Changes in Cognitive Empathy of Disabled Children’ Siblings

Siblings of a child with a disability or a developmental delay often have stressful experiences and challenges. However, a new study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Toronto show that these siblings may have Greater cognitive empathy, as published in Child Development.

This remains as one of the first studies to examine the possible positive effects of growing up with a sibling with a disability. The study had analyzed data from the Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins which includes 1,657 families of twins born in 2004 to 2005.

It was found that typically developing children who had a twin with disabilities scored higher than typically developing children who did not, in self-reported cognitive empathy.

“The findings indicate that siblings of children with disabilities may have greater cognitive empathy (i.e., understanding of others’ thoughts and feelings), which is important as cognitive empathy is key for social skills,” says Yonat Rum, a postdoctoral researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Cambridge.

Source-Medindia