships in infancy: a short-term longitudinal study.

24 infants and their preschool-aged siblings were observed in a laboratory playroom in the presence of their parents. Observations took place when the infants were 12 months old and again 6 months later. Analysis of the social behavior revealed that, at both ages, the children assumed differentiable roles in their interactions: The infants "followed" by observing and imitating while the preschoolers "led" by drawing the infants' attention and by assertive dominance. Over time, infants became increasingly willing to direct social behaviors toward their siblings. There was remarkable behavioral stability across time, with the infants' early propensities seemingly causally related to later pre-schoolers' behavior. Older girls directed more social behaviors to siblings than boys did. The amount of parent-directed behavior was affected by the number of adults present, whereas the amount of sibling-directed behavior was unaffected.

Child Development

In-vitro lymphoproliferative response to Mycobacterium leprae of HLA-D-identical siblings of lepromatous leprosy patients.

Lymphoproliferative responses to Mycobacterium leprae and P.P.D. were measured in 23 lepromatous and borderline lepromatous leprosy patients and in 27 of their normal siblings. At the same time siblings HLA-D-identical with the patients were identified by the absence of a mixed-lymphocyte reaction. The 7 siblings who were HLA-identical to lepromatous patients responded as well to M. leprae as did the 20 HLA-non-identical normal siblings. In contrast, 22 of the 23 lepromatous patients failed to respond to M. leprae but responded normally to P.P.D. The specific unresponsiveness of lepromatous patients thus does not result from an HLA-linked genetic defect and the defective cell-mediated immune response to M. leprae seems to be acquired, not inherited. Lepromatous patients may be high responders to antigens shared by M. leprae and other microorganisms in whom a strong antibody response has blocked the induction of an M. leprae-specific-cell-mediated immune response.

Adolescent

Genetic factors in childhood epilepsy with focal sharp waves. II. EEG findings in patients and siblings.

Electroencephalographical investigations were performed in 203 epileptic children exhibiting focal sharp waves in the EEG and in 312 siblings. As controls served 685 brain-healthy children (Gerken 1971) as well as 252 children with spike wave absences and their 242 siblings (Doose et al. 1973). According to the EEG findings in probands so-called "centrencephalic" EEG-criteria (theta rhythms, spikes and waves, photosensitivity) as a symptom of a genetically determined seizure susceptibility can be expected in at least 60% of the probands. 18% of the siblings showed at least once one definite "centrencephalic" EEG pattern. These results must be regarded as minimal values, since in siblings only one electro-encephalographic study could be performed. The results make it evident, that in the pathogenesis of epilepsy with focal sharp waves a genetically determined seizure susceptibility plays a very important role. After comparison with the results of genetic investigations in patients with spike wave absences (Doose et al. 1973) the difference as for the genetic basis between "centrencephalic" and focal epilepsies apparently is only due to a different gene density.

Brain Damage, Chronic

Anomalous mixed lymphocyte culture reactivity between HLA--A, --B, --C, --DR identical siblings.

Complete HLA typing including HLA--A, --B, --C, --DR (D related B cell typing), --D, mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC), and primed lymphocyte testing (PLT), together with complete red blood cell (RBC), glyoxalase (GLO), GBG (Factor B), and phosphoglucomutase 3 (PGM3) typings were performed on a informative family. The five siblings inherited the four possible combinations of parental HLA haplotypes, and two of the siblings were HLA--A, --B, --C and --DR identical. Repeated MLC testing of the family revealed positive mixed lymphocyte reactivity in all combinations. B cell typing for the DR specificities demonstrated no variation from the expected inheritance pattern and specifically no recombination event. GBG and GLO typings militated against a recombination involving the paternal chromosome. HLA--D testing revealed that only one of the HLA--A, --B, --C, and --DR identical siblings gave typing responses to the HLA--Dw3 specificity present on that maternal haplotype. Utilizing HLA haploidentical combinations, lymphocytes were primed against the four parental haplotypes and the non-Dw3 haplotype of interest (Aw24--B8--DRw3--LDY) in the PLT. The sibling inheriting this haplo-type did not restimulate cells primed against the A2--B40--DRW6--LDY specificity. Furthermore, no discrimination was observed in the restimulation of lymphocytes primed against this haplo-type. Possible interpretations of these family data include: a spontaneous mutation, non-major histocompatibility locus (MHC) stimulation, and HLA--DR/D recombination.

B-Lymphocytes

The season of birth of siblings of psychiatric patients.

The season of birth of the siblings of psychiatric patients was studied to test the hypothesis that an unusual seasonal pattern of maternal conception is the cause of the excess of births in the early months of the year which has been found in national studies of psychotic patients. Information on the month of birth of the siblings was obtained from interviews with psychiatric in-patients born in Britain. The quarterly distribution of births of 670 mentally well siblings of psychotic patients (schizophrenia and manic-depression) was significantly different from that of 1,513 siblings of other psychiatric patients and also from that of all births in England and Wales. The results lend qualified support to the hypothesis, but they were not clear-cut and there was some evidence that the information on birth dates was biased.

Bipolar Disorder