As parents age, well siblings are often asked to
assume caregiving responsibilities for their brother or sister
with mental illness. However, relatively little is known
about how well siblings prioritize sibling caregiving
responsibilities with other life demands. We examined well
siblings’ attitudes toward self-care and caregiving for their
sibling with mental illness (self- and sibling-care) using two
cross-sectional samples. The first sample of well siblings (N
= 242) was used to examine the psychometric properties of
the self- and sibling-care measure (SSCM), designed to
assess the degree to which siblings prioritize their own
needs and the needs of their sibling with mental illness. A
second sample (N = 103) was used to determine the relative
contribution of self- and sibling-care attitudes in accounting
for variation in well siblings’ reports of personal loss and
stress-related personal growth. Results support the psycho-
metric validity of the SSCM and suggest that self- and
sibling-care attitudes account for greater variance in scores
on perceived personal loss and stress-related growth than
demographic or caregiving factors. Our findings support the
need to address family care responsibilities and resource

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• Caregiving Attitudes, Personal Loss, and Stress-Related Growth Among Siblings of Adults with Mental Illness