Ricerc@Sapienza

The purpose of the study was to investigate how family functioning (defined as the ability that family members hold to manage stressful events, and intimate and social relationships), the degree to which family members feel happy and fulfilled with each other (called family satisfaction), and the demographical characteristics of siblings (age and gender) impacted on sibling relationships. The Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems and Behavioral Systems constituted the theoretical frameworks that guided our study.

Objectives The study was designed to compare sibling and best friend relationships engaged by adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods Twenty adolescents with ASD, aged 15–18 years ((M = 16.80, SD = 0.95), and their typically developing (TD) siblings (n = 20), aged 18 to 24 years (M = 20.05, SD = 1.67), were recruited for the current study. Behaviors underpinning attachment, caregiving and affiliative systems were evaluated as well as negative interaction behaviors in sibling relationships and friendships.