The Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines, Inc. – Sibling Support Group’s Role in influencing Sibling relationships involving Persons with Down Syndrome and their Life Choices using Attachment Theory

Abstract

Down syndrome (DS) affects an estimated 1 in 800 live births worldwide. Fathers and/or mothers are viewed as the primary caregivers of children with DS, and the quality of parent-child relationships have been well explored in research unlike that of sibling relationships. The Attachment theory of communication is used to evaluate the degree of attachment between two persons. This was incorporated in the study to identify the attachment patterns in sibling relationships involving persons with DS using the modification of the Relationship Questionnaire by Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991). Life choices, focusing on education, employment, skills development, family decision making, among others, were also surveyed among the siblings without DS. These were determined using a self-report questionnaire that was constructed by the researcher, and answered by 45 survey participants (10 of which decided to be part of the follow-up interview and focus group discussion). The main objective of the study is to look into the degree of attachment between siblings involving persons with DS using the Attachment theory, and the life choices of the siblings without DS. Results showed that among the attachment patterns, Secure attachment dictated a moderate correlation to sibling life choices using Pearson’s r correlation. Other attachment patterns showed no sufficient evidence to dictate linear relationship between the said attachment patterns and sibling life choices. However, these attachment patterns showed positive correlation.