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<strong>Undergrad</strong>uate Research at UMass Dartmouth<br />
137<br />
The purpose of my OUR-funded research is to<br />
determine how having a sibling with a developmental<br />
disability impacts a typically developing sibling<br />
(TDS). Once concluded, this research will help fill<br />
the gap in the current k<strong>no</strong>wledge about the TDS’s<br />
psychosocial well-being as well as other factors, including<br />
the relationship they have with their parents.<br />
It is essential to understand the relationship between<br />
the siblings in order to comprehend how that<br />
relationship affects the development and life of the<br />
TDS. The research will also highlight the indicators<br />
of the TDS’s psychosocial well-being.<br />
When a member of a family receives a medical<br />
diag<strong>no</strong>sis, it can have layers of impact on the larger<br />
family unit. Siblings of children with developmental<br />
disabilities are a classically understudied population.<br />
Only recently has there been a rise in studies on<br />
siblings of children with developmental disabilities<br />
(Stoneman, 2005). Sibling relationships are one of the<br />
most significant relationships that humans develop<br />
and are strongly related to psychosocial adjustment<br />
(Pollard, Barry, Freedman, & Kotchick, 2013). Although<br />
much is k<strong>no</strong>wn about the impact and trajectory of the<br />
child with a developmental disability, less is k<strong>no</strong>wn<br />
about their siblings.<br />
Developmental disability is operationalized in this<br />
research as they are described in the Individuals<br />
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IDEA<br />
federally mandates that schools serve the educational<br />
needs of eligible students with disabilities<br />
and ensures students with disabilities have access<br />
to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). It<br />
includes a diag<strong>no</strong>sis of Autism Spectrum Disorder<br />
(ASD), Intellectual Disability, Multiple Handicap,<br />
Emotional-Behavioral Disorder, and Learning Disability.<br />
Typical development is operationalized as the<br />
absence of an IDEA designation. Under the direction<br />
of Dr. Christina Cipria<strong>no</strong>, Assistant Professor in the<br />
Psychology Department, I submitted and received<br />
IRB approval to compile a list of psycho-educational<br />
batteries alongside my own developed questionnaire,<br />
to assess TDS mental health and well-being<br />
in the community. Using the Qualtrics platform,<br />
I recruited and surveyed participants, and then<br />
randomly selected a proportion of participants to<br />
take part in an information gathering interview. I am<br />
currently analyzing the Qualtrics and interview data<br />
using a mixed-methods approach. These include<br />
descriptive and inferential analyses, and open<br />
coding for themes. I will be presenting my findings<br />
at the Annual Meeting of the Council for Excepional<br />
Children (CEC) in Boston this Spring and will be writing<br />
up my findings for publication in a peer-reviewed<br />
psychology journal.<br />
I have always enjoyed spending my time with<br />
children since my teenage years and this interest<br />
has been furthered by the professional connections<br />
I have developed during my undergraduate education:<br />
While a student at UMass Dartmouth, I have<br />
worked for and interned for various organizations<br />
involving children. I worked for the America Reads<br />
Program through UMass Dartmouth’s Leduc Center<br />
for Civic Engagement where I tutored and mentored<br />
students in schools and after school programs in<br />
Fall River and New Bedford. I also interned with the
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