The Club-Sandwich Generation

Studies on siblings of children with mental disabilities to date generally focus on the effect of distinctive strains on psychological adjustment. This study aims to further this research into the adult years. It was hypothesized that the participants filling out a questionnaire will be caught ¿sandwiched¿ between the responsibilities of caring for their own children, aging parents, and a disabled sibling. While many participants did not currently provide care for parents and siblings, a minority group had homogenous concerns about the future. This subject group was not found to suffer from psychological maladjustment, but was too small to be representative of the population. They spoke of their siblings affectionately, and had a long list of joys that they take away from their family of origin experiences. They have turned their stresses into positives by learning from them, and hope to help others in return by passing on this wisdom.