Summary:
This study investigate the sibling relationship in families with a child with psychosis. Of particular interest is the perspective of the healthy siblings' personal experiences, how they lived as children the relationship between them and their brother, and how as adults, after the onset of the disease. The sample consisted of 8 adult, siblings of patients treated at a Psychiatric Hospital in an acute-care unit. The patients' diagnoses were Paranoid Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Delirium and other inorganic psychoses. The data collection method was conducted using a semi-structured interview with four thematic axes. Qualitative research was used to determine the nature of the experience. For the analysis of the data, the interviews were transcribed and the content analysis approach applied. The main findings were the role of the birth order, as crucial to the degree to which siblings are involved in brother / patient obligations, internalization as a mechanism where healthy siblings invest in themselves as the only person they can trust, capable of overcoming any difficulty, the existence of childhood trauma and the development of qualities in their character, such as empathy, social sensitivity, compassion, tolerance and dedication.
Keywords:
sibling relationship, child with psychosis, quality in siblings relationship, brother with psychosis, brother with schizophrenia
