Parent–Teacher Discrepancies About the Mental Health of Siblings of Children With Chronic Disorders: A Latent Profile Analysis

Siblings of children with chronic disorders are at an increased risk of internalizing and externalizing problems, but the extent to which this is true varies depending on who rates sibling mental health. We examined interrater discrepancies between teachers and parents who rated the behavior of siblings of children with chronic disorders on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and investigated possible predictors of these discrepancies. We used Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify classes of siblings with higher and lower levels of discrepancy between raters. Predictors of interrater discrepancy were also examined, including sibling age and sex, and the impact of the disorder. We identified four distinct classes of siblings with differing levels of interrater discrepancy and internalizing and externalizing problems. Sibling sex had a small effect on classes, with girls less likely to be included in the discrepant classes. Neither sibling age nor the impact of the disorder predicted being included in discrepant classes. Our findings reflect previous research showing that sibling experiences and outcomes tend to vary between individuals and across settings and that teachers tend to report fewer problems of different types than parents. Further research is needed to better understand predictors of these interrater discrepancies.