Personality Traits, Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties among Siblings of Children with Autism

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains a major public health and economic problem worldwide. Autistic children in the family affect siblings’ personality, emotionally and behavior toward autistic child. Aim of the study: to assess personality traits, emotional and behavioral difficulties among siblings of children with ASD. Design: A descriptive correlational research design was used to conduct the study. Sample: Convenience sample from selected area, it consisted of 84 healthy siblings. Tools for data collection: Three tools used to collect the necessary data consisted of; structured Questionnaire, Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and Sibling Inventory of Behavior (SIB) Results: The current study revealed that the majority of healthy siblings of autistic children were have extroversion personality (46.43%) and the majority of siblings have aggressive behavior Conclusion: There was a strong positive statistically correlation between peer problems and emotional symptoms Recommendations: Designing and applying educational psychological program to siblings for dealing with their autistic children.